Sinatra Capitol 20 & 24-Bit Masters

I thought that when Sinatra founded Reprise in 1960, that one of the big selling-points of that company was that the rights to the recorded work would revert to the artist after a couple of years. Thus, it seems that the Sinatra heirs would have the rights to the Reprise Sinatra stuff. The problem is that "Ring-a-Ding-Ding" was just re-released in 1998. I don't think that it would make economic sense to re-do that remastering once again in 2002. Also, as evidenced by the demise of high-end software companies such as MoFi and DCC, the market for high-end CD software is pretty small. Thus, a premium priced re-issue of "Ring-a-Ding-Ding" on Steve Hoffman's new label would probably not do too well money-wise.

 

What about a high-resolution remaster/remix of "Ring-A-Ding-Ding!" on DVD-A and/or multichannel hybrid SACD? Seems to me that by using the new formats, Steve would be able to bring some form of Sinatraphile/audiophile nirvana to the members of this forum and still be able to make some money for S & P or DCC.

 

Licensing Sinatra

Feinstein wrote

This may be true for Frank's Reprise recordings he made before he sold the company to Warner Bros. in 1963. With some of the later stuff, the family apparently does face licensing problems (which made it impossible for them to release, among others, the 1975 Jerusalem Concert outside of Brazil). Also, it may make a difference if the original recording is owned by Bristol Productions Ltd. or Essex Productions Ltd. (who knows who participated in which of Sinatra's companies). And even the original producer (be it Sonny Burke, Jimmy Bowen, Roberto Quartin or even Quincy Jones) may have some kind of rights on the works, too. BTW, Nancy Sinatra did mention on her own forum that she would love to release more stuff if she had the tapes. I'd really love to see some of the Neon Tonic Caesars' tapes end up on CD, wouldn't you?

Arne

 

Okay, now on to why I started all this originally - my comments on Capitol's part in the series of EOTC individual CD's. I will post this piece by piece (basically album by album) starting with...

Note: When I use the term "fake Stereo" it is mot like the old "Duophonic" days. Bob Norberg has refered to his brand of it as "widening" the image.

Although Song For Young Lovers & Swing Easy are on one CD, they will be discussed as seperate albums, since that's what they really are, & because each has its own set of problems in this issue of them. In general, SFYL suffers from various processing anomolies. Generally, the mellower tracks (#2,4,6, & 8) have these to a lesser degree than the others (#1,3,5, & 7). It usually seems that the more force Frank or the small orchestra exerts, the more it confuses the processing equipment, and the anomolies become present. For example, this album, a mono recording, is presented in fake stereo. In the aforementioned TAS article, Paul Seydor wrote about the disadvantage in playing mono recordings over two speakers due to random phase information. Whle I don't doubt that this occurs, the overwhelming problem in maintaining detail and focus in the case of many of these reissues has to do with this garbage (IMO) smeared onto the proceedings. As Frank exerts more force with his singing, the more his voice expands in width and, in a few instances, bounces quickly (use headphones) between the left and right channel. This is quite noticeable on "My Funny Valentine" at various points throughout the song. This spread also occurs when the small orchestra plays loud here & there throughout this issue of SFYL. This all results in a disturbing lack of focus that obscures depth & detail. Listen to the strings "split" as if there were two channels on the intro to "A Foggy Day". The small orchestra is also spread wide on the intro to "Violets For Your Furs". In this issue of SFYL, the EQ is poor, at times resulting in a muddy sound. The bass is boosted, the overall sound is too dull (some tracks more so than others), and Frank sounds unnatural. If you listen carefully to the cymbals on "Valentine" at 1:09, you will hear the treble open up slightly at that second. The original echo (when the correct, non-extra echo tapes are used), which was generated from the natural echo chambers atop Capitol's old Melrose Ave. studios was very natural sounding, but this natural sound has been ruined (IMO) with the use of noise reduction and poor EQ. What's left sometimes tends to linger and not decay properly, leaving some smog. Some individual moments on SFYL with problems are: the horrendous (not IMO - a fact) distortion on Frank during "Valentine" at 1:10-1:17, & to a lesser degree at 1:41, on "A Foggy Day" at :44 & 1:37-1:38, and on "They Can't Take That Away Form Me" at :14-:15, :25, 1:02, & 1:09-1:10. There is a "scraping" sound in "A Foggy Day" at :36-:38, and some clicks or pops (!?!) at :43, 1:05, & 1:08. These "Foggy Day" quirks all occur in the left channel. There's also something "funky" going on in "The Girl Next Door" behind Frank's vocal at 1:08-:12, & 1:59-2:00 that I have no guess at all as to how it got there and I can't accurately explain what's there. I lost count of any other possible problems beyond the ones listed.

