Sinatra / Capitol Sound Quality: "A Swingin' Affair" - 1957

Hi, Gary. I have no doubt that it's enjoyable, and that the sound is good, maybe even preferable, depending on taste. The Walsh is definitely not "true mono," so the phasey quality you hear is understandable. The Avid does, however, use the MFSL LP as a source, which has its own set of problems.

Not to beat a dead horse, but on this title and "No One Cares," there are lots of good issues out there, and it's really hard to say which is "best." My comments on the scorecard for the MFSL were "wrong tapes; sub-par," and for Walsh the comments were "Good, but...Mono tape played on a stereo machine; does not sum well to mono."

In fact, on that particular title, I didn't even really choose a "winner." The closest I came was "Winner?" with a question mark, along with "probably mint original issue or 1984 UK LP."

in a nutshell, this title needs a high quality reissue, IMO.

Matt

 

I can re-check the mastering off of those two to confirm; it's been a while!

The scorecard was really meant as a guide to the assorted "complete set" Capitol issues, the Norberg-based Concepts box, the Walsh-based Concepts box, the UK box, the MFSL box, the UK vinyl box. One thing about the gray labels (and later rainbow labels) is that the quality can vary quite a lot from pressing to pressing, so it's hard to make a blanket statement about them being best, worst, or anywhere in between, i.e., a D31 might sound great while an identical-looking N16 might sound so-so. The box-set editions listed on the scorecard should have a pretty consistent sound, copy-to-copy, while the original USA reissues do not.

Matt

 

Just picked up a like-new copy of a 1974(?) Japanese pressing, #ECP-88155, and it's very disappointing in terms of sonics, with a Kardashian-like midrange hump. Ah, well, at least I got it for cheap.

The cover is textured, as is the same-vintage Sings for Only the Lonely that I've got from EMI/Toshiba. Too bad the sound isn't better!

 

Yeah, I've got, I think, 6 different titles, and they are all over the map. "I Remember Tommy" is the best of the bunch, as I recall, but it's also Reprise, not Capitol, of course. My "Come Dance with Me" is good, but not great, and my 12-tracks-in-stereo "Sings for Only the Lonely" is definitely "well above average," but the 12-song Dutch LP tops it sonically. IIRC, the clips that a couple guys submitted for the Songs for Young Lovers/Swing Easy comparisons were really excellent. I think Close to You was Duophonic, IIRC.

 

What did those Aussies do to their cover of A Swingin' Affair? Is it me, or does it just look.....off?

 

MFSL SACD #210, ordered late last week, just arrived. First impression of the first track? Hoochee mama, this sounds nice.

 

This has always (to my ears) been a much more "hi-fi"-sounding album that SFSL, and the SACD sound quality just jumps out and grabs me as being spot-on. The SFSL disc is great, but this one is in another league altogether, IMO, due to the different recording style (and different studio). Absolutely top grade. To steal a line from Martin, this is the best I've ever heard this album sound, and by no small margin. (First impression.)

[Question: Is the tail of "At Long Last Love" clipped off on other versions? It seems to be so here, but maybe it's always been that way??]

 

Similar style on Where Are You:
http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threa...s-on-mfsl-lp-sacd.294645/page-29#post-8527839
http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threa...are-you-1957-album.205245/page-7#post-8528830