Frank Sinatra - Best Sounding CDs?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by FieldingMellish, Jun 18, 2012.

  1. GARY GRIFFITHS

    GARY GRIFFITHS Well-Known Member

    I found a good deal for so the Capitol years box set of 21 CDs and bit the bullet and purchased it. Plenty of Sinatra for me to listen to :) I am looking forward to this journey.
     
  2. Simon A

    Simon A Arrr!

    Congratulations! I think you'll be hooked for life and will eventually dig further into his Columbia and Reprise catalogs.
     
  3. KipB

    KipB Forum Resident

    Location:
    Bethel, CT, USA
    I picked this up two weeks ago and absolutely love it. I always thought the pre Capitol era Sinatra was too croonerish for me ... Not so! Tommy's band is absolutely slammin' and it's just a pleasure to hear Frank with his masterful backing. A top ten set I have learned about through this forum. The sound is just a marvel.

    Can anyone tell me does the A Voice in Time material sound similarly good -sound quality wise?
     
  4. DmitriKaramazov

    DmitriKaramazov Senior Member

    YES! The Voice in Time sounds gorgeous to my ears. ABSOLUTELY gorgeous! I have been listening to that set, plus the 4 CD Best of Columbia.

    I've been listening to both sets, and little else, for the past two months. The material from the Columbia years really calls out to me. It all sounds so fresh and lively, as though it were recorded yesterday.

    My suggestion: buy the Voice in Time set.
     
  5. paulmock

    paulmock Forum Resident

    Location:
    Hollywood, CA
    YES!
     
  6. paulmock

    paulmock Forum Resident

    Location:
    Hollywood, CA
    A Voice in Time features the 1st clear, clean copy of "I'm a Fool to Want You" which had been muddy and muffled here-to-fore.

    On the RCA Essential set pay particular attention to the exquisite brush work of Buddy Rich. This was also the 1st time these recordings had the clarity to present such beauties.
     
  7. Dave Garrett

    Dave Garrett Senior Member

    Location:
    Houston, TX
    I have the earlier 1994 5-disc box set The Song Is You. It looks like the Essential set has different mastering by Mark Wilder. Based on your comments above, I'm guessing that the sound quality is noticeably improved on the Essential set over the earlier set? I confess I didn't pay much attention when Essential was released, as I figured it was just an abridged version of the set I already had, but it sounds like I may need to rethink that decision.
     
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  8. paulmock

    paulmock Forum Resident

    Location:
    Hollywood, CA
    Oh yes! There is a thread somewhere which we'll documents what went on in producing the Essential set. Bob F will most likely be able to guide you to it.
     
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  9. Bob F

    Bob F Senior Member

    Location:
    Massachusetts USA
    There have been at least two fresh transfers of the Sinatra/Dorsey recordings since the 1994 RCA/BMG 5-CD box set, The Song Is You. The first was a 3-CD set (also available as individual discs), The Popular Sinatra, Vols. 1-3, in 1998. And then there was the 2-CD set under discussion, The Essential Frank Sinatra with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, in 2005.

    The latter benefits from the BMG merger with SONY, which enabled use of Sony's Rockport Technologies turntable. Here's what the co-producer had to say about it (at —> Sinatra Family Forum):
    In a separate thread (—> SONY transfers), Nancy Sinatra posted these photos referenced by Chuck:
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    BTW, that cardboard box, with the visible master number BS-075265-1, contains the metal master of "Be Careful, It's My Heart," recorded June 9, 1942 (nearly 73 years ago!).
     
    Last edited: May 19, 2015
  10. Bob Belvedere

    Bob Belvedere Forum Resident

    Location:
    New England
    If you see Charles Granata's name on anything, you can trust that it's going to sound great, even if it was done in the early days of re-transfer and restoration.

    I just discovered the copy of the complete recordings of Peggy Lee with Benny Goodman was done by him and Didier Deutsch - the sound is magnificent.
     