BTW, Frank neved did "I Get A Kick Out of You" as well as he does here (IMO). Performance, arrangement, cocaine lyrics intact - WOW

 

Thanks, MMM, for the detailed notes. I was rather pleased with how this disc sounded on the Concepts box, but now i want to go back and take a closer listen.

I will point out, though, that all of these "anomalies" will reman unheard as long as you turn down the lights, pull your better half close, and slowly dance across the room as Sinatra croons...

 

Thanks RDK.

However, I'd rather do as you say with a better source of this album playing in the background - it would distract me to know I have a better version in my collection and be using this one instead. (I know - that's sick).

 

Onto the next album to comment on. I think by posting my commnets on this subject, I will probably have a few detractors who don't agree with me. I welcome everyone's input, pro & con regarding this topic.

On the EOTC issue of "Swing Easy", the first two songs, "Just One of Those Things", & "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter", have poor EQ. The "lower" low frequencies weren't originally as prominent, so in bringing up these, the upper bass has now become too prominent. Based on results like these, I don't think Mr. Norberg understands that boosting one frequency can ruin the presentation of other frequencies. The vocal sound is poor on these tracks, where Frank sounds like he has a cold. (Don't blame this on the microphone as Paul Seydor did in that TAS article. The microphone used on Frank's vocal was a U47 - {I know you like the RCA 44 better Steve} - which was used for most of Frank's Capitol recordings {some later Capitol's used a U67}, but Mr. Seydor didn't complain about nasality from the album "A Swingin' Affair! onward, although that album and others afterward had Frank's vocals recorded with it). The tone sounds "peaked" to bring out the brushing in the drums, which now sounds too prominent and unbalanced in the mix (it kind of disturbs the arrangement too - IMO). The treble is also rolled. Actually, the presentation of everything suffers, with a congestion in tone and "air". The other 6 tracks fare a bit better tonally overall, though they aren't correct either. The contents of "Swing Easy" in general are treated to fake stereo to give "spread" to the entire proceedings. On "Taking a Chance On Love", there is distortion not present on previous issues. The distortion occurs in varying degrees on Frank from :31-:45, :55-:59, 1:16-1:18, 1:58-2:01, & I also thought I caught a split second of it a couple of other times in this song (don't fall asleep on me yet).

 

Okay, onto the next Capitol EOTC disc to critique.

On "In The Wee Small Hours", it seems little, if any work was done to unify the sound of the various tracks. While there are always variations in sound when an album is recorded over many sessions, as a bare minimum when mastering, the tone of the singer's voice should be made similar from one track to another. Otherwise, it lacks cohesion, as this issue of "In the Wee Small Hours" does. Some tracks are more listenable than others, but there is a slightly electronic sound over the entire proceedings. The Music just doesn't "flow" naturally, usually in the softer passages. It's more like the sound of music being put through a computer and less like actual music. This is most likely due to excessive noise reduction, which shouldn't have been used at all on any of Frank's Capitol masters. Some tracks are harmed by this more than others, such as "Glad to Be Unhappy", which has "noise pumping" (variatons in the volume of the tape hiss) due to the noise reduction. There is also some "pumping" on "It Never Entered My Mind" and a trace of it in the beginning of "Dancing On the Ceiling". The EQ done pretty much throughout this issue of "In the Wee Small Hours" to make Frank sound "fuller" is a joke (IMO). It gives the impression that he's almost always singing close to the microphone, which is not true. If you have an LP of Wee Small with the original back cover you can see how far away he is from the microphone. (This photo most likely was NOT taken at any Wee Small Hours sessions - that picture looks like Capitol Melrose Ave. Studio A - the Wee Small Hours sessions were done in Studio C.). Not that he sang at a distance like this throughout - he did lean in when the music called for that type of sound emotionally if that's how he felt it. With this EQ-ing, when Frank does lean-in, the change in "feel" is not as dramatic since he sounds fairly close to begin with. If you listen to "I See Your Face Before Me" on a good LP (my copy is a 12" Gray label w 3/4 circle - I'm guessing it's a Scranton pressing - I don't know how to differentiate LA Gray label pressings from Scranton Gray label pressings as I can with the Black/Rainbows) there is a section in this song I'll use as an example of Frank moving in on the mic. At :50 seconds into the song (I'm cheating by using the CD to help me locate the timings) Frank begins singing:

