Sinatra / Capitol Sound Quality and General Discussion: Songs for Swingin' Lovers - Released 1956*

Dear Matt or anyone who knows,

Is the added reverb on the MFSL vinyl of SFSL in stereo, making the entire pressing imperfectly mono? Similar to the Walsh CD? Its not clear from your webpages devoted to the album.

The reason I ask is: I'd planned to sum files of the Walsh disc to mono and mistakenly did the MFSL vinyl files instead. It now seems to sound better to my ears but this may be placebo effect.

Please inform. Thanks!

 

Mono echo added to the early '60's dub used by MoFi. However, at least for the Gold CD, the tape was played back in stereo and left that way on the release.

Stereo echo on Larry's '87 digital master.

 

Lee Herschberg remastered the 1992 Soundtrack To The Miniseries CD. Listen to You Make Me Feel So Young on that compared to the 1987 SFSL CD and you'll really notice a difference.

 

Many Thanks, Sean and Martin.

 

I'm very late to this but wanted to mention I recently got a grey label copy with D17/D14 in the matrices. I think I can pretty much junk every other copy, lp or cd that I own. There's not a whole lot of top end but the warmth is amazing. And the lack of the added reverb really makes it sound great.

 

I just picked up what I believe is a Japanese first pressing LP of Songs For Swingin' Lovers. Cover with Frank facing to the left, teal deep groove label, made by King Records, catalog number J-LZB 1. Anyone have any experience with this copy?

 

MFSL Songs For Swingin' Lovers

I got a used one in very good condition for fifty bucks. I know the wrong tapes were used and the Capitol Larry Walsh remaster used the right ones and he added some digital echo, but I think I prefer the MFSL because I find the echo more natural sounding.

A new one is being sold on Amazon Canada for...
http://www.amazon.ca/gp/offer-listi...ie=UTF8&qid=1296710212&sr=1-412&condition=new

 

WOW! I had the chance to buy it for $20 and I didn't think it was worth it even at that price.

 

Don't buy that! I've got one I'll part with for $750. It's a steal.

 

Maybe the seller thinks people hate the current version so much, that someone might be willing to pay crazy money for this.

 

PM on the MFSL SFSL.

 

On the Japanese pressing the vocal sounds ever so tinny and the orchestra is a tad subdued. On the D37, the vocal is warmer and much better integrated with the band. As far as my ears, clogged somewhat by a Winter cold, can tell....

 

I agree, my D17/D9#2 gray label copy sounds much bigger, warmer, smoother, etc. than the Japanese copy where seems the whole focus is on the upper mids.

 

Did anyone else ever notice the very slight WHEW! at the very end of It Happened In Monterey? I've only heard it on my gray label US pressing. It's not on later LP pressings or any CDs I've heard.
Once I heard it, I listen for it every time!

 

Let me know where to send the PayPal invoice, Sean.

 

I just picked up a D2/D3 copy for .99 cts; the cover had mold on it, the record was in (the original?) plastic sleeve, and the record itself, after a bath, presents in VG to VG+ condition. Some crackles here and there and one scuff that offers one pop, but looks like it may reduce with a little more attention.

I've played it once so far, with a 1.1 mil conical Ortofon stylus, and its got body and dynamics galore. I'll clean it a bit more, needle drop it, and run it through light CR, then have it with me at all times

NB: this is the fourth copy of this LP I've gotten since this thread began...

 

I have a visually fair condition grey label that I'm playing track-by-track on my ELP turntable, doing real-time adjusting of the laser depth to avoid noise and groove damage.

So far, I've done "Too Marvelous" and "Anything Goes". By varying the laser dynamically while playing (a very time consuming process), and playing in the ELP's mono mode, I'm pretty much able to perfectly eliminate any vinyl noise and groove damage without doing any artificial sound processing. I'll forward the two tracks that I've done to MMM for his review (MMM, please PM me with a place to upload to). I think that this project will result in people being able to hear what a brand-new grey-label would have sounded like.

 

Fred, you could upload using yousendit.com, 4shared.com, etc. - basically any free file hosting site.

How does the ELP's "mono mode" work? Sums the channels? Takes the center info only? Something else?

 

There's a new CD of this title floating around. It uses the first cover and is on the AXIS label from Australia. But it also has a Capitol/EMI logo. Has anybody heard it? Is it anything new? By some miracle is it actually good?

 

Web link, Steve?

 

here's a link to one on eBay.