John Arpin – “Direct-to-Disc”

The Sleeve:

The Liner/Sleeve Notes:
“This direct-to-disc recording features the talented Canadian pianist, John Arpin in a performance of popular favourites. Two steps are eliminated in the recording process, (a) the recording to multiple tape tracks, e.g. 8 or 16 tracks, (b) the mixdown from the multiple tracks to regular stereo or two track tape. The result is enhanced fidelity and a clearer sound.
 For those interested in technical details, the following state of the art recording equipment was used in RCA’s studio A
 2 – Electrovoice CS-15 microphones on piano.
 2 – Neumann KM-84 microphones on snare, drum and high hat
 2 – Shure SM-53 microphones on Tom-Toms.
 1 – Electrovoice 668 microphone on bass drum.
 1 – Specially constructed direct feed box for electrovoice RE 20 microphone on bass guitar pick-up.
 The pick up from the microphones was mixed on a Rupert Neve 24 Channel console with reverberation from EMT-140S stereo playes. The program was then fed directly to the lacquer channel.
 The lacquer channel is comprised of a Neumann AM 32b lathe with a Neumann S C 68 stereo cutter head. Power for the cutter head is supplied by a Neumann 150 Watt stereo amplifier.
 Monitoring in the studio control room and in the lacquer chanel is done with Altec-Lansing 604-E loudspeakers with Mastering Lab crossovers.”

Personal Review:
Don’t know too much about John Arpin. He is Canadian though. Apparently he was fairly well known.
So, the album opens with the track “You Are the Sunshine of My Life” – and to start off, it’s kind of like elevator music. Or the music you’d hear in the lobby of a big hotel, you know the fancy ones where it is a thousand dollars or more per night? The song is well done though, which is good! Oh, by the way, it’s an instrumental. Next up comes “Jenny’s Tune” – which is slower, but still a fairly good track, still instrumental. I believe John Arpin was solely instrumentals. It’s a pretty good piano track. I prefer vocals myself, but I really can’t complain about the album, I love piano playing. The next track is “At Long Last Love It’s Alright with Me” comes next (boy, that is a long title.) I’m not too much of a fan of this track, but I will give it to John that his musicianship is fairly good, and pretty amazing. Considering that this LP is a low-budget RCA produced record. Up next comes “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World” – which features some drums, and is a pretty good track. Definitely loving this one. It’s a pretty good album thus far. So, the A-Side closes with the piano instrumental of Elton John’s “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” – which is so cool, you know, incase you ever wanted to practice singing the song without the vocals? (No? Just me?) I’m a pretty big Elton fan, love all that he does. Love this song. Good way to end the A-Side.

So, the B-Side opens with “Dance in the Old Fashioned Way” – which is an okay track, I don’t see anything special here. It’s kind of like one of those 1930’s music box songs. Then comes “Carbaret” (I’m assuming the producers meant ‘Cabaret‘) – which is another okay track, still nothing too special about this one and it basically follows the previous track of being a 1930’s music box style song. It’s then followed by “The Way We Were” – which is another slow, not so special track, which is kind of disappointing since this album was off to a great start. (*sadness*) but John is/was still a very a talented pianist. Then comes another Elton John song cover, this time it’s “Daniel” – which this track is perfect if you’re up for singing some Elton, (I know I am!). The song is fairly good, and there are no complaints about this one. The album ends with the track “Laughter in the Rain” – it’s an alright track, a pretty good way to end the album. John was certainly very talented.

Interesting Facts:

“To Eric, Best wishes! John Arpin“

Track Listing:
A1 – You Are the Sunshine of My Life
A2 – Jenny’s Tune
A3 – At Long Last Love Its Alright with Me
A4 – The Most Beautiful Girl in the World
A5 – Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

B1 – Dance in the Old Fashioned Way
B2 – Carbaret
B3 – The Way We Were
B4 – Daniel
B5 – Laughter in the Rain

Label:
RCA Canada

Catalog Number:
KPL 1-0125

Studio Musicians & Other Album Credits:
Recorded & Mastered by RCA Toronto Studio
Cover Photo by John Rowlands
Liner Photos by Ken Hawkins
Piano, Courtesy of Yamaha
Jacket Coordinator by Wayne Jordan

Special thanks to Eleanor, Sam, Bob, Yvonne, Ed, Arthur, and the Chelsea Inn for their interest and encouragement.

Other Albums I Own by John Arpin:
None.

Released:
1975

Related Vinyls:

Francis Lai – “International Velvet: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack” Douglas Ward – “From An Elevated Platform” Diana Hubbard – “LifeTimes” Doug Warren – “Doug Warren… At Home”