Five acetates of unknown artists  from the personal collection of Western Recording's engineer Chuck Britz.

(Our inventory # 35.3.7.6.4)

The first disk is a 45 RPM record with one track on each side. A plain Audiodisc label is on each side. One side is marked "Too Many Tears" and the other is blank. The same male artist appears on each side. This sounds a little like Glen Campbell, and Chuck Britz did work with Campbell, but the voice isn't close enough that I can say for sure this is him. There are some rough spots on the edges, away from any recording.

The second is a 33RPM with two instrumental tracks, one on each side. The tracks sound like they're the backing instruments to a song that hasn't had the vocals laid down yet. The Western Recorders label on one side is handwritten "I'm Wanderin'" and there's no label on the other side. The plain Audiodisc sleeve has "Jack Quigley" written in pen on one side.  Side A (with the label) seems to be backing for Jackie Wilson.

Third record is a 45RMP with one track on each side. 50s Rock. Sides are labeled in grease pen "Thing" and "Hands are tied". Thing has vocals, and that side has a short completely bank track before the music. The song starts with a bit of instrument noise and then someone counting off to start. Hands Are Tied starts with voices speaking very faintly in the background, as if they're across the room from the microphone.

45 RPM of a recording session, starts with someone saying "OK let's go, let's go", as if they're in the booth. Possibly Chuck Britz? Then a count in the background followed by the band playing. Single instrumental track, except for a repeated growled phrase that sounds like "alley oop". This is NOT the Hollywood Argyles Allep Oop song. B side is blank

Audio Sample:

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About the Collection

These recordings come from the estate of legendary recording engineer Chuck Britz. Britz worked with The Beach Boys, Jan and Dean, Dean Martin, and many others at Western Recorders, an independent music studio in LA that was popular with rock n' roll's early stars. Britz is best known for his influence in establishing The Beach Boys signature sound and recorded most of their hit records in the 1960s.

During the recording process, songs would be recorded onto vinyl to evaluate mixes or just to check how it would sound on a record. These are known in the industry as acetate or lacquer records. The recordings in this collection sometimes include multiple artists on a single record, a single track, unrecorded sides, partial tracks, and tracks without the lyrics. Many of the songs on these records were never released. Songs often clearly differ from their final versions when you listen side by side. Labels on the records range from typewritten words on a sticker to grease pen on the record's middle to notes scribbled on the paper liners. The labels are sometimes cryptic and often there are no labels at all. Acetates are extremely rare and it's likely that each of these recordings are one of a kind.

Some recordings are promo or white label copies of the finished record. These either don't include the final artwork or are otherwise marked as a promotional copy. They were then sent to radio stations and other marketing outlets.

Chuck Britz brought records and tapes from his work home with him and kept them until his death in 2000. His son, Charles "Dean" Britz, has stored them since this time and presents them here for auction.

Each record will be shipped with the liner it was found in. These are mostly nondescript liners, either blank or with the recoding blank's manufacturer name on them. The liners are generally torn, worn, and have writing on them. The writing is usually related to the record, but some of them have scribbles, phone numbers, and other markings on them as if they were used for scratch paper in the studio.

The records themselves are all playable, but have not been cleaned. They have fine scratches, prints, and dirt on them. Some have small chips or rough edges. These were working recordings used in the process of making the final record, so don't expect the they have been treated like fine art over the past 60 years. Any significant flaws have been noted.

About the Audio Sample

The audio sample was recorded on a Dual 626 turntable using an Analog Digital Converter to capture the sound on a computer. They have not been cleaned up or edited, other than to remove leading and trailing silence. You can expect the record to sound just as it does here.

Shipping

Shipping is via media mail and is insured for the closing value of the auction. International is through the Ebay Global Shipper program.