Sinatra / Capitol Sound Quality and General Discussion: Songs for Swingin' Lovers - Released 1956*

Do you know if the Mastered for iTunes version uses the correct tapes or not? I think it sounds fantastic. I have the UMe vinyl too, but I haven't done a close comparison.

 

Based on reports by others, I suspect that most of the (few) Sinatra MFiT's are based on the same tapes as the new UMe LPs and hi-res downloads.

 

I've downloaded them all except for Great Songs from Great Britain (as I plan to get the London set at some point). They all sound great to me...but my only point of comparison is the Norberg mastered discs. Even as a newbie I can tell those stink.

 

I just got the MFSL SACD today (along with a few others). Holy cow! This is fantastic! I love it. And I'm only listening to the redbook layer. I need to get my old SACD player out of the closet!

 

More discussion about the two different jacket covers, reposted from another thread,
Listening to on Vinyl (Part 306) :

Actually, the original cover (with Frank facing away from the swingin' lovers) preceded 'The Man with the Golden Arm'. It was based on a Capitol session photo for the 'In the Wee Small Hours' album, taken February 8, 1955. The movie was filmed between September and November 1955. The sessions for (all but one of) the 'Songs for Swingin' Lovers!' album tracks were in January 1956.

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I'm not sure if we've ever pinned it down (@MLutthans or @jtaylor ?), but it may have been from another Wee Small Hours session, Feb. 16–17 or Mar. 4, 1955. [See: Sinatra / Capitol Sound Quality and General Discussion: In the Wee Small Hours (1955)* post #802.] In fact, the BACK covers of both Wee Small Hours and Swingin' Lovers have photos which may originate from that same session.

Another possibility is the session of March 7, 1955, with the Nuggets:


Whatever the exact session date, it appears that both the "facing away" and "facing toward" covers were from contemporaneous photos made months before the Golden Arm movie or the Swingin' Lovers album.

 

The first cover had Sinatra looking like a Rabbi officiating at a Jewish wedding.

 

I'm sure he would have been the Cantor, not the Rabbi.

 

Those pictures are from March 7th are in Melrose Studio C. The back cover photos for WEE SMALL HOURS and SWINGIN' LOVERS! (seen on the SESSION WITH SINATRA Capitol EP) were taken in Melrose Studio A. The February 16 session, with the medium sized orchestra, was in "C", while February 17 and March 4 sessions with the large orchestra were in "A".

 

That's my bet for the date of the second SFSL cover image. This was the date of the single recordings, "If I Had Three Wishes," "How Could You Do a Thing Like That to Me," "Two Hearts, Two Kisses" and "From the Bottom to the Top"—three days after the last ITWSH session.

As @W.B. mentioned, the mirror image of the second photo is very close to the one on the album cover. It's not the same (Frank's jacket is unbuttoned), but the tie knot and shirt collar are a close match.

 

I know, I hate that pic. I still wish they had used the other for the mfsl cover. Most disagree with me on that though.

 

If you want historical accuracy for the artwork (to match the mastering), you have to go with the original version.

Capitol did not always make the best choices. They blew it big time with 'Close to You'; I'd bet its cover had a lot to do with that album's relatively poor sales.

 

I know. But I still dont like the cover. And Close To You is pretty bad also.

If mfsl could finish what they started or were allowed Id take the sacd hybrids in a plain white wrapper though.

 

Have to disagree about "Close To You". It's an actual photo and not a painting. And it shows Sinatra in the act of singing.

 

Agree. Certainly better than Swingin' Lovers. Using pictures of models on covers seems strange although very common back then. See several Nat King Cole covers as an example.

 

Not to get into an off-topic philosophical debate, but it also shows his receding hairline, and the exposure is too dark.

 

Yeah, it's a dark and kinda dreary cover. Not something that would attract buyers to grab it off the shelf.

 

uDiscover Music: The 20 Best Pop Albums Ever

"Talk About Pop Music" on June 22, 2017:

(That last word should be "dueted," I'm sure.)

 

If they had dusted, that would have been cool also.

 

Or dueled. Or dieted.

 

Or debated! (This is getting silly...)

 

I was trying to stick to single-letter mistypes (common occurrence on iPads).

 

The 2016 Ume Swingin lovers vinyl is pure heaven!!!