Nothing but the best I'm no Sinatra expert - and definitely not in terms of audio issues - but fromreading about the album over at the Sinatra Family Forum, I would say that what we are getting on this CD is closer to the original recordings than what has previously been released - or, at the very least, is no more tweaked or manufactured than what we have seen before. The ending of Come fly with me is an alternate intercut, for example, but, then, so was the version issued on A man and his music and its appearance on numerous anthologies since then. On one track - The best is yet to come - possibly what we have is the original take and all the other versions which have been issued since have had an edited intercut inserted at one point. Maybe the CD is 'bright' - and I'm not sure how 'loud' - but I suppose engineers always have to have an eye on the market place and the 'modern' sound of CDs. I recommend this CD without reservation. It is only the beginning, I hope, of Frank Sinatra Enterprises. It is a'greatest hits' aimed at the general public, commemorating ten years since Sinatra's death. Given this (and given that, for example, all Capitol could do to observe the anniversary was push out another re-issue of a tired compilation of songs associated with movies), the love, care and attention to detail that has gone into this thing is a credit to all concerned. After all, ten years Sinatra died is another ten years in the lives of all of us. For Sinatra aficinados like me who - how sad is this? - can gauge the passing of the years by when they first heard this particular Sinatra song or bought that particular Sinatra album - and for whom Sinatra is the soundtrack to a good many of their years, another ten years gone is quite a thing to reflect on, and needs a compilation and an 'event' like this to mark it. I feel SFE has risen to the occasion with something which is topping the charts in on-line sales and is a quality product.
Haven't heard it (yet). I know that when Larry Walsh remastered the first CD issues of some Frank Capitols, most Capitol classic pop was either remastered by Larry or Bob Norberg. While Larry's remasterings were less than ideal (results may be called "pale" and are sometimes pretty flat), considering his workload and environment, Larry did good. He was a preservationist compared to Bob, who remains the most invasive remastering engineer ever. Nobody abused NoNoise and other reprocessing more or took more liberties with mixing, edits etc. In his own remastering and remixes for others alike, Larry took an approach far more respectful to the original sound. Larry seems to have gone his way around '94 and for reasons beyond any logic evident to me, Capitol kept Bob at it, even running some of Larry's masterings through his digital laundering upon subsequent reissues (the Capitol entries in the Entertainer of the Century series). I'm thankin' heaven Bob Norberg did not remaster this and suggest that Larry certainly deserves benefit of any doubt from us.
In regards to this new set, it's starting to look like other Sinatra fans are either A) Scratching their heads, like me, wondering what's up with this set B) Know how they feel about it, but don't want to upset the RHINO/REPRISE wagon C) Skipped this release completely I know how excited that forum member Martin ("MMM") seemed to be about this release, where are you buddy, I'm VERY interested in hearing your opinion on this set? For the record, I never said that I hated this set, although you could read it that way. There actually are some interesting things to hear on this set and some of the songs do seem to have a warmth that, outside of Steve's Sinatra output, have ever graced a compact disc. The thing about this release, that is bugging me, is why did they do this VERY unusual remixing job, using a lot of elements of alternate takes, (apparently, as the jury is still out for the official ruling on this), yet make it appear to just be "another" Frank Sinatra comp? Here is a GREAT reason just WHY, this new set bugs me. I have a 25 year old music friend who was at the house the other day and he saw that new Sinatra comp sitting on the top of a stack of CD's. He asked me if this would be a good single comp of Frank's to buy, becuase he didn't really have much Sinatra in his collection. At that time, I hadn't heard it yet, but you can bet, know that I have, that I stop him DEAD in his tracks, because I do NOT want THIS CD to be the one, lone CD that he owns to represent Frank Sinatra, as it's not the REAL deal, with the wonky mixes and such. For a SINATRA fanatic, such as I, then I say, buy it now, but be prepared, that it is "different"! Chris C
oh I thought you hated it, which I thought seemed harsh. Its fun, its revisionist, its "Frank"enstein, but for $10 bucks its a hoot and you get a few treats and no its NOT the place to start on a Sinatra journey, but I've been having fun with it all week in a way... Hey Chris, have you had a chance to A/B Ipanema with other sources, curious what you hear. The first note on Bewitched is clipped!!!!!! "he's a fool and dont' i know it"...it should be "she's a fool" now that's a big ***** upl
There is discussion about this over at the Sinatra family Forum - including an illustration of the wave form. The 's' is present, apparently, but the volume is much, much lower at the beginning of the track so it sounds like 'he's'.
