Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely - Deluxe Edition - October 19, 2018*

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Bob F, Jun 4, 2018.

  1. paulmock

    paulmock Forum Resident

    Location:
    Hollywood, CA
    @SteveM My deepest condolences as well. IMHO an extremely CLASSY way to for your Dad to exit. :love::love::love:
     
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  2. paulmock

    paulmock Forum Resident

    Location:
    Hollywood, CA
    @Ronald Sarbo Kinda reminds me of all the Crosby fans awaiting the Giddins' books!!!!!!
     
  3. hodgo

    hodgo Tea Making Gort (Yorkshire Branch) Staff

    Location:
    East Yorkshire
    So sorry to hear about your Dad, Steve. You certainly couldn't have picked a nicer way to honour his memory.
     
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  4. kennyluc1

    kennyluc1 Frank Sinatra collector

    Waiting for my copy to arrive, 3 complete takes on the unissued " Angel Eyes " WOW … can't wait to hear that.
     
  5. Ronald Sarbo

    Ronald Sarbo Forum Resident

    Location:
    NY, NY, USA
    Paul: I don't believe we are talking about the same collector. My friend has a surviving spouse to whom his personal property would pass tax free per unlimited marital deduction.

    As to the Giddins' book I will be attending his talk with Harry Crosby here at the CUNY Graduate center where I may raise some of the points I made in my review which I notice has made an appearance on the Crosby Fan Board.
     
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  6. RSteven

    RSteven Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brookings, Oregon
    Well, let me say first that I am a CD guy for the most part, so I will confine my comments regarding the sound to my direct comparison between Larry Walsh's fine remaster from 1987 to the new deluxe stereo version with his remixing and Ron McMaster's new remastering for this iconic masterpiece of an album. I will just be letting you know what my fine ears tell me and I will not be giving you any graphics or numbers to prove my case, so let that be a disclaimer. I basically relied on a direct and repeated comparison between these following songs for reference: Only The Lonely, What's New, It's A Lonely Town, Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out To Dry, Ebb Tide and One For My Baby.

    The very first thing that stuck me on the new deluxe version was the differenc in the sound of Frank's voice. It seemed to have a little less reverb to my ears and I was not sure at first if I liked it as much as the original remaster by Larry Walsh. I then realized that what I was hearing was a familiar sound in Frank Sinatra's voice that I had not heard in years and that was the sound of his voice that I had heard when I actually saw him sing live in Las Vegas and that is what I am going to call a more "natural" vocal sound minus some of the reverb. There may be a better way to describe this sound difference, but I will stick with it for now.

    Now, at first I actually thought I was going to prefer Larry's original remaster as perhaps there was something there that the new remaster was missing, but the more I listened to it, the more I liked its accuracy and realism on the newer remaster. Perhaps this sound deviates from the way our Sinatra experts have heard it over the years and I surely respect their opinion on that perspective.

    I then turned my attention to the instruments, especially the orchestra of course, but also Bill Miller's great piano playing, particularly on One For My Baby. Now as great as his piano playing is on the original 1987 CD, it nevertheless sounds at times like it is coming from a studio two rooms away. The new CD version has the piano centered more in the stereo spectrum and it sounds more natural to my ears, like it would if you were actually in the studio with him playing it.

    It's A Lonesome Old Town revealed those eerie, but gorgeous strings in the instrumental break and I felt they demonstrated a little more depth and beauty on the newer CD. I thought at times that it was a toss-up on Only The Lonely and What's New, but once again I think there is a slight edge to the richness of the orchestra and a naturalness to Frank's voice that I will end up preferring on the new deluxe version of this amazing CD.

    I will let this all sink in a while and as we all know our perspectives can change after repeated listening and hearing other experts weigh in on the sound. I know that I am glad that I have both versions, but I am really thinking that the newer version is going to be my go to of this truly marvelous album. I think that Larry and Ron did a great job on this project, and I really enjoyed the booklet with all the great Sinatra arrangers commenting on Frank and this very iconic album.
     
    Last edited: Oct 21, 2018
  7. teag

    teag Forum Resident

    Location:
    Colorado
    Was wondering if you had a chance to listen to the mono and what you thought of it?
     
  8. RSteven

    RSteven Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brookings, Oregon
    I will try to get to that tomorrow and get back to this forum with a report. I do not have anything to compare it to as I have always had the stereo version, but I will give you my feedback nonetheless.
     
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  9. Vinylfindco

    Vinylfindco The Pressing Matters

    Location:
    Miami
    I don't have the new stereo release but I did listen to it streaming on Spotify after playing the MOFI mono vinyl and listening to the mono stream that's also available. In those compromised circumstances, the new one was my third favorite after the vinyl and mono stream. Honestly I'm not sure I need another copy as the the MOFI mono vinyl is perfect to me.
     
  10. crooner

    crooner Tube Marantzed

    One important thing to keep in mind when checking the DR value of a mastering is to make sure you are not including the bonus tracks.

