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LET'S
PLAY
Week
09
This
is a very interesting and unusual children's recording that seems
as much a time capsule of life from another era as a playtime
recording. The concept is unique in that each of the four sides
showcases a different scenario, complete with authentic sound
effects and dialog designed to get young imaginations going and
draw youngsters into playacting the events presented. Aural
pretending if you will.
Side
one takes us on an imaginary airplane trip, circa the late 1940s
or early 1950s. Side two finds the listener boarding and traveling
on a passenger train of the same era. Side three takes us through
the then routine process of placing phone calls through an
operator. And side four brings the record to an exciting
conclusion with the dispatching of a fire station to extinguish a
residential fire. Whew! All the tracks are very well produced with
exceptional performances and very realistic sound effects, though
it can be a little disconcerting when the stewardess (it was PC to
call them that then), on the first track seems to be asking and
answering her own questions. This is true of the telephone
operator in track 3 as well. In fact, all the service folk and
officials we "meet" seem a bit didactic, but then, they
have to be to help shape the experience, enlighten the listener
and ultimately bring them into the story. I particularly liked the
telephone operator's stilted delivery, just like the telephone
operators of long ago. "Number Plea-Uhz." There is also
the stereotypical train porter that seems rather as outdated as
train travel itself in this modern age. And then there's the
fireman. Naturally, the "fire" has a happy ending. The
collie dog is saved (we hear it's happy bark of relief), the fire
is contained in the short time allotted for the track and does not
"spread to the lower level" an ominous observation by
the fireman, the implication being that this most assuredly would
have led to disaster. In the end there is even time for a lesson
as the fireman points out "it looks as though SOMEOME had
been playing with matches". The listener can almost feel his
burning glare come shooting off the vinyl. Could he be talking to
YOU?
There
is an old fashioned charm and grace about the folks in "Let's
Play" that makes the listener feel safe, comfortable and even
nostalgic for a time when life moved a little bit slower and
everyone seemed better trained, more hospitable and more "in
control" than we experience anywhere these days. I recommend
you give this record a listen. Just click on the tracks, be seated
and Let Us Play!
Dave
Pruiksma
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