  11. Ronald Sarbo

    Ronald Sarbo Forum Resident

    Location:
    NY, NY, USA
    I wish they would come up with the first version of "I'll Never Smile Again".
     
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  12. Richard--W

    Richard--W Forum Resident

    http://www.amazon.com/Masterworks-1954-61-Albums-Frank-Sinatra/dp/B00J0YABJ2/ref=pd_sim_15_34?ie=UTF8&dpID=513bzDkDdjL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160,160_&refRID=1WVPR6R1FYFKC4TW5MQ0


    Can anyone corroborate or confirm or at least second that The Masterworks box consists of 1) a needle drop of early or original Capitol LP's which I should think would be desirable, and 2) has amazing sound?
     
  13. Bob F

    Bob F Senior Member

    Location:
    Massachusetts USA
    It's been discussed before, e.g. starting here in a thread for another (similar) such public domain set:

    —> Frank Sinatra new (EU/unlicensed) 16 album CD boxed set The Capitol Years 1953-62*

    I finally caved and bought them both. (I'm ashamed to admit.) I can confirm neither of the two statements asked about above. I'm not going to pull it out again, but the sound on the "Masterworks" set is "amazing" only for how loud and compressed it is. See —> here.
     
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  14. Bob F

    Bob F Senior Member

    Location:
    Massachusetts USA
    BTW, the title of this thread is not "Frank Sinatra - WORST Soundng CDs?". :D
     
  15. DmitriKaramazov

    DmitriKaramazov Senior Member

    Thanks again @Bob F

    This opt out of VigiLink thingy is very helpful in accessing the Amazon UK links as posted which I have BUMPED up.

    P.S. I just ordered Come Swing With Me from the UK.

    Happy New Years! 2015 was my first year of Sinatra fandom -- life is good!!
     
  16. Hatchet Jack

    Hatchet Jack Forum Resident

    Location:
    Europe
    All the regular 1991's releases are Walsh masterings? And for the Reprise albums, which are the best digital masterings? No compilations, just the albums.
     
  17. Tribute

    Tribute Senior Member

    Bob
    I thought there was talk of a new edition of the complete Dorsey recordings with improved sound. Is that dead?
     
  18. Bob F

    Bob F Senior Member

    Location:
    Massachusetts USA
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  19. mbrownp1

    mbrownp1 Forum Resident

    rangerjohn and Bob F like this.
  20. DmitriKaramazov

    DmitriKaramazov Senior Member

    (BUMP)
    Lots of good info in this thread from "the usual suspects"!!! :agree: :unhunh: :tiphat:

    Need a Sinatra emoji though.
     
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  21. CBackley

    CBackley Chairman of the Bored

    As someone new to collecting Sinatra and figuring out which compilations, CDs, and LPs are best, this website is a lifesaver. We are so lucky to have experts here. I love it!
     
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  22. rangerjohn

    rangerjohn Forum Resident

    Location:
    chicago, il
  23. Bob F

    Bob F Senior Member

    Location:
    Massachusetts USA
    [​IMG]
     
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  24. Om

    Om Make Your Own Kind Of Music

    Location:
    Boston, USA
    Can anyone recommend a great mastering of "Fly Me To The Moon", thanks!
     
  25. Bob F

    Bob F Senior Member

    Location:
    Massachusetts USA
    Original release was on the 1964 Reprise LP It Might As Well Be Swing, with Count Basie orchestra.

    [​IMG]

    On CD, there have been three different mixes of the complete album: 1986 (Reprise); 1998 (Reprise EOTC "Entertainer of the Century" remaster); and 2011 (Concord Records: Sinatra-Basie, The Complete Reprise Studio Recordings). The latter two of those have been reissued by Universal Music in recent years.

    For this particular track ("Fly Me to the Moon") on CD, I would recommend the EOTC version, most recently reissued by UMe in 2014 in the US. Lots of discussion in this (long) thread:

    Sinatra-Basie: The Complete Reprise Studio Recordings - September 2011
     

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