Oh right, thanks for that. In my defence, I emailed Qobuz customer support in release week asking if/when it might get added and they replied that they'd contact their licenser & look to get it added!
I just finished listening to this for the first time, leading me to this... Q: Is "One For My Baby" considered to be one of Mr. Sinatra's greatest recordings?
Well... I'd say it's definitely one of his signature tunes. On its own it's an elite classic, and a poignant closer to a perfect album. In a larger sense, it also serves as an homage to the "wee small hours" saloon singer that Sinatra always saw himself as -- at home with the drunks and losers. Cheers to that! And pour me another! So in that sense it packs a punch to many fans (bums) who get what Sinatra was all about as an artist. Well maybe not "all about," he enjoyed a lot of different music (his Jobim album melts me every time). But it's a great recording... almost a theme to a major piece of the man.
Sinatra's recording for 1958's One For My Baby is an example where less is more, due to the simple arrangement: a piano accompanied by a discreet string of plays accompanying the voice of Frank, who alone represents 50 percent of the recording.
Re: One for My Baby Arlen and Mercer wrote the song for Astaire, for the 1943 film The Sky’s the Limit. Sinatra rescued it from certain obscurity. Note that he first recorded the song for Columbia in 1947, a decade earlier than the Capitol version: One for My Baby (And One More for the Road), a song by Frank Sinatra on Spotify
One for My Baby is by by far the best track on Yvonne DeCarlo's one and only LP from 1957. Lena Horne's version is also good.
Not to stray too far off-topic for Sinatra, but some today might consider that a sexist comment—especially women who drink alone in bars at night. I won’t name them all, but you’ll find quite a few female vocalists in this playlist: One for my baby ... - YouTube
Re a Columbia recording of One For My Baby there is a version on the 4cd Best of the Columbia Years set that I have (I do not have the larger Columbia box). The Best of the Columbia Years: 1943–1952 - Wikipedia Anyone hazard a guess as to how many officially released versions there are of Frank performing/recording this fine heartbreaking song?
That version in the Columbia/Legacy 4-CD Best Of set is the same as in the big 12-CD The Complete Recordings box, as heard in the above YouTube video. There was also an alternate (playback) take first issued in the 2003 singke CD collection, The Essential Frank Sinatra: The Columbia Years: No need to guess; they’re all listed at the Sinatra Family Forum: Frank Sinatra Sessionography: "One For My Baby" That shows 24 different officially released versions, including studio, movie, television, and concert recordings.
I posted in this thread previously about wanting to hear Mr. Walsh's remastering of this fine album. For many years, I have enjoyed the mono mix, but I never found a stereo mix that I liked enough to include in my collection. Not that they don't exist, but I haven't stumbled on one that I liked as much as the mono mix. I have the mono mix on the Mobile Fidelity CD, and original vinyl. This new stereo remix is NOT the mono mix, they were apparently recorded differently with many microphones used to spotlite players on the mono mix. Two overhead mics were used for the stereo mix, with Sinatra's voice in the center (thanks to the Sinatra Family forum for the recording info). For the new mix, I picked up the stereo double album set. The stereo mix, apparently corrected a bit (awaiting more info on exactly how) reveals the orchestra recorded in a very natural way. This is the breath of life, folks. The sound stage is large, and it reveals each player in his natural position in the recording studio. There are details in the orchestral swells that are only hinted at in any other mix I've heard of this title. The new stereo mix, in my opinion, is excellent and definitive.
While I agree with you about the naturalness of the orchestra sound and the wide soundstage, I don't find Frank's voice to be naturally represented in the mix. Unfortunately, I can't get past how his voice is really far out in the front of the rest of the orchestra. I feel this is a shame, for the sound of Frank's voice and the sound of the orchestra is excellent, but the balance between them (to me) seems way off. And this isn't a matter of imprinting on the mono mix, for this album is relatively new to me.
