Matt Monro - The George Martin Years CD (& appreciation thread) *

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by vzok, Aug 6, 2016.

  1. RMoore

    RMoore Forum Resident

    The 2010 Singles remasters (or anything from Words & Music, Singer's Singer (2011 edition) Uncovered/Rarities) have not been superseded by further releases except in a few cases. Any subsequent re-issue (despite what was said by the record companies) will be the same remaster. For instance I supplied a list of the remastering dates to Warner for the George Martin set, but they decided to label all as "Remastered 2016" which was probably only true for just over half. Admittedly there will be minor differences in volume as I always level check from track to track that the final master volume is consistent, but that will be all.

    Since Singles was issued (and very promptly deleted!) there have been four songs that have been properly re-mastered. From Russia (actually a re-mix), Tahiti - In Stereo from the sessions reel (long story, part of the From Russia chaos around the time of Singles, as was the session tape of My Love and Devotion - Previously remastered from a 2nd gen tape, not the session reel) and remastered from the session reel for the unreleased "Definitive Matt Monro" set Why Not Now? which is yet to see release. The Master take was reportedly cut out from the session reel (as many were from the direct stereo years) and placed on the master reel of the 1976 comp "Very Best Of", which is the version I used for Singles. It wasn't until I heard the complete reel, when putting together Alternate, that I discovered that it was still on the original reel after all. Any "Singles" tracks used on "Singer's Singer" (except From Russia) were the "Singles" remasters.

    One other "Singles" song has been remastered, I Am In Life, but it actually sounds identical to the Complete Singles version, but was remastered from a 24/96 digitisation instead of a 24/44.1 used for singles. I actually think the original transfer was made in 96/24 and down sampled before being sent to me back in 2010.

    The question about "Rarities." This album was an amalgamation of "The Rare Monro" and "Matt Uncovered" As I'm sure i've mentioned (probably many times as it annoyed me so much), both were deleted during the Universal/Warners buy out of EMI. Michele wanted the material to still be available so Warner said that they could issue "Rarities" using all the non Universal owned material.

    When "Rare" was first issued all of the tracks were indeed rare, lots of single B sides having never been re-issued. Michele & I discussed leaving these out on "Rarities" but considering that Complete Singles had also just been forcibly deleted, we thought at least some of the tracks would still be available. In these cases the 2010 singles remasters were used (in Stereo where possible, many having been mono on Rare). There were a couple of exceptions. "I Love You Too" and "When Love Comes Along" are alternate takes used by the original compiler at Abbey Road in error. We decided to use these as well. I did not master Rare Monro. I'd known Michele a matter of weeks when I restored 11 tracks from the "Matt's Kind Of Music" radio show for her, but i had nothing more to do with the project, and you can't blame her or EMI I was an unknown quantity at this stage. When we planned Rarities, Steve Woof allowed me to re-master all the "Rare Monro" tracks but wasn't able to get new transfers of everything, thankfully I had new transfers of many tracks created for other projects so was able to use those, plus some better sources and new transfers from the Estate's collection. A few tracks were cleaned up from the original "Rare Monro" 16/44.1 transfers but not many. All were an improvement. All the "Uncovered" songs on "Rarities" are identical masters.
     
  2. RMoore

    RMoore Forum Resident

    One of my favourites, cruelly deleted after only about 6 months on sale.
     
  3. Great Music Lover

    Great Music Lover Well-Known Member

    Location:
    UK
    I have listened to The George Martin Years three times now since I got it a few days ago, and for me, the quality is superb. On so many tracks, I closed my eyes and was taken back to the early 60s and remembered times as a teenager how everything back then seemed so simple and innocent.

    But back to the actual contents - is the track "Love Walked In" only available in Mono? It’s one of those songs that has a hook that you think you've already heard it before and you know how the song is going to go. I can’t say I have heard Matt's version before, so maybe by someone else,

    Now to start listening to The Singer's Singer.
     
  4. voles

    voles Forum Lurker

    Location:
    UK
    Though it is still relatively easy to obtain, fortunately. There is even a lossy version on iTunes.
     
    Last edited: Jan 3, 2018
  5. voles

    voles Forum Lurker

    Location:
    UK
    Thanks for taking the trouble to put that together, Richard. That should be all the information I need about the mastering for compiling my Sessionography playlist! I just need to correct all the mastering designations that the record companies have tagged the tracks with.

