Thoughts, please: June Christy & Anita O'Day...

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Joel Cairo, Nov 21, 2007.

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  1. Joel Cairo

    Joel Cairo Video Gort / Paiute Warrior Staff Thread Starter

    Location:
    Portland, Oregon
    Your preference between the two? Why?

    Best LPs/singles?

    Best mastering on LP?

    The best sounding CD (or LP) reissues?

    I've seen it said that the two ladies are somewhat interchangeable, but I personally don't feel that's the case. (For some reason reason, I find Ms. O'Day to be more accessible than the Misty Miss Christy...) But in any event, I think a little discussion of both might be helpful.

    Anyone have some opinions? (Now **there's** a loaded question...) :)

    -Kevin
     
  2. MikeP5877

    MikeP5877 V/VIII/MCMLXXVII

    Location:
    OH
    I love them both (and Chris Connor too!) but if I had to pick one over the other, I'd pick Anita because her sound is more swinging for my taste. June is more on the 'easy listening' side.

    One of my favorite albums of all time is Anita's first Verve album titled "This is Anita" (some issues leave off the "This Is") It was mastered by Dennis Drake and sounds fantastic (see pic below). All of the Drake mastered Anita's sound great (Sings the Winners, Pick Yourself Up, Anita Sings the Most).

    Some of Anita's later Verve albums were remastered by Universal sometime in the last few years but are a bit on the bright side, probably too much so for some of the folks here.

    The ultimate Anita collection is the 9 disc Mosaic box which compiles her complete Verve/Clef sessions. I was lucky to snag before it went out of stock.

    I like most of June's Capitol albums, and really can't recommend one over the other. I guess my favorite is "The Misty Miss Christy". Sound quality varies, from album to album. Some sound pretty good and some sound like they were subjected to a lot of NR. It's been awhile since I've played them so I can't remember specifically which titles were NR'd. I like all of the music though so I didn't let the sound get in the way too much.
     
  3. zen archer

    zen archer Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston Ma.usa
    I love them both , the mosaic complete verve Anita O'day is my fave .
     
  4. scotto

    scotto Senior Member

    I prefer Anita O'Day.
    But I also thought What about Chris Connor? when I read the thread title.
    I love how Anita chose her stage name: it's a play on pig Latin for "I need dough."
    If you didn't catch the NPR profile, check this out: http://www.npr.org/programs/jazzprofiles/archive/o'day_a.html
    And to further muddy the waters and crap the thread, don't forget Annie Ross (and her most-excellent recently released vinyl with Gerry Mulligan discussed here: http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=123024&highlight=annie+ross+mulligan).
     
  5. ashlee5

    ashlee5 Senior Member

    I :love: June's voice and singing style. For a starter, I'd recommend the Capitol CD Day Dreams, which is out of print but available on Amazon on the cheap.

    :wave:
     
  6. I like them for different reasons. Outside of a little similarity in vocal timbre I don't consider them interchangeable either.
    Anita's more swinging and likes to get down into the meat of the matter a little more.
    June's style is better for songs that need a little "glaze" on them, a sort of hazy early evening cocktail type of sound.

    The recordings I have of these two are all the groovy discs, so I can't comment on c.d.'s.
     
  7. Joel Cairo

    Joel Cairo Video Gort / Paiute Warrior Staff Thread Starter

    Location:
    Portland, Oregon
    Re: June Christy--

    Well, part of the reason I asked about the re-issues is that it's tough to find good-condition copies of either lady's work (at least around here)... as a starting point, I found a mono 1998 CD re-issue of "Something Cool", licensed from Capitol, which had a number of other singles added to it; but the tapes sounded a bit lifeless, as though they'd been stepped on pretty hard with NR.

    There was a production credit for the CD reissue, but no mastering credit for the 1991 source tapes that were used, as I recall.

    I understand there's a more recent "Something Cool" stereo & mono remaster, which features a re-mix of the stereo version by Ron McMaster. Was the original simply too "wet" with echo, like a lot of the other Capitol stereo mixes released at that time? Anyone want to comment on this particular re-issue?

    Or am I going to have to try to dig up the vinyl for this one? If so, is the sound of the original 1950s-cut 12" LP version equal to (or better than) the 10" version?

    Thanks for any assitance...

    -Kevin
     
  8. il pleut

    il pleut New Member

    i like all three too, probably june a little less than the others, i just think she tended to be a little more conservative or something, but still an excellent singer.

    anita is the most out there, i guess, very inventive rhythmically, able to totally deconstruct (and reconstruct) a song to fit her purposes. the mosaic verve set is great.

    chris connor is more subtle, but also very creative- she tends to sing very behind the beat which makes even up tempos seem kind of langourous. i think i like her vocal timbre best of the 3, very low and husky.
     
  9. il pleut

    il pleut New Member

    i have a capitol cd of something cool, i will check it later, i don't know the year or much about it offhand. i remember there's something in the notes about different versions of the album, and the cd has a lot of tracks.

    i also have a real nice 10" capitol lp of this, which i'll also look at later.
     