wow, well thats a screw up, unless it was a damaged "s" and therefore needed to be much lower? sounds great but now every time i hear this tune its gonna bug me....still this remix sounds great....
Chris, Maybe you can suggest this one to him : http://www.amazon.com/Capitol-Colle...bs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1211052106&sr=8-1
"Loudness Wars" in Sinatraville?? Here's a screenshot from Pro Tools of the left channel of Bewitched by Frank Sinatra. The blue area shows the waveform for the 1980s release from "The Concert Sinatra," on which the track was originally released. The black/yellow version is the same performance taken from the NOTHING BUT THE BEST CD that came out last week. These are just straight transfers from the CDs; I did not tweak levels in any way. Compared to the original CD releases, every track on the disc is markedly "louder" on this release. I'm not judging; just sharing. I am struck, though, by the fact that the loudest climax (at the end) of the first version is almost as loud as the 2nd phrase on the new disc, which features only Frank and two or three performers, playing softly. --Matt
A great one, but, naturally missing any REPRISE years stuff, which are some of my personal favorites. There has never been and there will never be a quote, unquote, "perfect" Sinatra comp, as there will always be something missing for each fan. I have made two of my own CD-R comps of Frank, which please me to no end, but they are both still missing many tracks that are essential to some. I'm a fan of the "arrangements" or "performance by Frank", before I'm a fan of a certain song. I find pleasure in songs like, "Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out To Dry" or "Spring Is Here", because the orchestra meets Frank, in that perfect gray area of "sadness" and it can tear a listener's emotions to shreads and I just love it! The "Sinatra & Strings" album with Don Costa behind the wheel, is one emotional roller coaster event and one that I always have a "ticket to ride". As one of my friends said just yesterday, while I played him a track on vinyl from "Sinatra & Strings", "Many have tried to sing and phrase like Frank, but they've never come close", naturally, I agree completely. Chris C
Sorry to enter this discussion late. I've been very busy on the Sinatra Family Forum tracking the news of this CD for several months now. See here: Frank's Recordings: NOTHING BUT THE BEST 2008 I've been listening to all of the exclusive editions since long before the official release last week, and I just wanted to comment on the above quoted post. Chris, what is unusual about this remixing job is that they did it right. At least, they did it more "right" than most other mixes by Warner/Reprise in the digital age. They went back to the original source tapes, not the 2nd or 3rd generation stereo masters to which we've become accustomed for years. There are NO "elements of alternate takes" that I can detect other than the ending tag line on "Come Fly With Me." (Note that the original tag was also a splice. In the final studio take, Sinatra said: "And don't tell your mother." Unsatisfied with that, he re-recorded the ending insert we've heard previously: "And don't tell your MOMMA!" For the novelty, they've substituted "Pack a small bag" from an earlier alt take.) The ending on "Strangers In The Night" eliminates the previous fast fadeout. "The Best Is Yet To Come" has a 5-second difference in the middle which is evidently due to NOT inserting an alternate edit. That's it. Anything else which sounds different is due to mixing. (That's IMHO, after much A/B comparison listening.) My only disappointment is at the very start of "Bewitched," where they seem to have been too slow in ramping up the volume, causing the starting "SHE's a fool..." to sound like "HE's a fool." It's hardly noticeable (especially if it's not been pointed out ), and it's far outweighed by the outstanding sonic quality on the track. BTW, it was mentioned on the SFF by Nancy Sinatra that the 35mm mags were all salvageable, but they have suffered from shrinkage and required VERY careful baking. The results (as heard here) are just fantastic. Finally, this is not just "another" Frank Sinatra comp. It is the first initiative by the new Frank Sinatra Enterprises partnership of the family with Warner Brothers. Rather than nitpick about the choice of material, I'm looking forward to much more to come in the future. The best is yet to come... FWIW, the CD just entered the Billboard chart this week at #2.
