Sinatra / Capitol Sound Quality, etc.: "Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely" (1958)

Ha! I literally just woke up at 5 AM local time, and the thought went through my head: "Wasn't Sukman there for just the first session?"....and I got up to dig through the threads and see if that was the case, and lo and behold, I see you've posted about that very thing. Thank you! So, it sounds like we'll likely never know the answer.

Is there any piano playing on Monique? Guess I'll have to give it a listen again.

 

Thanks, Bob. FWIW, I can't hear piano on "Monique," either.

 

A post from 2010 re: original stereo release of SPRING IS HERE, which was on the mono Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely LP, but not on the stereo release:

Today, I was at Lost in the Groove (record shop) in Mt. Vernon, WA, and they had a Duophonic Sings Rodgers and Hart for cheap, so I picked it up, and yes, "Spring is Here" is in true (and nice sounding) stereo on the LP, #DW 1825.

 

(Going back to a January, 2015 post.....)

Does anybody here have a copy like the one jppy posted (reproduced below)?

I don't see any like that on Ebay.co.uk or on Discogs. It certainly strikes me as an oddity, i.e., a mono pressing with that later label.

 

From 2010:

Here's the video that used to be linked from my site:
http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/video/x1977c

I think that much of the spoken commentary is hooey, but at least you can hear a bit of the music along with the yada yada.

 

Whatever *we* may think of it's thematic place within the album, clearly the "powers that be" wanted it there, as it was recorded on May 5, 1958, at that initial, unused(/unsatisfactory?) session for the album, and then was re-recorded on May 29, and used on the LP.

 

I'll still be adding a couple of clips, but for now, I've got samples from 8 different 10-song stereo LP releases posted on this page: Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely - 1958 Abridged Stereo Releases »

•Original D11
•W19 - thanks @stevelucille - Capitol NYC cut
•W21 pressed at RCA from Capitol NYC lacquer
•D43 pressed at EMI in UK from Capitol Hollywood lacquer
•1970s SY-series
•Two 1970s SM-series (one cut on a Scully lathe, one on a Neumann)
•1970s SM-series Columbia Record Club from Capitol Hollywood lacquer

The SM-series F50 stamper was reused by Capitol on (at least some of) the SN-series LPs that came out in the early '80s. @Arkoffs has such an LP, as I recall. It's a good sounding LP, to my ears.

 

Thanks, @aza14782 !

Yep, any LP cut from the US tapes after about 1976 is loaded with dropouts on the last two songs on side two (and maybe elsewhere on some very-late cuts, but the 10-song LPs I've heard have the dropout problems on Gone with the Wind and One for My Baby.)

And yes, the D11 does have a sound that is different from all the others, and whether one views it as the best or not, it certainly is a pleasant listen in a unique way vis-a-vis all the others. It's very pleasing in terms of tone, which goes a long ways with me. (See my signature.)

I've got the last two of my 10-song stereo LP clips posted now. One is a nice-sounding J2 SY-series LP that I just bought -- still sealed after 43 years! -- and the other is what is arguably the most defective pressing of this title ever released: My 1969 Capitol Record Club H1 pressing that managed to sneak through quality control with only the right channel intact! Oooooooooooooooops!

Both are now on the same page: Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely - 1958 Abridged Stereo Releases »
(Scan down to row #2 to find the new additions.)

Reel-to-reel tapes will be the next thing posted, followed by unabridged, 12-song stereo release clips in the days ahead.

Oh, if anybody has some clips they'd like to submit for comparison, it's not too late. Just send a PM, and we'll make it happen.

 

Re: Spring is Here

Are there any compilation LPs that contain SPRING IS HERE in stereo that have the harp in the LEFT channel just before the vocal comes in? It's correct position is to the right. Possibilities include (stereo only, please):
•The Sinatra Touch 6-LP set (US or UK stereo versions)
•UK Select Rodgers and Hart (the left/right situation is correct on the US stereo version, which I have)
•Belgian Lover LP from 1979

Maybe others?

Anybody have any of those? Could you please check where the harp is?

 

Hi, Teag. I suspect that's actually a sloppy, cursive-y ERT, which stands for Eugene R. Thompson. At least some of the SN-16202 copies just reused stampers from the SM-1053 releases, i.e., @Arkoffs has an SN- copy that uses the same F50 stamper as my SM- copy, but yours is likely not an F50 on side one, no?

 

Probably sounds nice. Mr. Thompson generally did good work, and that had a little extra benefit of being cut on the Neumann system, which may help a bit.

 

From way back in 2010, regarding the 7.5 ips and 3.75 ips 10-song stereo reel-to-reel tape releases:

Here's the clip from Steve's 7.5 ips tape, transitioning to the stereo MFSL LP: https://app.box.com/s/adeb0o5lmr39sgtahtgt7xr1ktx6cmml

...and ArneW's 3.75 ips tape, also transitioning to the stereo MFSL LP: https://app.box.com/s/8ctotwkipxrm2frn2jaq3o0r6azx8xou

Photos of the rear covers of both tape boxes, for fun:


It's interesting to note that the stereo LP was abridged for technical reasons: The sides were too long to effectively cut with the equipment available. For stereo tape, no such technical reason existed, yet the abridged song roster was followed for the tape release. This certainly could have been (and, arguably, should have been) a 12-song, full-length release format.

 

D'oh! I nearly forgot! Here's a clip that starts with the 3.75 ips tape and transitions into the 7.5 ips tape: https://app.box.com/s/bqfmoyhnfp645o1i897fgitau1npv2od

By the way, the 7.5 ips tape was issued in 1960, and I think the 3.75 ips version came out in about 1966.

Also, a little footnote, of sorts: The 3.75 ips tape was transferred via a Uher machine, the 7.5 ips via a Tandberg. Also, having heard the 7.5 ips version all the way through, I can say that there is quite a lot of hiss on that version, albeit not nearly as much as on the 3.75 ips version.

Thanks again to ArneW and SteveLucille for sharing these reel clips.

I've also got a little more about the reels posted at the bottom of the page here: Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely - 1958 Abridged Stereo Releases »

 

No audio clips, but a whole lotta yada yada is now posted regarding the 12-song stereo LP releases, here: Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely - 1958 Full-length, Unabridged Stereo Releases »

Audio clips to follow in the days ahead.

 

Thanks! Fixed.

Also, is anybody able to contribute a clip from the Waxtime (EU) reissue LP? I've got a clip from the DOL LP. Any other gray-market EU releases? LP or CD? Did Black Coffee Records do this one? If you're able to share, please send a PM my way. Thanks!

 

I will be posting at least two other clips, but for now, I've got six clips posted from the not-so-common, 12-song stereo LP releases:

•1973 Dutch
•1973 UK "One for My Baby"
•1973 Japan
•1983 MFSL stereo
•1984 UK Dell
•1984 Dutch Dell DMM

Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely - 1958 Full-length, Unabridged Stereo Releases »