CHANGSTAR: Audiophile Headphone Reviews and Early 90s Style BBS
Lobby => Music and Recordings => Topic started by: DrForBin on April 22, 2015, 05:25:31 AM
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hello,
tl;dr: help me out with selecting Frank Sinatra Reprise era recording that don't suck. i already have some of them.
i have been into Sinatra since i was a teenager. my dad had one of those casket shaped console stereos in the living room with storage space for lp's in the middle. and in it was a copy of 'Swing Along With Me' (Reprise, 1961.) i really got into it! (my sweet sister, who is 13 years younger than i am, listened to the same record as a teen and is also a Sinatra fan.)
i saw him in concert once. at the time the most i'd ever spent for tickets. lousy venue, didn't sound all that great, forgot lyrics, and TOTALLY MESMERIZING.
so, as of today i own all of his work with Harry James, Tommy Dorsey, 'The Columbia Years 1943-1952: The Complete Recordings', the V-Discs, all the Capitols save 'Frank Sinatra Conducts Tone Poems of Color', the Capitol Singles, some (horrible) radio air-checks, a couple of well reviewed live recordings from his Capitol period and a smattering of the Reprise recordings.
i am considering an all Frankie, all the time binge to listen to his recordings in chronological order (or as close to it as reissues will allow.) at the moment this would be a survey of 53 cd's (avoiding duplication.) i am also thinking about starting a thread here as i proceed.
my inquiry is about the Reprise era albums. i have heard some real dreck from this period and have been as selective as i can be to fill in my collection with the stuff that isn't crap.
so, fellow pyrates please help me fill in my Sinatra Reprise era recordings with the good stuff:
Reprise currently owned:
'Ring-A-Ding Ding!' 1961
'Swing Along With Me' 1961 (still love this record!)
'Sinatra's Sinatra' 1963
'September Of My Years' 1965
'A Man And His Music' 1965
'Moonlight Sinatra' 1966
'That's Life!' 1966
'Sinatra-Jobim: The Complete Reprise Recordings' 1967, 1971
'Francis A. & Edward K.' 1968 (unfortunately some of the dreck alluded to above. :( )
'Watertown' 1970
on the Reprise to buy list:
'I Remember Tommy' 1961
'Sinatra & Strings' 1962
'Sinatra And Swingin' Brass' 1962
'Sinatra Sings Great Songs From Great Britain' 1962
'All Alone' 1962
'Sinatra-Basie The Complete Reprise Studio Recordings' 1962, 1964
'The Concert Sinatra' 1963
'Sinatra Sings Days of Wine And Roses, Moon River, And Other Academy Award Winners' 1964
'Softly, As I Leave You' 1964
'Strangers In The Night' 1966
'Sinatra At The Sands' 1966
'She Shot Me Down' 1981
so, if any of you think i already own poo, or i am considering buying poo, let me know. or if i've missed something i shouldn't have please let me know.
it will take a while before i get to Reprise if i follow my plan.
thanks very much. :money:
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As far as Reprise. I think you may have it all. Certainly was hit and miss during that time. Not a complete expert, but my parents had them all. Mom was a bobby soxer. Unfortunately some less than honest caregivers for my Mom helped themselves to some of them. Post them if you find any worthy. Good luck. A marathon of Sinatra sounds fun.
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'Sinatra At The Sands' 1966
Is that the one with the Count Basie Big Band?> epic win
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"The Concert Sinatra" kills. The 2012 reissue has two bonus tracks, and they did a great job remastering from the original 35mm film. It's available as a 96/24 download.
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Oh boy...I'll be blunt...you're kinda fucked. :vomit:
It's taken me over a decade to get some decent Reprise era Sinatra and a vast majority that has been personal work and long hours of research. That said - you're in a much better position than I was when I started.
I likewise have an almost complete collection...just missing the complete master tapes. :-\
By far, the best sounding Sinatra you'll find will come from the Capitol era recordings. Capitol, for the most part, really knew what they were doing back in the era of Nat King Cole and Sinatra. Some of the best sounding recordings I have are from that era.
So...from what you listed...
[size=0px]'Ring-A-Ding Ding!' 1961 [/size] - The best version is the last remaster that was released a year or two ago. Completely dry with no echo. Still not perfect.[size=0px]'Swing Along With Me' 1961 (still love this record!)[/size] - best version is the "Entertainer of the Century" edition. FAR from perfect.[size=0px]'Sinatra's Sinatra' 1963[/size]l- Best version I have heard is from a mint first pressing vinyl. [size=0px]'September Of My Years' 1965[/size]- Best version was released on vinyl about 6 years ago. It's now OOP. [size=0px]'A Man And His Music' 1965[/size]- Best version...there is none.[size=0px]'Moonlight Sinatra' 1966[/size]- Best version is the recent release by HDTracks. Far from perfect but an extremely good effort. [size=0px]'That's Life!' 1966[/size]- Best version - none[size=0px]'Sinatra-Jobim: The Complete Reprise Recordings' 1967, 1971[/size]- Best version is from a first pressing LP. All versions (except mine [size=0px] ;) ) suffer from a bad splice/edit on the master.[/size][size=0px]'Francis A. & Edward K.' 1968 (unfortunately some of the dreck alluded to above. )[/size]- Best version is probably the unreleased vinyl Hoffman remastered about 8 years ago.[size=0px]'Watertown' 1970-[/size]- Best version is probably the original CD released in the early 90's.[size=0px]on the Reprise to buy list:'I Remember Tommy' 1961[/size]- Best version is from the LP[size=0px]'Sinatra & Strings' 1962[/size]- Best version is probably from the LP[size=0px]'Sinatra And Swingin' Brass' 1962[/size]- Best version is the recent remaster that just came out. Not perfect but damn nice.[size=0px]'Sinatra Sings Great Songs From Great Britain' 1962[/size]- Best version is probably the original CD.[size=0px]'All Alone' 1962[/size]- Best version is the original CD[size=0px]'Sinatra-Basie The Complete Reprise Studio Recordings' 1962, 1964[/size]- Best versions are the original CD's.[size=0px]'The Concert Sinatra' 1963[/size]- Best version is the original LP but the last remaster that came out was VERY nice.[size=0px]'Sinatra Sings Days of Wine And Roses, Moon River, And Other Academy Award Winners' 1964[/size]- Best version is the original LP[size=0px]'Softly, As I Leave You' 1964[/size]- Best version is the original Japan CD[size=0px]'Strangers In The Night' 1966[/size]- Best version is probably the original CD[size=0px]'Sinatra At The Sands' 1966[/size]- Best version was the one released on DVD-A. There is NO complete version of this concert that you can get. The complete concert takes up 2 CD's and it sounds DAMN fine.[size=0px]'She Shot Me Down' 1981 - [/size]- Best version is the original CD
Hope that helps! :)
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hello,
@LFF
i'm confused. my current list is spot on?