Thanks to forum member Bob F for throwing in his opinion on this new set. Your quote saying, "Chris, what is unusual about this remixing job is that they did it right. At least, they did it more "right" than most other mixes by Warner/Reprise in the digital age", is interesting, to say the least. In my opinion, it may be more "right", from a "love and tender care" standpoint, but I think it sounds mostly "wrong", in the end. What has happened here is, while better elements were used on this release, the "changing" (remixing) of many of the tracks seems to take a LOT of liberties, that even Frank himself, may have disapproved. While it is what it is, good and bad, I'm fearful that future liberties will be taken on new releases and I don't believe that The Sinatra family, nor REPRISE RECORDS, wants to re-write his catalog, as opposed to keeping it alive, as it was originally. I'm starting to wonder if Frank's kids actually know these songs enough, for if they did, HOW did they ever "approve" this new CD? Read that last bit, as you will, but what I'm TRYING to say is, find the best available original mixes/tapes and try to fix the poor past "digital" releases and preserve them properly, without altering them, with all of the fun toys in today's studios! Chris C
Hi Martin, I guess Matt makes a case for that above (graphically), but my ears may not be so discerning. I like what I hear. Have you listened to the disc? I'm interested in your opinion.
Frank Jr. was his dad's musical director for eight years. Nancy certainly knows these songs more than "enough," as anyone who's spent time reading her posts or listening to her show on Sirius radio would know. Chris, I don't think Reprise Records has rewritten history here. I think the producers have attempted to present these tracks as Sinatra himself would have liked, if today's tools had been available 30 years ago. If they had simply collected together earlier masterings of these tracks, this WOULD be nothing more than a ho-hum compilation, as was suggested in some earlier posts. It's not.
Well Bob, thanks for the history lesson, but naturally, I'm well aware of all that, I was being "tongue-in-cheek", with my comment. It's truly evident that the kids and the powers that be at REPRISE ARE infact, trying to re-write history with this release. I mean, how else can you explain such drastic remixes? If this is the direction that they really want to go, "trying" new ways of delivering Frank's output, then why didn't they follow through with the 5.1 surround releases of "The Sinatra/Jobim Sessions" and "September Of My Years"? For on releases like those, EVERYBODY realizes that some liberties would be taken and fans would most likely welcome them, with open arms, much like they did with the DVD-A of "Sinatra At The Sands". Please forgive my forwardness, as it's evident that you are close to this new project and possibly you're a part of it's being, yourself? I only question the direction of it and wonder if this is indeed the "direction" that they, (Frank Sinatra Enterprises), will take from here on out? It's a fair question, isn't it? Chris C
No, I have no relationship with FSE or this project. I'm just a longtime Sinatra fan. And please forgive MY forwardness, as we've never encountered each other on these boards before (I don't think), but you seem to have an axe to grind. I believe this release is a positive development. You seem to think otherwise. I like the sound of these remixed and remastered tracks. Apparently, you do not. Let's just leave it at that, ok?
I like this release too. It wasnt designed to replace my 20 cd reprise box set, but man I'm having fun with it. I'm hearing so many things I'd not noticed and I love the sonic boost the compression gives the Coffee Song...tremendous... I do think Summer Wind was oddly mixed, but man I love hearing all these details I'd not heard before. I dont care that they are remixed cause I have bought hundreds of "remixes" on many of my favorite artists my whole life and I'm thrilled to have some on Frank finally. Its not a replacement for anything, its an addition and i'm happy with it. its got some compression but its 2008, its gonna happen, but nothing seems squashed and ear achey at all.... it is what it is, a really fun listen, nothing more....now if they screw with his catalog going forward like this, I will not be pleased, but this is a really fun one off.
