The download for “Un Toque De Distincion” doesn’t include that track. “Retrata De Matt” seems to have the same tracks but includes “Tal Vez”. I hadn’t ever heard of Retrata until you mentioned it.
Richard, I do hope you are going to put out all this wonderful information together on your website or elsewhere as a handy reference for us and other aspiring collectors to follow? I remember that it all started for me in trying to find an online sessionography.
Its mentioned as the source on page 82 of the Sessionography. Do you have a link for this track? I found it on MySpace but it can't be played apparently.
The only original music in Pop Gear was Matt's theme an an instrumental piece used for a dance section. All other recordings were mimed to commercial releases (or in the case of The Beatles, from newsreel footage.
Apologies, I had thought that it had been included on one of the SEI corp downloads, but checking now I see its not.
Yes that would be excellent, even if at the bare minimum, it was just a complete list of songs recorded all in one place.
Richard, is it possible to have a list of the tracks that originally featured on "The Rare Monro" that went on to be included on "The Complete Singles Collection". I would be interested to see details of any differences between these (beyond the improved remastering). Were any different takes etc?
There are only a few differences. "Love Song" is the unedited version, "I Love You Too" and "When Love Comes Along" are alternate takes. All others are identical to Singles, but with some being in Mono. "I Love You Too" and "When Love Comes Along" also appear on Rarities, with improved sound and "When Love" in stereo.
Well on my Singles Collection, 'When Love Comes Along' is apparently in Mono as is the 'Alternate Vocal Take' on Rare/Rarities. The version on Alternate Monro is in Stereo of course.
Yes. "When Love Comes Along" is in Mono on Singles as the released vocal doesn't exist on the multitrack. I think this needs a write up as its a bit of an oddity.
Are you getting this information from tags or descriptions on downloads? That’s the thing with buying the CDs, you just get track titles with no added information usually.
I listened to them and then I loaded them into Audacity to make sure. I agree about the information though. You can't trust anything.
Does anyone know why the two-fer CD "This is The Life/Here’s To My Lady was issued in Mono and not Stereo. They were both originally issued in Stereo (& mono) in the 60s.
“When Love Comes Along” was the very first song Matt recorded on multitrack tape. In this case 4 track. Exactly why they used 4 track is unclear. There is nothing on surviving paperwork to explain it and the only person left who knew when I was writing the sessionography was George Martin, but even he didn’t remember. Despite the session taking place on 4 track the first half of the session took place just as usual. with everyone playing live. The tape had Piano on one track, Rhythm on another, strings on a third and topped off with Matt’s vocal. They recorded 11 takes until the tape was full. Was one reel all that they could afford to use due to the increased cost? Who knows? All we do know is that once take 11 was complete the orchestra left and Matt continued to record more vocals. For this they mixed the backing track from take 11 live with Matt’s new vocals to a mono reel. Once again I suspect it was just to mono as they’d already blown the tape budget on the 4 track tape so didn’t run a stereo machine, but again I can’t confirm this. It’s possible they did run Stereo too, but nothing has survived. Recording continued until take 17. Now here is when it gets even odder. Take 15 was chosen and cut from the session reel. It seems that George Martin wasn’t particularly happy with the mix – the backing track was evidently too low - even though he liked the vocal so he and Stuart Eltham set about synchronising the 4 track tape with the Mono vocal mix and creating a hybrid mix. This is why the single version has a slightly odd phasey effect. The original mono mix for take 15 was not kept. It is for this reason that no stereo mix can be created. When Rare Monro was being compiled Michele asked for the single to be used. For some reason a mono mix of take 11 with its original vocalwas pulled instead. – I’m not sure where this comes from, It may have been mixed during the vocal overdub part of the original session, but I’d have to check that reel (I have a copy of it somewhere) to be sure. This take appears on the 4 track tape so it could be mixed to Stereo and therefore was for Rarities. The version on Alternate Monro uses take 9 also mixed from the 4 track tape. The only chance way a stereo mix could be made is if the vocal could be separated from the single mix and resynchronised with the backing track of take 11. So far I haven’t been impressed enough with isolated vocals to try, but hopefully one day.
Yes. They used the 2nd gen mono masters held in the UK archive. They didn't get copies from the USA 1st gen Stereo masters as that would have cost money! There are no Stereo tapes for those albums in the UK. Why isn't clear. As Stereo was a minority format back in 1966 they may have imported copies from the USA or had a stamper sent - The sleeves were all printed in the UK. There are many other two-fers in the series that use Mono tapes or even needle drops of Capitol or Liberty material for the same reason.
Thanks Richard. Have all of those tracks from both albums been made available in stereo across different CD compilations in recent years or is the only way to have them is by owning the original stereo LPs.
Two tracks from Here's To My Lady are only on CD in Mono - Rain Sometime and Nina Never Knew. Invitation To Broadway suffers in the same way. The Apple Tree, Stranger In Paradise and Walking Happy are all Mono only on CD despite Stereo appearing on Vinyl
That's an interesting insight Richard but I have to repeat that the version of 'When Love Comes along' on my copy of Rarities definitely sounds like mono.
The Man Behind The Voice has arrived. Just the CD. So which tracks are unique or improved please? The ones published by Michelle Monro seem the obvious tracks of interest. Was this remastered after Singer's Singer? I would be grateful for any booklet info...
Matt Monro - The Man Behind The Voice (2011) Nice and Easy S'Wonderful / I Get a Kick Out of You are the two tracks apparently 'New' to me. Are they live?
From Saturday club see the postings on this thread. These are improved as i remastered them from the original transfers made for Heart Of The Man where they suffer grom slightly heavy handed noise reduction.