"I can see how fair you are...I close my eyes and there you are...always".

As Frank sings this section, he starts out at probably the distance shown in that picture on the back of the LP, but by the time he gets to the word "always" he's close to it. He's even moving in during the singing of the word "always" and the effect is wonderful. Sure, you can hear this change on the CD, but with this EQ-ing, at the beginneing of this this section he sounds too close, and near the end of the word "always" (he sings "always" for appx. 5 seconds 1:03-1:08) at 1:07 it's a bit much here. The "feel" isn't quite the same.

The treble is rolled off in varyinfg degrees throughout. Adding insult to injury, often frequencies below the rolloff are boosted. I don't know what the cymbals sound like on "I'll Be Around" except that they are poor, although they do sound like real cymbals on my 1955 LP. However, the cymbal sound on this issue improves suddenly just before the end of the song at 2:52 to the song's end. Some tracks such as "Glad to Be Unhappy" & "Can't We Be Friends" have a hard, somewhat agressive sounding Frank. "Dancing On the Ceiling" has poor vocal sound period and it also has echo added. "Glad to Be Unhappy" also has echo added. "What Is this Thing Called Love?" has the distinction of having the top end rolled and a somewhat hard, agressive Frank when he sings loud. There are a few "rubbing" glitches within the first few seconds on "When Your Lover has Gone" & "Ill Wind", and a "tear" sound about 1/2 second into "I'll Be Around". Frank sounds a bit nasal on "It Never Entered My Mind". There is a subtle fake stereo widening (in varying degrees) on "Can't We Be Friends", "When Your Lover Has Gone", "I'll Be Around", "It Never Entered My Mind", "Dancing On the Ceiling", and not so subtle in the middle section of "What Is This Thing Called Love?". I thought I caught some widening here & there a few other times, but it's getting tedious. Perhaps the most overall harm has been done to "Mood Indigo", with a very rolled off top end, boomy, excessive bass, & echo plastered on that makes Frank at times sound like he's singing in a cave. "Mood Indigo" now has an overall murky, almost scary it's so bad presentation on this disc (IMO). John Palladino told me he won an award for Best Engineered (Pop?) Recording for 1955 for this album. He wasn't sure what the organization was who gave it to him. There was no ceremony - one day he just got a plaque in the mail for it. This is not the way a "Best Engineered Recording" and even more importantly, one of the best albums of all time (some have said it is the best) should be treated.

 

I think some elaboration is required regarding my using LP's, Gray label mono or otherwise, in evaluating CD's. They are helpful as a guide, sometimes playing at the same time as the CD so I can quickly switch between them, sometimes not. I love my records, and they can sound great. However, I don't agree that they should be seen as the standard for how this material should be reissued. It is very helpful, useful, & important to understand how this material has been issued to the public over the years, especially for an album like the stereo version of "Frank Sinatra Sings For Only the Lonely", where its cold, somewhat distant sound contributed greatly to the emotional content of the material (I'll get to this album in its EOTC form another time). But we also don't want to recreate the record production limitations of the era. Capitol did the right thing back then when they recorded Sinatra, Nat Cole, etc. John Palladino told me he didn't "mix" those albums for a 1950's car radio, he mixed by judging the sound on his good (relatively speaking) reference equipment, and didn't intentionally compromise the master. He tried to get the best possible sound for each situation he was in, and I think it's safe to say the other engineers at Capitol in this era did the same. Therefore, any compromises to the sound a given market may have demanded were performed post-production.