i.e. requires no revision?
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Is it just me or did recording quality generally go way up after 1970?
Does anyone know why this is?
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hello,
@LFF
thanks ever so! :money:
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Is it just me or did recording quality generally go way up after 1970?
Does anyone know why this is?
It's just you. That's not a valid generalization. There are more great recordings from before 1970 than anyone can count. Start with Mercury, RCA, Decca, and Angel. There are many great recordings from the old Columbia 30th Street studios, Capitol in Hollywood, Abbey Road, Jesus-Christus Kirche in Berlin where the Berlin Philharmonic recorded under von Karajan, and a bunch more. The first generations of solid-state recording gear didn't necessarily sound better than the tube gear they replace. The one thing you can say with certainty is that advances in metallurgy and manufacturing process technology made the tape that was available in the 1970s out-perform the tape that was available in the late 50s - early 60s, but how important that is to the end result is anyone's guess.
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hello,
@LFF
i'm confused. my current list is spot on?
i.e. requires no revision?
Which recording you want in terms of music is completely up to you. My suggestions were strictly based on the sound quality. Musically, IMHO, you can NEVER go wrong with Sinatra with the sole exception of "Mama Will Bark!".
Is it just me or did recording quality generally go way up after 1970?
Does anyone know why this is?
It's just you. Music recording quality took a HUGE dive in the 70's. The best sound quality I have ever heard has come from recordings done in the 50's and 60's. IMHO, few modern day recordings capture the absolute splendor that Capitol, Contemporary, RCA, Mercury, Everest, and Decca captured back in the day.
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Musically, IMHO, you can NEVER go wrong with Sinatra with the sole exception of "Mama Will Bark!".
hello,
@LFF. the Rod Mckuen is kinda hard for me to take. :vomit:
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It's just you. Music recording quality took a HUGE dive in the 70's. The best sound quality I have ever heard has come from recordings done in the 50's and 60's. IMHO, few modern day recordings capture the absolute splendor that Capitol, Contemporary, RCA, Mercury, Everest, and Decca captured back in the day.
Thanks, I'll keep trying.
I'm making an effort to listen to more artists from the era, do you have any suggestions?
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Thanks, I'll keep trying.
I'm making an effort to listen to more artists from the era, do you have any suggestions?
Try buying the SACD's from Living Stereo (http://www.amazon.com/Pines-Rome-Fountains-Mer/dp/B000E1NWJQ/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1430012871&sr=8-3&keywords=living+stereo) and Mercury (http://www.amazon.com/Janos-Starker-Concertos-Schumann-Saint-Sa%C3%ABns/dp/B000AC5AZS/ref=sr_1_fkmr3_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1430012962&sr=8-2-fkmr3&keywords=janos+starker+bach+cello+suites+SACD). The box sets are nice as well...
DECCA (http://www.amazon.com/Decca-Sound-Peter-Ilyich-Tchaikovsky/dp/B005D51II0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1430012982&sr=8-2&keywords=Decca+box+set)
DECCA MONO (http://www.amazon.com/Decca-Sound-Mono-Years-Limited/dp/B00QHL0V3C/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1430013129&sr=8-2-fkmr1&keywords=Decca+analong)
Living Stereo (http://www.amazon.com/Living-Stereo-Collection-VARIOUS-ARTISTS/dp/B00GP8YHAU/ref=pd_sim_m_7?ie=UTF8&refRID=0VREK1QXS5WMSWH83PBP)
Mercury Living Presence (http://www.amazon.com/Mercury-Living-Presence-Box-Set/dp/B00B7364H2/ref=pd_bxgy_m_img_z)
The Phase 4 Box (http://www.amazon.com/Phase-Four-Stereo-Concert-Limited/dp/B00LP298NC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1430013089&sr=8-1&keywords=Phase+4+box+set)
The DECCA Analogue (http://www.amazon.com/Decca-Sound-Analogue-Years-Box/dp/B00E0H8KAQ/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1430013129&sr=8-1-fkmr1&keywords=Decca+analong)
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e·mer·sion
iˈmərZHən/
noun: emersion
the process or state of emerging from or being out of water after being submerged.
im·mer·sion
iˈmərZHən,iˈmərSHən/
noun: immersion
the action of immersing someone or something in a liquid.
Sorry, the teacher in me just needed to point that out. Back to your regularly scheduled program, or fantasies about Sinatra coming out or something
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Sorry, the teacher in me just needed to point that out. Back to your regularly scheduled program, or fantasies about Sinatra coming out or something
hello,
thanks for the correction. it sounded right in my head at least. facepalm