The *Frank Sinatra* recordings thread

Thanks again Steve. This stuff never fails to fascinate me.

 

There will be an electric bass overdub fairly "up" in the mix on the Reprise 0677 single compared to the album version (which is obviously not on there at all). Same for "How Old Am I?". Compare your EP to both this single and the SOFTLY LP. My 0677 single is a white label promo.

 

At the risk of being called a shill for Nancy...

Having just dug out my recording of that program for a question in [thread=161819]another thread[/thread], I thought the following might be of interest to those unfamiliar with the three-hour weekly Nancy for Frank show on Siriusly Sinatra (SIRIUS Satellite/Internet Radio channel 75).

I put together the following extract of Nancy's comments during that particular broadcast (Show #46; first aired Apr. 20, 2008). It's a 6.2 MB MP3 file (about 7 minutes duration), and it should be available for download for a week here:

https://www.yousendit.com/download/bVlBN3RkRkVRWUpMWEE9PQ​

Now removing my promotional hat.

 

I think every lover of fine singing should hear these Sinatra LP's. I play these regularly,

Capitol:

Songs For Swinging Lovers
Come Dance With Me
Frank Sinatra Sings For Only The Lonely (mono here is definitive)
In The Wee Small Hours

Reprise:

I Remember Tommy
Sinatra With Strings
Sinatra At The Sands
It Might As Well Be Swing
That's Life

 

Hi,

I've got a question regarding the older MFSL Sinatra LP box: It has often been stressed here that the Mono albums in this set have been mastered from the "wrong" set of master tapes which were cut in 1962 with more echo and (sometimes) weird EQ. But is this really true for all of them? I am asking because I was just listening to "Close to You" from the MFSL box and I must say it's probably the best pressing I've ever heard (although I have never heard a grey label original). The strings have more body and more air here than they have on the CD from the British "Capitol Years" box, which sounds grainy by comparison. Could it be that some of the Mono MFSL LPs were actually cut from the right tapes?

Arne

 

MFSL Mono

I have this set but have only listened to certain albums so far. Young Lovers/ Swing Easy is mastered from the correct tapes - the definitive pressing some would go so far as to say, I think.

I recently bought a fifty-year-out-of-copyright CD of three Sinatra albums pack, thought the version of Close to You was stunning - and discovered it was taken from the Japanese MoFi set. It did indeed sound lovely, a 'fatter' sound - but would love any second - and more informed - opinions from the real experts here.

 

Ian, was it remarkably better than the 1987 Larry Walsh remaster?

 

Martin, I'm sorry it took me so long to compare these. I actually have 4 different sources that I listened to, during this test and they were...

REPRISE 45 rpm (Gold label with black steamboat and w7/Reprise in red circle # 0677 MONO)

The other three vinyl issues I tried, were...

Jukebox 33 1/3 rpm EP (Reprise #SR 1013 STEREO)

Reprise STEREO LP "Softly As I Leave You"

Reprise MONO White Label Promo LP "Softly As I Leave You"

Naturally, with the compressing that goes on an EP, jamming so much music onto one side of a 7" size record, it has the worst "sound", but it has the same "sound", as the STEREO LP version.

The 45 rpm seems to have the most "dynamics", although the "overdub electric bass" that you hear, doesn't seem to be THAT different to me. To my ears, it almost sounds like they added some sort of echo to the 45 version, rather than more bass? Not echo, as in, the usual adding of echo, but more like a delay sting or something, to give the song more dynamics or something?

Hard one for me to call, but I'm pretty positive, that the Jukebox EP does NOT mirror, the "sound/dynamics" of the (Gold Label) 45 rpm!

Chris C

 

How is the Reprise cd of "Sinatra's Sinatra"? (the one with the disclaimer about inherent noise in the analogue recordings)


and


"Sinatra at the Sands" ? (same disclaimer)



any other cds out there sound better?

 

I believe there's been only one CD issue of 'Sinatra's Sinatra'. I dont recall any issues with noise (probably a good thing anyway).

I like my 'Sinatra at the Sands' EOTC remaster very much.

 

I don't hear anything amiss with the old Reprise CD of Sands... or the EOTC version, haven't compared them directly. A safe buy either way, I think.

 

...and here's another one from the MFSL "Close to You". It's kind of hard to believe that this should come from a wrong tape. I think they used the right one.

P. S. I Love You from MFSL 1-132

 

Thanks. Sounds pretty good. Did the Japanese MFSL CD use the same source?

 

I have British pressings of several 1950s Capitol LPs including SFSL and Swingin' Affair that I bought in Britain years ago. These were pressed by EMI at its Middlesex, Surrey plant and they have grey labels identical to the grey label American pressings. They don't sound as good as the American grey labels however. With classical records, EMI is known for its fantastic pressings and sound quality. So what is the story here? Were these pressed from inferior duplicate tapes? Anyone know?

 

Thanks Steve. Makes me realize that I can trust my ears. Its too bad as the British copies are so clean, but my scratchy American copies are so much nicer sounding.

Another thing: My American SFSL grey label has the cover with FS facing away from the embracing couple. That was changed later and replaced with a different FS facing the couple. Is mine an earlier pressing? If so when was the cover change made?

 

Thanks, Arne for the needledrops. Yes, the Japanese Swing Easy does seem to have the edge - a purer mono source. These were produced in the mid-seventies, were they? And the MoFi was mid-eighties. is it possible the original tapes were 'lost' between these years? maybe Steve can shed more light on this.

I really do intend to listen to my MoFi Close to You album ASAP. There is no trace of duophonic about it - so it must be the right tapes? i wasn't aware this was on japanese CD. I wonder if the recent three-album European-out-of-copyright sourced this CD then rather than the Japanese LP? It certainly sounded better than any legit Capitol CD.

Still, the word on the grapevine about these two new Sinatra CDs is good - so I hope to upgrade all my Capitol 'holdings' over the next couple of years - at last!

 

To the best of my knowledge, the only MFSL Sinatra CD was "Songs for Swingin' Lovers". I think we are talking about a b*****g CD mastered from the aforementioned MFSL LP, which is referred to as "japanese" simply because all MFSL Vinyl was japanese back then.

Arne

 

Ian, this version (ECP 88025) has the lime green Capitol label. Rather than in the mid-70s, it was probably pressed in the very early 70s or even late 60s.

What my needledrops don't reveal is that the "Swing Easy" tracks on the MFSL LP seem to stem from different sources, whereas sound of the japanese LP is quite consistent. "Just One of Those Things" is is one of the better sounding tracks from the MFSL, others sound more removed from the master.

Arne

 

Close To You does sound pretty good on that CD, Ian - at least as well as I can tell.

 

Thanks, Arne. There was a really good article up on the web at one point about these Japanese issues of Young Lovers/ Swing Easy. In fact I may have posted the link somewhere on here. I think it's gone now - or I can't find it - but I do have a copy I pasted into a Word document. Must read it again. I know it was the earlier Japanese pressings that were particularly desirable. I burnt a CD of the MoFi LP (albeit on my limited hi-fi) - and must listen again for these separately sourced tracks.

I liked the mastering of Close To You, too,on those CDs Sean, though I sold mine on. I'm really hoping these new MoFi CDs are going to stack up into the definitive editions on CD, though. Initial reports certainly sound good so far...

 

I have Frank Sinatra " The Voice " 1994 gold master sound legacy Sony cd..is this the definitive version ?