BTW, in general I don't think these Capitol EOTC Cd's sound like the records - can't vouch for Concepts - don't have it. But even with the compromises 1950's and early 60's record production necessated, they still generally sound better than these discs. As Steve has pointed out in interviews of his I've read, the stylus wouldn't stay in the groove if records were cut no compromise back in the day. However, as all of you must know (you are on Steve's forum), we can cut LP's today without having to worry about this too much (compromises when cutting laquers) due to far superior playback equipment.

 

"A Swingin' Affair!" in its EOTC form has not been transferred well either. There is an overall lack of real "air" - it just doesn't "breathe" properly due to quite a bit of NR & poor EQ. On "Night & Day", it seems they tried to put the "air" back in spots here, but gave up after this track, probably since it's was phony sounding. Where echo was added to this track, it sometimes seems to take forever to decay. The album is presented in its entirity in fake stereo, to give "spread" to the entire proceedings. Some strange side effects have resulted, like a bit of "warble" here & there on Frank. One example of this is on "I Wish I Were In Love Again" from 1:43-1:52, with Frank also losing a bit of focus. On "The Lonesome Road", you can hear Harry "Sweets" Edison (tp) lose focus quite a bit, at times almost sounding like he's quickly alternating between channels (use headphones) - there's also a general lack of dimensionality here, probably due to the fake stereo & the EQ. Overall the album is mastered with poor EQ, although this varies track by track as some tracks sound better or worse than others (although none sound truly correct). Of note are: Night & Day, which is dull (of course the frequencies below the rolloff are boosted in an attempt to compensate - UGH), with poor string tone, and a somewhat nasal sounding Frank at times - unnatural overall. I Got Plenty O' Nuttin is similar in tone to Night & Day, plus somewhat boomier bass. Stars Fell On Alabama also has bass that is a bit boomy at times. On I Won't Dance, the bass seems to be a bit excessive. The Lonesome Road seems to be EQ'd to bring more volume out of the shaker played mostly at the beginning & end of the song, in the process ruining the sound of the shaker itself. The overall sound is dull here, with no sheen to cymbals. There isn't proper contrast between instrument textures, with no sense of delicacy on the instruments that should have it - all is brash and unnatural, seemingly from cutting the top end & boosting the frequencies below the cut - just listen to that string tone here - it's a joke (IMO) - and Frank is a touch nasal. At Long Last Love has similar EQ problems. It seems to be EQ'd to bring up the brushing in the drums, which results in overall unnatural, poor tone for this track too. There isn't much shimmer & sheen to the cymbals - almost all metal. Frank also sounds somewhat nasal - again, probably due to the combination of the fake stereo & poor EQ. You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To has excessive bass, to the point of making the song sound unbalanced & a somewhat nasal Frank. From This Moment On is dull on top and is kind of "closed in" sounding - the bass is a bit much also. But if you want to hear the track that truly epitomizes this master of "A Swingin' Affair!" it's I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good, as the title is apropo. It seems to be EQ'd to bring out the volume of the strings, and maybe the guitar (I'm guessing this was the idea after chopping off the highs, when the frequencies below the rolloff were boosted to restore "detail"). However, the string tone is now awful. The bass is occasionally a bit boomy and there's too much of it. Frank is somewhat nasal and there is distortion (like a dull scratchyness) at :29-:33 & :48-:50. DISGRACEFUL!!! (IMO)

 

Geez, I think I'll find the old LP's instead.

