Sounds like a drier (not much reverb) mix. Frank's vocal is more upfront. I can upload the track for you to verify.
Re: the 1987 Holland/UK "-3" (matrix info) CD of the UK The Frank Sinatra Collection: Thanks for the clip, Alan. Correctomundo, it's the same, dry version as on the Canadian CD. So, the question remains: Where did this version originate? It still seems like a stretch that Capitol would remix a song for a 1987 Non-USA CD reissue of a 1986 Non-USA LP when the 1986 LP apparently used the "standard" mix. Hmmm....
It's been a while since I had any Sinatra,but I could swear I remember hearing a version of this in the dreaded Duophonic.
Maybe on a Pickwick LP? I've got one that has a mix of mono and stereo tracks, and even some recorded-for-stereo tracks are presented in Duophonic.
Re: The 1986 The Frank Sinatra Collection and the accompanying 12" Nice 'n' Easy single: OldCoder and I have exchanged a few PMs since those quoted posts, and it finally dawned on me: OldCoder was referring to the 1986 45 RPM 12" single, not the 1960 45 RPM single. Maybe I need to spend more time in this thread: http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threa...nd-phrases-it-took-you-a-while-to-get.328886/, huh?! Sorry for the confusion, Dave! Too many versions, too much terminology, too simple a poster (me)!
No worries Matt. I should post more from a device with a real keyboard, rather than a phone. Might lead to my being more accurate or explicit. Merry Christmas to ALL and may your holidays be full of Frank Sinatra's music.
Sorry to keep harping on one song from one compilation CD, but I noticed this morning (and waveforms confirm this) that while the vocal on that dry-ish remix on The Frank Sinatra Collection CD from 1987 is "right heavy" (as mentioned by MMM earlier), the finger snap at the end is dead-centered. Levels exactly match in both channels. I always assumed that the vocal and snap* were both performed by Sinatra on his vocal mic, but is it possible that somebody else was "the snapper?" (Sounds like a William Castle movie title.) (*Not to be confused with the "bend and snap.")
For what it's worth, I just obtained the CD from the '98 UK The Capitol Years box set, and it is very good. Actually, I now have 14 discs from this set, and they are all excellent. For Nice 'n Easy, I also have the MFSL gold CD, but I haven't compared the two discs yet. The '98 UK CD is very good, however. Let's just say that it didn't have me running for the MFSL disc. Capitol did a really nice job on the box set, and I can see why it is popular.
I found the 1991 CD in the bins over the holidays but still need to give it a listen. Lately, I've been listening to and enjoying the 1998 Capitol Years CD. I also just received the 1988 CD in today's mail (Capitol, CDP 7 91149 2). It obviously wasn't a necessary purchase since I have the '91 disc, but as a collector, I wanted to track it down. The inserts with the '88 CD are sparse. The booklet isn't really a booklet. The inside is blank. The disc is plain too -- limited black text on aluminum. Oh well. I'm happy to have found it.
The front and back pages of the "non-booklet" are accurate reproductions of the front and back sides of the original 1960 LP sleeve.
Re: That odd mix of Nice 'n' Easy (the song) on The Frank Sinatra Collection CD: I picked up an original UK CD, and it has mastering identical to the Canadian pressing I already had, which brings me back to this question: How the heck does a unique mix of the song Nice 'n' Easy wind up on a 1987 UK (and Canada and maybe Japan) CD reissue of a 1986 UK compilation LP, especially when the LP did not have said unique mix???? So strange.....
I've got an EMI CD release from Australia, catalog # 7911492, that uses the original mix, with more-than-typical hiss, but I also just stumbled upon a different EMI Australian CD on the Axis label -- an Australian EMI imprint, I believe, as it has the official EMI logo on the case, and has a copyright credit on the label -- that is catalog #701134. I think it's an earlier release than the 7911492 disc that I already have. Here's a pic of this one I just spotted: Anybody have this disc?
I couldn't resist. I pulled the trigger on buying that oddball Aussie CD pictured above, and I'll probably regret it, but then we'll know for sure whether or not it's a unique mastering. (I'm guessing "no," but there's only one way to tell for sure.)
Got to wondering today..... The story goes that Sinatra recorded this album with twelve songs, then the single Nice 'n' Easy became popular, so the lead-off song, The Nearness of You, on the would-have-been LP was cut, and the single, Nice 'n' Easy, was inserted into the lead-off spot. I have little doubt that The Nearness of You was cut from the album, but do we know for a fact that The Nearness of You was to be the first track on the album in its original, unreleased configuration?
I've wondered about where it was to have fit also. It does work well at the beginning of the album, with the rest of the order as is, so it seems quite possible that's where it would have been. I've even played the song first, and the rest including the song "Nice 'n' Easy" as is, and it works for me.
"The Nearness Of You" was to be the title song. Pickwick in the 70's issued a Sinatra LP called "The Nearness Of You".
Will Friedwald doesn't pin it down with as much certainty. He states (Sinatra! The Song Is You, p.256): Nobody remembers what the original title for the project was, although it may well have been The Nearness of You. Both the song and the use of it as a title were dropped when Sinatra decided to replace it with "Nice 'n' Easy" as the lead-off track. The 1960 recording was first released on the 1962 LP, Sinatra Sings... of Love and Things.
We recently checked out the MFSL cassette of JOLLY CHRISTMAS (audio clips here). Here are photos from the MFSL cassette release of NICE 'n' EASY.