Sinatra / Capitol Sound Quality (and general discussion): Singles, Soundtracks, Etc.

The first Capitol coffee cup, Paul…


(L-R) Axel Stordahl, Alan Livingston, Voyle Gilmore, and Frank Sinatra

 

Date: 4/2/53
Location: Los Angeles
Lean Baby
I'm Walking Behind You
Day In, Day Out
Don't Make A Beggar Of Me
Musicians: Heinie Beau, Leonard Altman, Arthur "Skeets" Herfurt, Ted Nash (woodwinds); Rubin "Zeke" Zarchy (trumpet); Vincent DeRosa (French Horn); Harry Bluestone, Murray waiter, Alex Murray, Paul Nero, Irving Prague, Mischa Russell (violin); Paul Robyn, David Sterkin (viola); Cy Bernard (Cello); Bill Miller (piano); Phil Stephens (bass); Ray Hagan (drums); George Van Eps (guitar); Ann Mason Stockton (harp)

 

The individual CD was issued in January 2002, but it first appeared in the Concepts box set released September 2000.

 

It... The Cd, went out of print very quickly.

 

Not the Norberg mastering. It’s still in print: Frank Sinatra - Nice 'n' Easy - Amazon.com Music

BTW (@MLutthans)… Looking at that Amazon listing, I see where the date confusion stems from. The track titles state: “(1999 Digital Remaster).” That is probably the true date of the (24-bit) digital masters. The actual CD states: “℗ 1999 © 2002 Capitol Records, Inc.” As stated above, 2002 was the release date for the standalone CD.

 

The 45rpm Pal Joey 4-disc set is so beautiful! I received it in nearly mint condition. Even with the original Capitol inner sleeves included! Almost all of the sides have the D1 stamper. Love it so much! Great sound on "Lady is a tramp".

 

Odd how they emphasize ORIGINAL, just as he songs it in the film, etc. for "Three Coins In the Fountain", when it's different from the movie version.

Having "It Worries Me" in such large, bold letters for a tender ballad seems like they didn't hear the song before making the ad.

 

It makes perfect sense, when you consider the backstory. There was a legal battle over rights to the Jule Styne/Sammy Cahn song: 20th Century Fox failed to sign the contract with the songwriters, allowing them to offer it to other singers than Sinatra (The Four Aces, Dinah Shore, etc.). The Capitol ad was meant to emphasize to the marketplace that Frank had the ORIGINAL version—“just as he sings it in the film” (although not exactly, as we know).

 

Right, though combining ORIGINAL and "just as he sings it in the 20th Century Fox film" goes beyond emphasizing Frank did the song first, and implies the film and Capitol version are the same.

 

I’m not saying the ad copy is true, just explaining why they used that language. In 1954, before the days of consumer video, no one was likely to do an A/B comparison. To me, the intended implication was: This is Frank’s song; HE sang it in the film.

 

I certainly don’t think it was meant for a single, Matt. It’s just not that kind of song. Perhaps this was a trial for a possible successor to FS Sings for Only the Lonely, which album was released the very week of this session.

One story goes that Sinatra was looking for a new “saloon” song to sing in his live performances, along the lines of “One for My Baby” and “Angel Eyes,” both of which were recorded earlier in the year. The Bill Miller piano solo accompaniment at the beginning of “Where or When” fit the bill, but the big orchestral finale didn't. Frank is heard on the session tape during rehearsal warmups saying, “It doesn't sound like a saloon.”

[ There’s some funny stuff on those “From the Vaults” session tapes: “It seems we stood and talked like this before… We threw up on each other in the same old way, but I can’t remember night or day.” ]

Note: A prior (first?) attempt at this Nelson Riddle arrangement was made in Monte Carlo the previous June (as heard in the World on a String box set), just before the final Capitol sessions for OTL. It was now too late to put it on the album, but the ballad treatment may have still been on Frank’s mind, and he just wanted to get one of his favorites recorded? For whatever reason, it went unreleased and remained in the vault for another twenty years before turning up on the UK album, The Rare Sinatra.

 

But remember: “Mr. Success” appeared on Sinatra’s only Capitol STEREO EP.

 

Sorry, little bit late. But in 2002 there was also that alternate session take 10 on the CD Romance: Songs From The Heart with strings on the left.

 

Good catch. The date was 2007. Mastering by Dave McEowen.

 

Matt, I'm a bit confused. All my Nice 'N' Easy session takes have the strings on the left. The source I've got them from is usually reliable. Do you have any explanation for that 'string shifting' from right to left or vice versa?

 

Are the 87-91 individual CDs preferable to the 3CD set 'The Capitol Years' sound quality wise or is it the other way around? Or are they just the same?

 

The other way around, for those tracks which appear in the 3-CD compilation. (For the most part, they are not the same masterings.) See also:

Best sounding Sinatra cd mastered by Larry Walsh?
Frank Sinatra - Best Sounding CDs?
Two Older Sinatra 3-CD Capitol Compilations: Which is The Best ?

 

Great, thank you very much!