This was Zubin Mehta’s first recording of The Planets. He recorded it again in 1990 with the New York Philharmonic. I much prefer this recording to the later one.
Whereas Zuby’s 1990 recording was a little sluggish, this one is full of beans. And tubas. (See next paragraph.)
I’m thoroughly enjoying this brass-heavy “Mars”. (Dig those spotlit tubas from 1:18-1:24!) There are a couple of little mistakes (a trumpet at 1:34, a horn at 2:08), but I’m happy to take those in order to hear all that brass. (I get to hear the splendid solo trumpeter from 2:12-2:24 nice and loud.) Then it’s the violins turn to be heard very clearly, from 2:26-2:38, and then the brass comes back at 2:38 to reassert itself. And at 3:05, with the orchestra’s first big bang, the tuba makes itself heard very clearly. And when the main rhythm comes back in at 4:19, the brass is unbelievably loud. This is all marvellous. Love it. Unfortunately, there was an edit at 5:22 I noticed. (I prefer not to notice edits.) But otherwise, this is my kind of “Mars”.
“Venus” may not be the most peaceful one I’ve ever heard, but it is mighty decent (and it does have a gorgeous celesta from 7:12 ’til the end).
I like “Mercury” a lot.
“Jupiter” is excellent. There’s a dodgy high note from a horn in the Big Jolly Tune at 1:09, but that’s no big deal. It’s still excellent.
Er, I was going to comment on “Saturn”, but forgot to because I was simply listening to it, enjoying it, and not thinking about mundane things like typing fatuous comments about “Saturn”. (Note to self: Say something about “Saturn”, Peter.)
“Saturn”‘s fine. (Does simply saying something is “fine” constitute a comment?)
“Uranus” is fabulous. It’s the first time I’ve heard a timpanist go absolutely wild on a Planets recording. Just listen to him/her whack those skins from 3:44-3:57. (Go man, go!) That, for me, could be the entire highlight of Zuberduper’s Los Angeles Planets recording. I can’t tell you how much fun it was listening to the timpanist in “Uranus”. Thank you, timpanist. Another highlight of “Uranus” is the dinky little organ sound when the orchestra finishes for the first time at 4:17. (Gustav Holsterbolster is a bit tricky here, giving “Uranus” two endings. Unless that second ending is a coda. Or not. I’m confused.)
“Neptune” is excellent. “Neptune” is so excellent I turned the volume right up so I could revel in its excellence.
This is definitely Top 10 Top 5 material. Unless I hear a heap of recordings that’ll knock it out of the Top 5.
Update: I did.
Peter's Planets 
Mehta is always good – one of the recording i have to hear completly.
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Obtained a new single layer SACD remaster (from a DSD file) of Mehta/LAP Decca UCGD 9038 from Japan. In this format, this recording is sonically in a close race with the newly released Litton/Bergen BIS SACD. The new Litton is stronger musically, but this Mehta has its sonic charms. The organ glissando in Uranus is beautifully captured and I like the way the euphonium is reproduced among the brass. Because the Metha/LAP is derived from a truly excellent Decca analogue original master, it might not be surprising that the strings sound natural and more like what real massed strings sound like. The Litton Bergen has clarity in sound staging and the deep organ stuff in Neptune and Uranus really covered! Reproduction of timbre is superior in both recordings and either one definitely edges out the Dutoit/Montreal/Decca effort in the sonic department.
IMHO, the new Litton/Bergen is the version that keeps my Planets spinning.
Thanks and have fun!
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You’re entirely welcome, young Robert.
You’ve reminded me that, along with the Litton/Bergen, I have about five other Planets recordings to listen to.
(Note to Self: Listen to those other recordings, Peter.)
And many apologies for the inordinate amount of time it took for me to respond to your comment.
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This is yet another recording that has received glowing reviews in the past and to me it is over-miked and shrill…. I first saw The Planets live at the Hollywood Bowl oh SO many years ago with Zubin Mehta at the baton and this performance certainly does NOT capture that well remembered evening in the least… It’s a pass for me. I intially bought it, but gave it away as it just was NOT satisfying to me on any level…
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This is my favourite recording. It was part of a series of Decca audiophile LPs (initially on the highly collectible wideband deep groove Decca label) by Mehta and the LAP recorded in Royce Hall’s superb acoustics at (UCLA) University of California. This is Decca sound at the top of its game. Analogue at its best. Very few pure digital DDD recordings can approach it. Mehta developed a real chemistry with this talented orchestra during his time in Los Angeles and most of the other albums in this series, about ten, are equally stunning (just picking out two, Schoenberg Verklarte Nacht etc and Saint Saens Organ Symphony) and he finished on a high inaugurating the new home for the orchestra, the Dorothy Chandler inspired Music Pavilion, of which there is a commemorative record album on RCA.*
* This has now been supplemented (I don’t think entirely replaced as it continues as the MusicCenter) by the modernist Paul Gehry designed Walt Disney Concert Hall.
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Splendid. It is, as we say in Australia, a ripper. One of my favourite aspects of the Mehta Planets is the brass section – it’s so brazenly in-your-face. It’s so… unapologetic. Love it.
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If you want a thrilling RECORDING of The Planets rather than a totally realistic concert hall sound then this is the tops. Unfortunately after you listen to this the real life experience is a bit underwhelming – as with The Rite of Spring. I notice that in recent years both works tend to be boosted now with “extras” such as light displays, a movie or even an astronomical talk by Brian Cox! Yuk! Staying loyal to Britain I suppose one can say Boult is virtually just as good but I leave that to you Peter to analyse his various recordings. Coming back to the standalone SACD version of the Metha Planets there are two versions out there, one from Classic Records/Analogue Productions courtesty of Acoustic Sounds in the USA and from Japan Universal Music. My ownview is that the CD is so bloody good the small marginal improvement achieved by SACD isn’t worth the £40-£80 price tag! Also, DSD has a tendency to smooth out the sound to the point of blandness! Your website has prompted me to go through all my versions of The Planets. I have the Sargent ASD 259 on mint vinyl but badly miss a CD version.
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Boult is a conductor who does very little for me, and always has. I don’t quite know why. Maybe it’s Boult’s lack of interpretative flair. For me, there’s nothing about his conducting “style” that makes him stand out from the crowd. I respond much more positively to Sargent. His way with The Planets is positively electrifying.
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