    For the 12 song album sans extra tracks, the DR values I have are the following:

    Larry Walsh 1987 CD (stereo): DR12
    MFSL Gold CD (mono): DR13
    60th Anniversary CD (mono): DR10
    60th Anniversary CD (stereo): DR10

    So taking the bonus tracks out improved the DR for the Walsh 1987 CD and reduced it for the new 60th anniversary editions.
    The MFSL Gold with DR13, is the most dynamic of the digital versions of this album so far.

    I had mentioned my abridged 1970's Capitol LP needledrop as being DR13. However, this is with only 10 tracks.

    Out of curiosity, I combined these 10 songs with the two missing tracks sourced from an original mono LP. The DR value did not change, still yielding DR13.

    Pretty impressive dynamic range out of those old LP pressings!

    To those curious about the new bonus tracks, they have a combined value of DR13. They struck me as being of excellent quality, overall.

    Of course, the DR value is not a sole arbiter of mastering quality. Many lower DR recordings sound excellent, with no need to crank up the volume to hear detail, etc.
     
  11. mpayan

    mpayan A Tad Rolled Off

    You actually understood that*, lol? Pretty dang confusing to this layman.

    *Mid-Side (MS) Mic Recording Basics | Universal Audio



    Im not sure I understand what Mr Walsh is stating in the quote that was referenced earlier,

    Is he saying the album was recorded using this method or that the 2018 team used this mid-side recording to "re-record" the masters and then matrixed and decoded them?

    Can we get Steve Hoffman or someone in here to clear this up (help understand this technique and how Larry Walsh possibly used the technique)
     
    Last edited: Oct 22, 2018
  12. mpayan

    mpayan A Tad Rolled Off

    Except thats not what Larry Walsh did. I realize you were most likely joking. Apparently this is something very different in technique.



    Has this mid-side "remixing" (is that even what one would call this?) technique been used on other albums?
     
    Last edited: Oct 22, 2018
  13. Thank you for a great review and for the time taken to compare and detail the differences.
     
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  14. MarkusGermany

    MarkusGermany WINNING

    Location:
    Rheinberg, Germany
    The bonus/alternate versions are fine. So buying the Mono Extd. Edition was/ is a good decision. I don‘t like the new „dry“ Stereo Mix.
    The old Walsh remix was/is perfect for me. I need REVERB...:doh:
     
  15. Tribute

    Tribute Senior Member

    My father wanted his ashes spread in the ocean. We went to a very secluded beach where no one seems to go. As we were walking back, just down beach, there was an exotic model photo shoot going on for Playboy magazine. My father would have really got a kick out of the entertainment at his funeral. I was his caregiver and nurse for his last three years, and he would end most meals with the statement, "Bring on the dancing girls!"
     
  16. Lol! I doubt I'll be able to top that but I'll give it a go on the day. Thanks for sharing the story. It gave me a much needed laugh!
     
  17. marmil

    marmil It's such a long story...

    Still available, along with several other pieces of merchandise. Just follow the link!! And after a few washings, it became one of my early-autumn go=to shirts.

    XEAK Tijuana (1950s) : RadioLogoLand.com
     
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  18. Pants Party

    Pants Party MOSTLY PEACEFUL

    Location:
    Washington, DC
    For us HD download fans, this new release of Sings For Only The Lonely was the first Sinatra HD Download since Thanksgiving-time 2015 (!!) with the beautiful A Voice On Air box. (I still can't we got a set like that... amazing!) The recent live boxes never received HD downloads. There's less than 20 Sinatra albums available in this format and A LOT of potential holes to be filled.
     
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  19. Just playing the new mix and on my system it sounds absolutely terrific: full, lush, smooth, warm, transparent and detailed. The voice sounds incredible. I can't really fault it so I'm not looking to try. I'm not concerned about reverb or lack of it as it sounds perfectly natural to me. Nothing is overdone or undercooked.

    It might well become my new go-to version.
     
  20. Just curious if there was a reason why they went with a stereo remix for this new issue, instead of a remaster of the original stereo mix?
     
  21. SBC

    SBC Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Read through this thread or the dedicated thread for the 58 album. Short answer is it could be many reasons. One is that side b of the stereo masters seems to have some condition issues. Another could be the push toward a more 'modern' sound in the Sinatra camp. Another could be the hiss present on the original master, which some people seem to have a cow over. Who knows.
     
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  22. Yeah, I've kept up with the thread and didn't see anything definitive, just wondering if the label mentioned why.
     
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  23. With the disc now in hand and the sound embedded in my brain, I have to say I am in complete agreement with you. This is a great deluxe set and the new stereo mix is exactly as you've said. I think Larry and Ron have done a sterling job with this one.

    My only quibble is the poorly designed CD package. I've had to keep my discs outside the sleeve for fear of damage. That is plainly ludicrous. I'd prefer either jewel cases or a digipak with centre hub for holding the disc.
     
  24. CBackley

    CBackley Chairman of the Bored


    I really hate this trend. Getting any sort of hub that actually holds my CDs is the rare exception these days.
     
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  25. Tribute

    Tribute Senior Member

    If you get some tyvek sleeves, that may help. Sometimes the tyvek sleeves do not fit in pockets, but the can be creased to fit.
     
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