 

"Come Fly With Me" (IMO) is the worst sounding of Frank's Captiol albums. This is in reference to it as a recording, distinct from the quality of any particular issue released. There's actually a bit of distortion here & there, quite noticeable occasionally on some soloists in the orchestra. Thankfully, when mastered well, Frank's voice sounds fine. There were mono & stereo versions produced of this album. Not counting "A Jolly Christmas" which is mono only, from Frank's first stereo album "Where Are You?" thru "Come Dance With Me!" different microphone setups were used to produce seperate 3-track & mono masters. Capitol stopped doing this around 1959, where (to the best of my knowledge - Steve probably knows about this better than I) they would just mix down the 3-track for both hte stereo & mono masters. The stereo version is (obviously) used on this CD> But then why would processing be applied to the vocal track while mixing down to stereo for this issue that sounds a lot like the fake stereo rubbish used on the EOTC "A Swingin' Affair!". At least tracks 1, 4-9 have this problem present to varying degrees. Quite a bit of noise reduction has been used here - occasionally, you can hear how it gives the music an electronic character, altering the natural "pace" & flow. This is usually noticeable in the softer passages on the ballads - when it occurs the sound becomes more like music coming out of a computer and less like the real thing. A couple of times, it seems to have affected the way the echo sounds & decays - Ex: listen to the echo off the slurping saxes in the instrumental break in "On the Road To Mandalay" & you will hear somewhat smoggy sounding echo that seems to take too long to decay. In general on this issue, the orchestra seems to be pushed a little forward spatially, seemingly from the way its eq'd. Generally, Frank's voice seems to be somewhat rolled off on top. Orchestra wise, some tracks such as "Around the World" & "April In Paris" are somewhat rolled off on top. Individual problems: The string tone is poor on "Moonlight In Vermont" - pretty important in a song with strings dominating the arrangement - they get screechy when playing loud, without much top end. "London By Night" also has poor EQ. The orchestra is rolled off on top, and Frank is somewhat nasal & unnatural in tone, and there's also some nasality on "Autumn In New York". "April In Paris" also has some nasality to Frank, occuring due to either the aforementioned ridiculous(IMO) fake stereo-like processing applied to the vocal track, or poor EQ, or a combination of both. This is especially sinful here considering Frank thought of this as his technically finest vocal performance.

I am not discussing the sound of the "bonus tracks" on this or any other of these discs that have them. They don't seem to belong with the original album tracks. Instead, this and the other albums with distinctly different stereo & mono versions should have both available. Also, although there supposedly aren't a lot in the Capitol vaults, where available "artistically acceptable" alterante takes & studio chatter should be used. These will help people understand the artistry of Frank Sinatra even further. I have an under-the-counter disc of Frank recording the Reprise album "Ring-A-Ding-Ding!". It's magic. The title, "The Master In His Workshop" says it all. Listening to him direct a session, and hearing alternate takes & run-throughs is fascinating.

 

I have another comment regarding "Songs For Young Lovers" to add. This is in regards to tapes being used.

If you want to hear Roy DuNann's (thanks Steve for informing us) glorious recording in it's best version released so far (based on what I've heard myself), find yourself Japanese Capitol LP ECJ-50065 - an (early 80's) reissue of Capitol W-587 "Songs For Young Lovers/Swing Easy". I have never been in a tape vault (and maybe Steve know for sure), but I am 98% sure of the following: This issue is the only issue of SFYL to use tapes without echo added beyond what Roy DuNann used as he mixed this live to mono since the original 10-inch LP release in 1954 (which didn't sound very good anyway). In 1955, when Capitol created W-587 (SFYL + Swing Easy on 1 12" LP), to my ears (and this has been audible to others I've demonstrated this for) Capitol "produced" a copy of this album for 12" LP W-587 with added echo - not much more, but some was added (and it even got worse with W-1432, where even more echo was added). Every issue of SFYL in the U.S. since W-587 was created has derived from this tape or some form of a copy of it (straight copy, more echo, duophonic, digitally mastered, & digitally mastered and processed) - with one exception that I know of: Two songs from SFYL, "I Get A Kick Out of You" & "They Can't Take That Away From Me", as issued on "The Capitol Years" 3CD compilation in 1990 (91?), use the proper original analog masters for these songs (yeah I know its Sonic Solutions). To the best of my knowledge this set is still in print and it's worth picking up to hear the difference between the use of proper tapes and the "produced echoed" tapes. This set is not perfect, and I am in no way stating that the way these tracks are mastered on this set is perfect, but hearing the use of the real tapes is instructive.

