Classic Banjo Music Store

[Hal Allert]

Friends, it is with great pride and financial pleasure that I announce today the opening of the Classic Banjo Music Store.

This store is the result of several years of audio restoration. I have undertaken to return some of the old banjo players' music to the public in a clearer and more listenable format. The music I started with came from cylinders, records, and tapes. It was mostly unlistenable due to the hiss, pops and crackles, and re-recordings over the years.

Up to this point, I have restored 10 CDs worth of music from Charles Mansell, Tom Barriball, Tom Edwards, the Torrences, and others. The music is available as individual downloads, or bundled downloads which are the complete sets of singles, and hard copy CDs. These formats are available only through PayPal to keep the costs down.

I hope you enjoy these first 10 CDs as much as I do. Rest assured that others are on the way.

You can access this music either through http://www.classicbanjo. com, http://blog.classicbanjo.com, or http://shop.classicbanjo.com. Of course, comments are always welcome.

Hal Allert

[Jody Stecher]

Hal, I'm preparing to order but am perplexed by apparent inconsistencies in what is available in the 3 formats. For instance the Torrance duo has 8 pieces when ordered as Bundled download for $9.99 but when downloaded individually for at total of $6.93 only 7 pieces are offered. No Zarana. Even were Z included it would be less expensive to order them one by one. Not so for other bundles where buying the bundle is a better deal. Am puzzled. Please advise!
jody

[Jody Stecher]

I just downloaded some of the recordings. Perhaps only a banjo player could have restored these old recordings so well as they sound .... well they sound very much like banjos. As opposed to like a recording of a banjo. I hope this makes sense.

[Hal Allert]

Jody, I want to thank you for catching these inconsistencies. In my haste to publish this music, I made quite a few errors. I am sorry you had to experience them. Darktown Parade was listed in Vol. 1 of Charles Mansell. Now it is Vol. 3 where it belongs. Vol. 3 was missing A Sea Breeze by Morley which is now fixed. I have also changed the prices on Bill Bowen and the Torrances because the bundled downloads were inconsistent with the individual downloads as you pointed out. Putting out this storefront has been one of the harder things I have done with this website. I am also adding a page on the classicbanjo.com site that features some before and afters of the restorations.

I know you paid the higher price for the Torrences. If you will email me offline with 4 more choices, I will gladly send them to you free of charge.

Again, thanks for being patient and watchful. I don't intend to rip anyone off, I'll have a talk with my employee. (ha ha)

Hal

Jody Stecher said:

Hal, I'm preparing to order but am perplexed by apparent inconsistencies in what is available in the 3 formats. For instance the Torrance duo has 8 pieces when ordered as Bundled download for $9.99 but when downloaded individually for at total of $6.93 only 7 pieces are offered. No Zarana. Even were Z included it would be less expensive to order them one by one. Not so for other bundles where buying the bundle is a better deal. Am puzzled. Please advise!
jody

[Jody Stecher]

I was listening again this morning to the music I downloaded from Hal yesterday. Come on folks! I urge you all to support our very own restorer of funky recordings of fine banjo playing. It doesn't have to be Ossman or VanEps to be worthy listening. And it doesn't have to be free. These recordings are rare and are of good playing (with the same error ratio as Ossman). And the repertoire is a great window into an era. There are so many Cammeyer pieces and Parke Hunter pieces of which there are no other recordings that I know of. This is great stuff. Do it today!




Hal Allert said:

Jody, I want to thank you for catching these inconsistencies. In my haste to publish this music, I made quite a few errors. I am sorry you had to experience them. Darktown Parade was listed in Vol. 1 of Charles Mansell. Now it is Vol. 3 where it belongs. Vol. 3 was missing A Sea Breeze by Morley which is now fixed. I have also changed the prices on Bill Bowen and the Torrances because the bundled downloads were inconsistent with the individual downloads as you pointed out. Putting out this storefront has been one of the harder things I have done with this website. I am also adding a page on the classicbanjo.com site that features some before and afters of the restorations.

I know you paid the higher price for the Torrences. If you will email me offline with 4 more choices, I will gladly send them to you free of charge.

Again, thanks for being patient and watchful. I don't intend to rip anyone off, I'll have a talk with my employee. (ha ha)

Hal

Jody Stecher said:

Hal, I'm preparing to order but am perplexed by apparent inconsistencies in what is available in the 3 formats. For instance the Torrance duo has 8 pieces when ordered as Bundled download for $9.99 but when downloaded individually for at total of $6.93 only 7 pieces are offered. No Zarana. Even were Z included it would be less expensive to order them one by one. Not so for other bundles where buying the bundle is a better deal. Am puzzled. Please advise!
jody

[Ray Jones]

If only the Australian Queen of the banjo, Bessie Campbell had made some recordings, what a joy it would been to hear her on disc instead of having to discuss the finer points of her playing and technic from newspaper reports. So, no matter how much money you have or spend you will 'never' be able to hear her renditions of Classic Banjo pieces. Now! thanks to blokes like Hal Allert you are now able to listen to the masterly playing of say the 'Cornish Banjo King', Tom Barriball. Tom has always had a place in history and in my book was without a doubt a legend on the banjo. It's wonderful if you think about it. There are these great banjoists from the past, who never had the opportunity to become recording stars although they certainly had the ability. They all had their regular jobs to persue, they never had the luxury or resources of being able to concentrate soley on the banjo as a means to make a living. I think Charles Mansell was an Inspector on the Tramways, if I remember rightly, but what a player. I must admit that I had never heard the Rev. Adam Hunkler's particular style of playing before, great stuff. Thanks to you Hal, they all now have a 'sound place' in history. So get purchasing, and let us encourage Hal to keep working at saving these and other Banjoists from extinction. If we believe in the Classic Banjo this is no time for apathy.

[Adam]

I bought Vol1 of Charles Mansell but haven't had a chance to listen to it yet ... Assuming it's as good as folks are saying, I'm sure I'll be buying more.

Thanks, Hal!

[Hal Allert]

Rob, I don't think you would want to hear songs from Charles Manson. Charles Mansell was from England.

[Adam]

Rob MacKillop said:

LOL! Charles Mansell? I had to read that twice - I thought you said Charles Manson. Now imagine that!

I'm sure Marc S. has a copy of Helter Skelter Rag somwhere ... :)

[Hal Allert]

For your historical information, a helter skelter is a corkscrew slide that children play on. The Beatles song, Helter Skelter, has lyrics to the effect of going down to the bottom then up to the top again. Pretty neat, huh?

J. Adam Latham said:

Rob MacKillop said:

LOL! Charles Mansell? I had to read that twice - I thought you said Charles Manson. Now imagine that!

I'm sure Marc S. has a copy of Helter Skelter Rag somwhere ... :)