Sinatra / Capitol Sound Quality and General Discussion: "Where Are You?" (1957 album)*

How often, if at all, did De Vol work in New York?

 

Tony Bennett's TO MY WONDERFUL ONE and the ALONE TOGETHER albums come to mind re DeVol in New York, recorded in 1959 & 1960.

 

IMHO, as a huge Tony aficionado, those 2 albums are among the worst in his catalog. That severely overdone "angelic choir" makes them unlistenable to me.

 

I was aiming to get the praised mono from MFSL, but listening to the comparison clips I actually found that I preferred this album in stereo. By chance I (once again) found a Dutch DMM copy in mint condition for around $7 in a small record shop here in Sweden. Seems the Dutch DMM of Sinatra's Capitol albums are pretty common here, my guess is that they were issued in Sweden during the eighties. I haven't looked around in these threads regarding this, but it seems logical that the Dutch pressings would be issued in the rest of Europe at the time, alongside the UK Dell in the UK (and maybe other countries?).

Anyway, the Dutch DMM sounds excellent, as the other ones from this series that I have bought so far, all thanks to the great contributions and recommendations of this forum! Waiting for a DMM of "Nice 'n' Easy" and DMM mono "No One Cares" as well, will write something about my impressions in the appropriate thread for those album when they have arrived.

 

Just listened to the Mo-fi "Where are you" in Mono for the first time. Really great sounding Cd. But can't say anything about the mono mix yet. I have to let it lay for a while. I'm completely confused because it's so different from my DMM Lp which I've heard since childhood. I feel like I've had a too heavy meal. And my head is still spinning. Can't even say if I like it or not! It's that unfamiliar... But what an experience!

 

The mono recording wonderfully locks in the rhythm, placed just so in the mix.

 

Yes, perfectly right, the rhythm section is the big enhancement on this one!

 

Don't get me wrong - I love the stereo recording of this album too when heard right, and it can sound absolutely stunning, but this is an inherent plus from a balance perspective which the mono version has.

 

Still I can't figure out what's bothering me... Can it be that I simply can't stand the "too clean" and sterile sound of a mo-fi Cd? Somehow the mood and atmosphere is missing. Have to seek out an original mono vinyl. Maybe that will do the trick.

 

Great interesting thread and thanks for all the links for the 11fifty.com stuff. I am fortunate that I got the MFSL sacds when they were issued so I have that version of Where Are You? along with an old 1980s vinyl, a Walsh cd, 1998 UK box and an EOTC cd! I guess at some point Universal might do a new vinyl version hopefully based on the MFSL. I know their vinyl versions of Wee Small Hours and Songs for Swingin' Lovers are well thought of.
Regarding the original recording sessions would all the available tapes have been backed up onto a digital format at some point?

 

Yep, that’s “Frank Sinatra” in katakana text. Awesome pic!

 

Does anybody know what's the source for "Laura" on the Ultimate Sinatra Box Set?
That track sounds pretty pretty pretty good.

 

Roger Williams arguably owns this song above everyone else. He also made the song a standard. Consider this. Roger also launched his long career and Kapp Records with that track. This song launched artist and label, Julie London launched her career with "Cry Me A River" and the lady also launched and kept a label and it's fortunes alive. Eva Cassady's done neither. Excellent as she is. "Autumn Leaves" was a standard over 35 years before Eva Cassady cut a record. And I am not dissing her, I like her.

 

Regardless of any pressing or stereo mixing you hear from "Where Are You", one notices the album was recorded in the atmosphere of "experience" during the sessions as there are some subtle differences in capturing the rhythmic basis of the tracks.

 

See Matt’s (@MLutthans) website: Where Are You? - 1957

 

Thanks for the tip, my dear @Bob F. In fact, I've known the site before, but I reread the article about the album with more concentration. And really, the mood of tweaking and experience prevails throughout the recording, which is "live" and also continues through all subsequent releases. Thanks buddy.

 

"familiar ballads of loneliness and longing..." No kidding.

For a long while, when I started my "Sinatra journey" in 2015, WHERE ARE YOU was my favorite Sinatra album. Then it became my favorite album by anyone. No question. And I still love it a lot, but with Sinatra it's hard to call a favorite, because there is so much wonderful music.......

-- David

 

It is a great album. You may already have it, but the MFSL SACD and LP are highly recommended.

 

Does anyone know why the song "I Cover The Waterfront" was recorded only in mono mix?

 

No one has ever offered an official explanation. One guess is that the 3-tracks were damaged. Or, since “Waterfront” was the first song recorded at its session, perhaps there was some mic problem which went unnoticed initially by the engineer in the upstairs break room (not the only time that happened).

 

There may be a chance that "Waterfront" was recorded on 3 multi-tracks and there was a sound distortion during recording. In fact, many of us know that not only the Capitol albums but also a few Verve albums (which used the Tower studio) suffered distortion in several tracks recorded in 1957.