As for the aforementioned Japanese LP, those with decent turntables (who love Frank) need this. Somehow, Japan got a much better tape copy for their version of W-587 - a straight copy of the original analog masters - not a copy of the tampered U.S. W-587 master. Hearing this album with NO NR, NO PROCESSING, NO B.S., on dead quiet vinyl is startiling - Frank sounds like he's in the room, I promise. He lives and breathes, and all the tonal color and texture of the small orchestra behind him, and the gorgeous sound of Capitol Melrose Ave. Studio C is present. Frank is right upfront, and the front to back layering of depth is clearly audible. This issue has to be cut from a tape at least 1 generation down from the original and I'm sure Steve could do even better, but it is definetly the best version I've heard so far.

(I haven't heard the MOFI, but I think it would be a pretty good guess to say the used the "produced - echoed" tapes also).

 

Steve and MMM,

More please!

Any more information on "Songs For Young Lovers"? I love that album. 1953, right?

Us engineers and vault types at ******* Records are eating this up!

 

All of the personel information for Sinatra's Capitol albums is included in the MFSL Sinatra set.

 

Looks like the entire Hollywood String Quartet is playing on these albums. Since they recorded for Capitol as well, I guess I'm not surprised. They must have considered these sessions their "day job".

 

Hello all,

I intended to post my comments on the EOTC "Come Dance With Me!" today, but I left my notes at home. Maybe I'll try to get to a library tomorrow to post it. If not, it will have to wait until Monday.

Thanks to all who continue to read and participate in this thread, especially Steve. I appreciate it. I still have a lot more to gradually post here.

MMM

 

MMM,

Post away! I love reading about Frank, even if it's mainly what Capitol has done to screw up the classic sound of the master tapes. Makes me love my old LP's all the more!

 

Thanks John for your support.

The EOTC "Come Dance With Me!" is, in general, "spatially flat" sounding. Frank and the band (mostly) seem to be almost on the same plane - very little depth. The tapes may not actually have a lot of front to back layering, but the way this issue is eq'd pushes the band forward. It has a blatantly "mastered" sound to it, with most notes standing out in relief, and an overall lack of warmth. Also (overall), the band seems to be mixed a bit too loud. There seems to be a lot of NR used. To varying degrees, the echo sounds somewhat "smoggy" here and there on most tracks - listen to the way it decays. It doesn't smear anything, and thank God there isn't a ton of it, but it's peculiar sounding. Frank is somewhat nasal sounding on "Just In Time". Frank's vocal on "Dancing In the Dark" (my favorite track from Come Dance With Me!) somewhat lacks "life". The band has some "honkiness" on "Too Close For Comfort", "I Could Have Danced All Night", and "Come Dance With Me" (title track). However, these three songs (along with "The Last Dance") were all recorded on the same date - December 23, 1958 - the last "Come Dance With Me!" session. Knowing this, the "honkiness" may (or may not) be a fault of the recordings themselves - if true, good, reasonable, proper EQ could have "fixed" this. "The Last Dance" sounds heavily processed and somewhat "electronic" - it doesn't naturally "flow" (probably due to heavy NR) and sounds closed-off acoustically, and congested overall. Also, the drums are a touch too prominent, which ruins it for me (it seems to make the arrangement sound too "rhythmic" and takes away from the romantic slow, "last dance" feel).

I know I said I wasn't going to discuss the "bonus tracks" (sonically or otherwise), but there's a goof here I can't ignore. One of the so-called "bonus tracks" is supposed to be the Billy May arrangement of "It All Depends On You" from September 30, 1958. Instead, Capitol put the same bad mix of the Nelson Riddle arranged version from the EOTC issue of "Sinatra's Swingin' Session!!!", recorded August 23, 1960 - almost two years later.

