Turkish Towel + I Never See Maggie Alone (1926) Savoy Havana Band

TURKISH TOWEL { 0:00​ }
I NEVER SEE MAGGIE ALONE { 3:00​ }
- Savoy Havana Band
HMV B5153 (recorded 27 October 1926; issued December 1926)
If you want a decent copy of TURKISH TOWEL you have to dig deep into your finances. It’s one of those exceptional 78s that often rise to three-digit sums on eBay. This copy is not in that league. However, long spells of manually declicking the waveform and carefully applying restoration can close the gap, a bit.
The Gramophone’s reviewer was struck by it being a ‘Charleston’ and not a fox-trot. Reading between the lines, he was not too pleased and had a disdain for the Charleston; but he conceded that it had ‘infectious gaiety’ and was ‘very well executed’. By comparison, he regarded ‘MAGGIE ALONE’ as being in quieter mood!
TURKISH TOWEL, in particular, is surely a performance piece, not dance music. I assume that the majority of the ballroom clientele required bands to maintain tempo strictly and probably restrict their dynamic range - loud enough for all to hear but not obliterating conversation. Bandsmen were caught in a bind. Theatre stage performances allowed bravura and freedom of expression not available in the ballroom, but the cost was travelling town to town and staying in cheap accommodation of variable standards - fine when young and fancy-free, but not so as relationships, marriage and children came along.
The Savoy Havana Band was led by Reg Batten (listen for his violin spots). His predecessor, Bert Ralton, and ‘His Havana Band’ recorded a vocal version of MAGGIE ALONE at Columbia on 1 September 1926, eight weeks prior to this recording, which beat this HMV to the shops by a month. My upload of it is at • I Never See Maggie Alo... (one of my earliest uploads, August 2013, when I used to do single sides: where do the years go - answer, mostly sat here manually declicking).

[@MikeThomas78]

Hi Hector, I was surprised by what you said about the value of the original 78. I've have a few copies in my time and wouldn't expect to pay more than £2 - £3 for a decent copy it as it is fairly common in my experience. I've seen quite easy-to-find records selling for very silly prices on ebay, so it really isn't a good guide to the real values!
I thought you'd did an excellent job with the transfer (as you generally do, anyway), so it was worth the work you've put in with the declicking!
I suspect the reviewer was disdainful of "Charleston" because by late 1926 it was probably considered a rather out-of-date dance! I would consider Turkish Towel to be a typical "eastern" number, really.

[@6dBperOctave]

Clearly, I'm looking in the wrong places for my 78s!

[@MikeThomas78]

@@6dBperOctave You need to come along to one of the few record fairs that still deal in 78s!

[@gregoryagogo]

symbol percussion thing is a neat and unusual sound.

[@6dBperOctave]

Thanks for commenting on it. I tried to keep the high frequencies from the cymbals clear, even though it caused problems with the crackle being audible. Most transfers cut the surface noise by applying treble cut, then the likes of the cymbals get muted.