TS 1.08 - Osvaldo Pugliese 1953-54 Completo
Tags: Osvaldo PuglieseCategory: CollectionSamples
These were turbulent years, yet Pugliese and his orquesta continued to fight. In 1953, Pugliese resumed performing on Radio Splendid. In 1954, however, both vocalists Alberto Morán and Juan Carlos Cobos, along with bandoneonist Jorge Caldara, left the orchestra in succession for various reasons. Mario Demarco stepped in to replace Caldara, while two new singers, Jorge Maciel and Miguel Montero, joined the orchestra as it began to find its footing again.
The eight instrumental recordings from this period are predominantly traditional pieces, including two takes of Chiqué. The four singers left 17 vocal recordings, among them such classics as Desvelo and La Mentirosa (Morán), Milonguera and Te Aconsejo Que Me Olvides (Cobos), A La Luz Del Candil (Montero), and Canzoneta (Maciel).
Amid this colorful succession of voices and personnel, we can hear both the remarkable versatility of Pugliese’s orchestra and its ability to adapt to singers of very different characters. Benefiting from the advances in recording technology of the period, TS 1.08 brings together all 25 recordings Pugliese made in 1953–54, presented in unprecedented sound quality.
From a sound engineer's perspective, these recordings belong to a transitional period, when magnetic-tape masters were gradually evolving toward relative maturity. Judging from the surviving sources, their original releases were all on 10-inch LPs, a format that still suffered from technical limitations and cannot always be relied upon. As a result, both source selection and stylus choice presented considerable challenges throughout the restoration process.
There are two versions of Chiqué. Take 1 (matrix no. 18934) survives only on scarce 78 rpm records. The much better-known Take 2 (matrix no. 18934-1), by contrast, was selected for the LP editions. Take 2 alone appeared on no fewer than ten different LP releases, which gives some idea of the difficulty involved in determining the finest source.
The six Morán tracks are undoubtedly classics among classics, but from a restoration perspective, working on them was far from straightforward. Surprisingly, the surviving sources are inferior in sound quality to those from the November and December 1952 sessions. This puzzling difference might perhaps be explained by the master tapes for Pugliese’s first LP in 1952 having been preserved more carefully over the years.
The surviving sources for Cobos’s recordings are, fortunately, in reasonably good condition—surprisingly better than many of Morán’s recordings from the same period. Existing CD transfers failed to reveal their true potential, leaving much of their artistic beauty hidden beneath technical limitations.
Frank Jin
| Date | Track | Genre | Singer | Label | Matrix No. | Pitch | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953-05-28 | Chiqué | Tango | Instrumental | Odeón | 18934 | 440 | 3:17 |
| 1953-05-28 | Chiqué | Tango | Instrumental | Odeón | 18934-1 | 440 | 3:16 |
| 1953-05-28 | Caminito Soleado | Tango | Morán y Cobos | Odeón | 18935 | 440 | 3:32 |
| 1953-07-14 | Milonguera | Tango | Juan Carlos Cobos | Odeón | 19018 | 440 | 3:28 |
| 1953-07-14 | San José De Flores | Tango | Alberto Morán | Odeón | 19019 | 440 | 3:35 |
| 1953-08-06 | Olvidao | Tango | Juan Carlos Cobos | Odeón | 19046 | 440 | 3:01 |
| 1953-08-16 | Desvelo | Tango | Alberto Morán | Odeón | 19047 | 440 | 3:38 |
| 1953-10-06 | Seguime Si Podés | Tango | Instrumental | Odeón | 19166 | 440 | 3:13 |
| 1953-10-06 | La Última Copa | Tango | Alberto Morán | Odeón | 19167 | 440 | 3:10 |
| 1953-11-25 | La Rayuela | Tango | Instrumental | Odeón | 19252 | 440 | 3:20 |
| 1953-11-25 | Es Preciso Que Te Vayas | Tango | Juan Carlos Cobos | Odeón | 19253 | 440 | 2:55 |
| 1954-01-05 | Picaneao | Tango | Juan Carlos Cobos | Odeón | 19344 | 440 | 3:44 |
| 1954-01-05 | Porque No Te Tengo Más | Tango | Alberto Morán | Odeón | 19345 | 440 | 3:07 |
| 1954-03-17 | Mi Lamento | Tango | Instrumental | Odeón | 19400 | 440 | 3:07 |
| 1954-03-17 | No Es Más Que Yo | Tango | Juan Carlos Cobos | Odeón | 19401 | 440 | 3:10 |
| 1954-03-17 | La Mentirosa | Tango | Alberto Morán | Odeón | 19402 | 440 | 3:22 |
| 1954-03-17 | No Quiero Perderte | Tango | Alberto Morán | Odeón | 19403 | 440 | 3:16 |
| 1954-05-13 | Nueve De Julio | Tango | Instrumental | Odeón | 19486 | 440 | 3:38 |
| 1954-05-13 | Te Aconsejo Que Me Olvides | Tango | Juan Carlos Cobos | Odeón | 19487 | 440 | 3:08 |
| 1954-07-14 | La Guitarrita | Tango | Instrumental | Odeón | 19576 | 440 | 3:11 |
| 1954-07-14 | A La Luz Del Candil | Tango | Miguel Montero | Odeón | 19577 | 440 | 3:01 |
| 1954-10-29 | Por Una Muñeca | Tango | Miguel Montero | Odeón | 19578 | 440 | 3:13 |
| 1954-10-29 | Canzoneta | Tango | Jorge Maciel | Odeón | 19787 | 440 | 3:28 |
| 1954-12-13 | Si Yo Pudiera Olvidarla | Tango | Jorge Maciel | Odeón | 19857 | 440 | 3:32 |
| 1954-12-13 | Mi Fuelle Rezonga | Tango | Instrumental | Odeón | 19858 | 440 | 2:55 |