However, there have been so many bad sounding versions of "Come Dance With Me!" in circulation since it was originally released that this disc, despite its problems, is actually better than probably (I would guess) 95% of the junk (soundwise, of course) that came before it (judging from the copies I've heard in stereo - the mono is different). Overall, it's the most listenable Capitol EOTC disc, transfer-wise. It seems very hard to find a good sounding stereo LP of this album. The first stereo mix of this album was a disaster (IMO) - probably done in a rush. The second stereo mix was better (but not perfect), but it's hard to find an LP well mastered of this from seemingly non ?th sounding generation tapes - I've only found a good sounding side 2 (U.S. version - Scranton pressing - N14 cutting, and it's not perfect) - never came across a side 1 to match it, soundwise (luckily, I have 2 copies with this cutting, one's an earlier copy and in better condition compared to the other). However, just because something (I'm speaking of this EOTC disc again) is better than something else doesn't make it correct, and this disc could definetly use improvement.

(Hope this posts correctly, I'm in the library, away from my computer in work where I usually post and my e-mail is set up).

 

Here's more blather about the Sinatra Capitol EOTC's

Sinatra's Swingin' Session!!! may be the finest sounding Sinatra album of all overall (as a recording - distinct from any particular issue of it). It has beautiful, believeable tone and ambiance that always impresses me every time I play the LP. The early copies in stereo (Capitol SW-1491, blk/rnbo label, Capitol logo on left w/"points"), even the average ones so long as the grooves haven't been destroyed, sound great (I've only heard Scranton pressings - I'd love to hear an LA pressing, with the early copies probably cut from the stereo 2-track mixdown master). Everything lives and breathes. You can actually "feel" the notes push through & move the air. Anything I've heard as a reissue on LP or CD can't compare, including the MOFI (which sounds like it has the upper frequencies jacked up). Of course Steve could do a transfer of it now that would be better, but sadly that has not occured on this CD. Like the other Capitol EOTC CD's, noise reduction was used. Seemingly, this and/or God only knows what else has made the ambiance/echo sound like smog (the decay is poor). This occurs in varying degrees throughout this issue. For example, "Always" (the song) sounds polluted (noticeable on the left, especially in the beginning). In general, Frank lacks dimensionality in this transfer (no one would think he was spotted in your room, unlike Steve's Nat Cole reissues), and the orchestra lacks some depth - not that it sounds shallow or "spatially flat" - it just sounds more upfront than it should, seemingly from the way it's eq'd. The very top sounds somewhat rolled, to varying degrees on virtually all tracks, and the eq is poor for the most part. The orchestra becomes somewhat "homogenized" sounding when it plays loud in the instrumental breaks on tracks 6 & 7 (and to a lesser extent on 9 & 10), seemingly from the eq. This "sound" obscures differentiation between individual sections & instruments - it all kind of bunches together when it occurs (however, if you've never heard a good LP of this, you may not notice anything wrong). Some tracks are poorly mixed in this transfer: "My Blue Heaven" has the orchestra mixed somewhat too high, almost overwhelming Frank around 1:25-1:30. "Should I?" and "You Do Something To Me" also have the orchestra mixed too high. In "It All Depends On You", the left channel to me seems to be emphasied too much, altering the arrangement by highlighting the strings too much. The "wah wah wah" at the end is interesting, but this should have been put on the end as an alternative mix/version. Frank also sounds a bit nasal on this track and on "I Can't Believe You're In Love With Me". On S'Posin, there is no "life" to Frank - he sounds like he's singing into his fedora. On "It's Only a Paper Moon", Frank's voice just sounds poor - it's hard to describe except to say it's unnatural. However, the biggest mess here is "Blue Moon". The EQ is poor (of course), the smoggy echo is in place, & Frank is somewhat nasal. But here's the really disgusting part (IMO of course): I don't know how Bob pulled managed to do this, but the left channel is partially "obscured" from the start of the song 'til 1:22, where it "pops" into place suddenly. This is apropo for the song, since ther is a line in the song that Frank sings twice that goes: "and then there suddenly appeared before me". When Frank sings this the first time, Capitol should have had the left channel "pop" into place here instead ("and then there suddenly appeared before me" - WHAM!) to give this bad joke full comic effect. John Kraus must me turning in his grave.