I know this is exactly what the Sinatra experts are saying on this thread, but I've tried again and again to compare this new release with older versions, primarily using the song "Willow Weep For Me" as an example, and I don't hear a big difference in terms of the balance between the orchestra and Sinatra's voice. What I have indeed noticed is Sinatra's voice sounding "clearer". But I don't see how that makes his voice really "far out in the front of the orchestra"? Might the "clearer" vocal account for a more pronounced presence? Now, I'm no expert on the subject; I guess I'm just thinking out loud.
I think this is a fair interpretation on what is going on here with no disrespect intended to our Sinatra experts, who obviously know this material inside and out. I think that there is simply no right or wrong choice on this matter as is usually the case on these type of sonic issues, when there is no definitive consensus. I also think that it is a case that once you have heard an album early in a sonically pleasing way, you are unlikely to like another version of it that you hear lately, unless that version is just substantially improved in a completely objective way. I say this as an avid Elvis collector who has gotten very enamored with Vic Anesini's remastering of Elvis Presley's catalogue over the last decade or so. I'm sure one day some hot shot new engineer will come along with what he thinks is some superior remastering of his music, and I will probably say he has screwed it up because it does not sound the way I heard it after the first great sonic improvement that occured under Mr. Anesini's great hand. I think this is just the way these things go. There is no right or wrong way to hear the music that you love, if it sounds good to your ears. I still think this new deluxe version is well worth checking out, unless you are totally content with what you already have in your collection or you do not have any version of it at all yet.
I very much agree. If I had spent years and years listening to this album, I, too, would most likely feel the same way as our Sinatra experts. But as someone who's fairly new to Sinatra (aside from some compilations and box sets), I'm perfectly fine with this Larry Walsh mix. It sounds very good to my ears. That said, I also love Vic Anesini's remastering of Elvis Presley's catalogue.
Ok, I do think Frank's voice sounds more forward in this mix. However, I think there is a very sound reason for it, because both the voice and orchestra are mixed with a wider dynamic range than the previous mixes I have heard. That is, the quiet passages are softer than they would be if more compression had been added to the mix. I base this on the volume of the orchestra and voice when they are together at a crescendo. The orchestra and Frank sound well balanced at these moments. It leads me to belive that Frank is mixed in at the original level of the recording in 1958. The orchestra, however, has less compression and is therefore softer in the quiet passages than it has been in previous mixes because less compression, or no compression has been added to the original recording. This is a case of the loudness wars in reverse, with the experts wanting the volume levels adjusted to modern tastes.
No, just the opposite. The new stereo mix has less dynamic range (more compression) overall than previous mixes. See this earlier post: Re: Dynamic Range.
If Frank and the orchestra are at the same level, it adds to the fact that more compression was used than previous mixes.
I have only nice things to say about the 60th Anniv. edition. Found the stereo mix and mastering a miraculous improvement over the 1998 Norberg, loved the bonus tracks, really liked the packaging, was delighted to have the mono included -- and all this at an affordable price, presumably to stay in print for a few years at least. All of this really enhanced my appreciation for an album that I formerly had not rated very highly, despite its sterling reputation as one of the big three Sinatra albums. But, now that I like the album well enough to be more curious about its possibilities and more financially venturesome about pursuing them... this thread has inspired me to hunt down a copy of the MFSL Gold mono. Hope I find it worth the money -- but, whether I do or don't, it's nice that I have this 60th Anniv. mono to scratch that itch when necessary. Cheers, RH
The Dynamic Range of the new stereo mix is not so loud but the sound is more powerful without appearing loud enough to distort.
Exactly my opinion on the matter as well. I couldn't have said it better myself. I have no issues with the new packaging, and the use of the "spire" style Capitol label on the CDs demonstrates attention to detail rather than it does carelessness, since this is a reissue and not an original pressing. The new mid/side mix is dramatic and involving, and it has made me a fan of an album that I previously could not get into. So, mission accomplished. An affordable set loaded with interesting and historically relevant bonus tracks. Highly recommended.
