I know Martin feels the same way, so I'm going out on a limb to say 1.) thank you (to multiple people) for the kind comments; but 2.) the opinion that matters is YOUR opinion, if you are the one listening. We'll all find out what we all think of this once we all get to hear it, and we all have functioning ears and valid opinions, no?
I agree with both Matt and your statement here. I know there was some serious sound concerns about Standing Room Only after some early digital previews, and I realize some might still have issues with that release, but I found it to be pretty damn good sonically, especially the Philly and Dallas shows. I do trust my own ears quite a bit, but I still love to hear all the Sinatra experts on this fine forum weigh in as well. I am still cautiously optimistic as they say that the combination of Larry Walsh and Ron McMaster is going to give us something better than what has come before. I guess I usually see the glass half full, but I will be honest if the sound is underwhelming to my ears.
Played the mono MFSL of this today with a bottle of Chianti. Great record. I really wish the MSFL was a SACD, but trust me... I'll take it. Not sure I'll be getting this new release, but I'll be curious. Playing the MFSL again now. Rum and Coke.
I listened to the album tonight. First on a needledrop I made of a 1970's Capitol pressing. This is the one using the original stereo mix and cut on a more modern Neumann lathe. To me, the finest stereo LP of this classic. The original pressings sounding muffled and distorted in comparison. Not to mention the phase issues common with the Scully lathes of the period. This 1970's pressing has amazing presence and warmth. The resulting needledrop having a DR of 13. The "breath of Life" in spades, as our host likes to call it. The icing on the cake, is the ending of "One for my Baby" with Frank's voice exiting to the left. Yes, the regrind vinyl isn't the best, and there is surface noise, but Frank sounds like he's in the room and the illusion of being at the Capitol studios is uncanny . Eerily real. Second was the mono MFSL gold CD from 2009. Sounds sharper, much more detailed, with Frank's vocals very up front and the orchestra more subdued. It is a fantastic remaster for sure, but so different from the ethereal, atmospheric quality of the original stereo mix. There are some tape drop outs on the 1970's LP reissue but overall the tape seemed to be in good shape up to that time. Not a whole lot of tape hiss either. I believe the main reason the original stereo mix hasn't been used on CD, is the fact that it's missing the two songs omitted from the original stereo LP release, "Its a Lonesome Old Town" and "Spring is Here". They could have been mixed from the original session tapes, but perhaps they thought it was best to do a new stereo mix of the complete album instead. I hope they really pulled all the stops with the new 60th anniversary edition. Hopefully, it will have the clarity of the MFSL with the enveloping sound of the original stereo mix.
I thought the MFSL issues of 2009 were SACDs? I only have Songs For Swinging Lovers, Point Of No Return and A Swinging Affair. All the other MFSLs from the same period I have on LP.
I've been wondering about the comments on the sound of the new version and have an odd theory I'll float. Do you think that because the MFSL mono and 87 stereo sound so different they didn't want to release them together that way? They wanted more symmetry between both versions so as making the mono wet and reverby is a no no they have done the opposite and dried up the stereo so there is a more cohesive sound quality when you put both versions together. Just a thought.
Possible. I played the Walsh remix from 1987 again last night (Angel Eyes 5x comparing with the new remix on iTunes again). IMO the new remix is too dry- I miss the echo/reverb so much. They (Walsh&FS j.) did it before on other Reprise re-releases from Concord. Don‘t like that sound.
They are not really "missing." They existed, and finally saw release in 1963 (Spring) and 1968 (Lonesome), and all 12 songs were released together by assorted EMI affiliates starting in 1968 -- but never on a USA Capitol LP. I agree that these are very well-mastered disks. Sadly, they are abridged, missing 1/6th of the album. That depends on exactly which 70's SM or SY cut you have. What is scribed on side two? In my experience, any cut through #62 is dropout-free. By #67, there are dropouts evident. I have looked for, but not yet found, cuts 63-66. This will be old hat for many here, but below I've re-posted the dropout areas (shown in red) for Spring is Here, Gone with the Wind, and One for My Baby that started turning up on stereo LPs from the 1970s onward:
This is interesting as I believe only Capitol had access to the original tapes in the vault. Perhaps these were made from safeties? I also find it crazy that the old MFSL released the LP in stereo back in 1983 as part of the Sinatra box, with a new mix. Must have been challenging to cram all the songs in there. With 1/6th of the album, Capitol was already pushing the limits at 45+ minutes of playing time! Sadly, I don't have the LP anymore. It was thrift store find back in 2003 when I got back into vinyl. I didn't think much of it at the time. It was from that dreaded period where Capitol changed their label to resemble EMI's. But once I put it on my VPI Scout, it was magic. I could not believe how good it sounded! Here are a couple of shots of it:
@crooner -- Are those photos of your actual copy? I see in that bottom photo that side one was a J47 cut. On my J47, side two is a J62, with J indicating a Scully cut. Of course, any international cuts were made from either dubs (likely dubbed flat at 15 IPS by Capitol for shipment to overseas affiliates) or digital dubs (starting in 1984). Presumably, the 1983 MFSL LP was cut from Capitol's own masters. To my ears, the best you'll ever hear the 12-song stereo release is on the nearly-impossible-to-find Australian 1972 release with this alternate cover: Audio clip: http://www.11fifty.com/Site_108/1958_-_Sings_for_Only_the_Lonely_4_files/It'sALonesomeOldTownClipAussieLP-GAIN_01-04.wav. This was cut/dubbed before the tape damage occurred. I'd love to find a "mint" copy, but I doubt that will ever happen!
Yes, they did a GREAT job with the mastering, but by that time, the side two tapes were pretty severely damaged, especially on SPRING IS HERE.
The mfsl releases set a high bar for what’s coming. But I will buy anyway. I need an 8th copy! Can’t sit this one out.
Thanks for the research on this! Yes, the pictures are from the exact record I had. I had swore mine was the Neumann cut version, since it's so nice sounding. But I suppose a good Scully version can be done as well. Such as some of the old Living Stereo LP's. Now, was Capitol still using Scully lathes by the mid to late 1970's? That Australian pressing is interesting. And I'm sure,yes, rare as heck!
It must have been cut at lower level like Stan Ricker did on the MFSL Abbey Road. I'm assuming Ricker cut this as well.. Now, if Capitol did a complete stereo mix back in 1958, I presume they wanted to release the album perhaps on open reel tape? Otherwise, they'd knew it would not fit on a single LP with the non variable groove spacing of the old cutters.