 

Onto the (newly released) EOTC "Come Swing With Me!"

The sound on "Come Swing With Me!", both technically & musically, was modeled after Billy May's "Big Fat Brass" album. However, on this EOTC "Come Swing With Me!" the brass doesn't sound brassy - for the most part it sounds like filtered garbage. From the original liner notes: "it was conceived, recorded, and arranged for stereo...the result is stereo backing in the same class as Frank's singing" - NOT ANYMORE!!! (This is not a personal attack - please don't delete this). It amazes me how Mr. Norberg can take Hugh Davies' (original engineer on both "Come Swing With Me!" & "Big Fat Brass") beautiful recording and turn it into **** chowder (hope explitives are allowed). It also amazes me how Capitol can continue to throw caution to the wind, especially when they own the greatest catalog of music ever recorded by a single artist - Frank on Capitol (Frank couldn't top this period as a whole before or after and only The Beatles came close - IMO of course).

I hope (think) I'm correct about the discussion below about which tapes were used.

At first listen, I thought Bob used the 2-track stereo tapes instead of the 3-tracks, since I was hearing certain things that could never be reproduced exactly the same in any modern remix, but I quickly realized it wouldn't be possible to put fake stereo-like widening on Frank's vocal on at least 2/3's of the original songs here: Tracks 1,4,5,7,8,9,11, & 12. The processing is in varying degrees depending on the song, and is more noticeable when Frank exerts more force, sometimes resulting in a somewhat "garbeled" sound to Frank's voice. But back to the tapes used: so therefore it has to be a 3-track used because of this (it would seem impossible to me to process Frank without processing the band unless Bob had the vocal isolated). It seems to me that TWO 3-track machines were running for these sessions, one flat & dry, and one with some echo/reverb & eq. The "echoed/reverbed" & eq'd 3-track tapes seem to be used here - this seems to lend some sort of a "cupped" coloration to Frank's voice (for lack of a better term). The previous CD seems to have used these tapes also. The 3-CD "Capitol Years" box that I mentioned in a previous post about SFYL, seems to use the correct 3-track tapes for its three songs from "Come Swing With Me!". (Interestingly, "I Heard That Song Before" on this set is a complete performance from one take {take 5 I think? - forgot to check the notes}. the normally heard version seems to have an intercut from 1:28 - 1:41).

Besides the aforementioned "widening" on Frank on most tracks, other problems exist on this issue of "Come Swing With Me!". There is a somewhat electronic sound on at least "Day By Day", "Sentimental Journey", "On the Sunny Side Of the Street", "Don't Take Your Love From Me", "That Old Black Magic", "Lover", and "Paper Doll", usually noticeable when the abnd is playing softer, with the effect of less "flow" & "pace" and the sound becoming more like music coming out of a computer, and less like the real thing. "Almost Like Being In Love" and "Day By Day" are somewhat nasal sounding. On "Day By Day" & "That Old Black Magic", the band is somewhat "honky" sounding. The EQ is poor on virtually all tracks. Relatively speaking, some tracks such as "Sentimental Journey" & "Yes Indeed!" are more listenable than others. Even the more listenable ones are not actually correct. Everything here haas the treble rolled off to varying degrees, and most tracks have frequencies below the rolloff boosted in a feeble attempt to compensate (this is more extreme on some tracks than others). Even on "Sentimental Journey", listed above as more listenable, the vibes don't have enough of that "watery" sound that they should. Also, when the band plays loud on this track, it seems to become too upfront, seemingly from the EQ. On "Paper Doll", I don't know how to explain the sound of the horns, except that they are poor. To varying degrees, on "Day By Day", "Almost Like Being In Love", "That Old Black Magic", "Lover", & "I've Heard That Song Before", individual sections & musicians that once were clearly audible & delineated in tone & depth, become clumped together & somewhat homogenized when playing loud (usually in the instrumental breaks). Maybe it's all a bad joke.

 

Steve,

If you have a minute (I know we can sometimes ask/expect too much of you), do you know if what I said regarding the "Come Swing With Me!" 3-tracks in the previous post is correct?

MMM