  10. efhjr

    efhjr Idler Wheel Enthusiast

    Location:
    San Antonio, TX
    Yes, there is a new CD reissue of Something Cool (Amazon.com link here), and I've got it (you can't beat the price). I bought it just because I'm a completist. I've also got one of the previous stereo CD issues, and it's pretty dull and lifeless.

    I seem to recall that Christy and Rugalo completely re-recorded the album for stereo, but I'll be danged if I can hear any differences in the arrangements.

    I have a 12" LP in stereo, and a mono 10" version (both Capital rainbows, I believe) -- I much prefer the 10" mono -- the mix makes is much more cohesive (especially with "Lonely House"), the timbre of the instruments and June's voice is superior. I haven't found a mono 12" LP yet. But I'm a sucker for mono Capitols ;-).
     
  11. MikeP5877

    MikeP5877 V/VIII/MCMLXXVII

    Location:
    OH
    Another fabulous Anita album is "Waiter, Make Mine Blues". Don't know which CD version to recommend as I have it as part of the Mosaic set.

    On vinyl, I have a mono pressing from Japan that sounds good too.
     
  12. Catywampus

    Catywampus Forum Resident

    Location:
    Arizona
    My favorite Anita album is Anita Sings the Most from 1957 w/ Oscar Peterson. I've got a great early 80's Japanese pressing of it on vinyl that sounds wonderful.

    I'm not all that familiar with June Christy, so this thread has sparked some interest. Thanks to everyone for all the great info!
     
  13. MikeP5877

    MikeP5877 V/VIII/MCMLXXVII

    Location:
    OH
    Not to hijack the thread, but since Chris Connor has been mentioned I thought I'd put in a plug for the 2-CD "Warm Cool: The Atlantic Years". It's one of my favorite compiliations ever. It's out of print but shouldn't be too hard to find.
     
  14. DrJ

    DrJ Senior Member

    Location:
    Davis, CA, USA
    I enjoy June Christy's singing but Anita was "the most!" What a singer, not so much in terms of chops but swing and sheer, gutty musicianship. You cannot go wrong with any of her titles on Verve, in my opinion. The Mosaic box of that material is an incredible treasure trove.

    For June Christy, the mono SOMETHING COOL is pretty sublime. I am not fortunate enough to have heard it on vinyl, but the Capitol CD mentioned previously sounds very good to me. Heck though I like all her stuff. Another absolute favorite is THE SONG IS JUNE CD reissue the combines that LP with another called OFF BEAT. Her rendition of "Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most" - one of my favorite songs - is just wonderful, with a fabulous Pete Rugolo arrangement.
     
  15. AaronW

    AaronW Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    As far as June Christy's Something Cool goes the original teal label 12" mono does sound better than the 10" plus it has some additional great songs. BUT if you want the best sounding version check out the mono Cisco vinyl cut by Kevin Gray. Fantastic sounding record, it's hard to go back to the original teal label Capitol version after hearing the Cisco issue.
     
  16. ArneW

    ArneW Senior Member

    Location:
    Cologne, Germany
    Yes it is. The current in-print CD which has both the Stereo and the mono version is O.K. though.
     
  17. johnny33

    johnny33 New Member

    Location:
    usa
  18. MMM

    MMM Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    Lodi, New Jersey

    12" version should be better (cut in LA - "D" w/lacquer # in the dead area after catalog #) .
     
  19. BFrank

    BFrank Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Francisco, CA
  20. rat1073

    rat1073 Active Member

    It's hard to argue with any of the wonderful June/Pete Rugolo albums, and since it's the season again, "This Time Of Year" has to rank as one of the most unique Christmas albums ever.
     
  21. Joel Cairo

    Joel Cairo Video Gort / Paiute Warrior Staff Thread Starter

    Location:
    Portland, Oregon

    Well, I'm all over this one, for sure!!

    Is the O'Day Mosaic set available on vinyl, or it CD only?

    And thanks for the advice, folks!!

    -Kevin
     
  22. jkauff

    jkauff Senior Member

    Location:
    Akron, OH
    Not to hijack the thread, but are any of you folks fans of Blossom Dearie?
     
  23. efhjr

    efhjr Idler Wheel Enthusiast

    Location:
    San Antonio, TX
    This is interesting -- are you referring to the teal mono?

    The stereo Capitol pressing I have is a yellow label with red Capitol logo. Were there rainbow or gray-label pressings of this one too?
     
  24. BFrank

    BFrank Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Francisco, CA
    I don't think it was ever available on vinyl, and it's OOP in CD form (9 disks) now. I recently saw it sell for $315 on ebay - a little over twice the original price.
     
  25. LAL

    LAL Forum Resident

    Location:
    Malaysia
    I like this disc a lot (for more upbeat June):
    [​IMG]

    ..and the duet with Stan Kenton.
     
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