    I hope Why Not Now? reaches us sooner rather than later. You have spoken about the issues you have faced with getting the material out but what will the proposed CD actually consist of?
     
  6. voles

    voles Forum Lurker

    Location:
    UK
    Hello, me again!

    On the Mint Audio site The Singers Singer is described as having 103 tracks even though the listing further down the page shows only 100 which is what I got on my set as well. It also says that 38 of the tracks were remastered for The Singles Collection or Words & Music but I can only count 35. I am just curious which 3 tracks were omitted in the final cut.
     
  7. RMoore

    RMoore Forum Resident

    Yes Mono only i'm afraid. It was from Matt's second Parlophone session. Everything was stereo from the third session onward.
     
  8. Great Music Lover

    Great Music Lover Well-Known Member

    Location:
    UK
    Thanks Richard.
     
  9. RMoore

    RMoore Forum Resident

    Nothing was lost from the final cut. The numbers were copied from EMI publicity for the set, not my own numbers. I can tell you straight away that the number of tracks is actually 104. Tracks 23 & 24 on CD 4 contain 3 recordings each. This was done this ways as it matched the original release. I would have preferred to keep them separate.

    Without spending a lot of time cross referencing, you may well be right. I'm pretty sure I did remaster 65 tracks as specified, so I can only guess that using that number EMI worked backwards and worked out the remaining number from that and the erroneous 103. Goes to show I should not rely on what record companies say in their publicity!
     
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  10. voles

    voles Forum Lurker

    Location:
    UK
    Thanks, Richard. I wondered if tracks 23 & 24 were muddying the calculations...
     
  11. voles

    voles Forum Lurker

    Location:
    UK
    I know you were not involved in the remastering but could you give us the recording information for the tracks unique to The Rare Monro which I believe are:

    Love Song (Unedited Version) - 12th February 1969? (Same as the edited version)
    Lover's Caravan
    Nothing To Lose
    When I Look Into Your Eyes (Cuano Miro En Tus Ojos) - 30th May 1967? (Same as the English version)

    Also

    No Puedo Quitar Mis Ojos De Ti (Can't Take my Eyes Off You) which may not be unique though the track is listed as (Correct Master) on The Singer's Singer. Is the Single version the same as The Rare Mono?

    There were no others were there?
     
    Last edited: Jan 4, 2018
  12. voles

    voles Forum Lurker

    Location:
    UK
    Just to confirm - Disc 2, tracks 6 -13 are the ones unique to this collection?
     
  13. RMoore

    RMoore Forum Resident

    Yes. All Capitol recordings we couldn't use on Rarities.
     
  14. RMoore

    RMoore Forum Resident

    Love Song (Unedited Version) Exact same take & mix. Just edited by Capitol for the single. I recreated the edit from the longer version for Singles rather than going for a 2nd gen dub.
    Lovers Caravan. Recorded in New York for "Broadway" LP, and overdubbed with strings on 22nd Nov in Hollywood. Unreleased until Rare
    Nothing to lose - May 1968, Abbey Road, same session as All That Remains
    When I Look In Your Eyes (Spanish) - Vocal overdub 10th May 1968

    No Puedo. Correct single version on Complete Singles. Alternate edit on Singer's Singer (original edition) & Rare Monro (and many compilations around the world). Correct version confirmed by using original 45 rpm single, as were all track on Singles Collection. Lined up, synchronised as close as possible and panned L & R in an editor, and differences were then immediately obvious (like the edit points in Softly & How Do You Do).

    There are no surviving session tapes for No Puedo, but that is generally because the recordings were made in small sections & edited together and would have been a load of clips. It took 12 takes to record this song and Matt recorded his vocal direct to 1/4" stereo with a pre-recorded backing track supplied from 4 track tape. Matt had no understanding of Spanish at all and had to sing phonetically. The best bits of each tape were then edited together. The version issued on Single was the finished item issued around the world. We aren't sure where the alternate version came from, It may well be an unedited take. We only know that it was substituted at some point and was the version used everywhere for a long time, until corrected for singles (and subsequently the 2011 edition of Singer's Singer)
     
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  15. voles

    voles Forum Lurker

    Location:
    UK
    Great information - thanks.
     
  16. voles

    voles Forum Lurker

    Location:
    UK
    Richard, I Believe you remastered en Español. Can you offer some details on this release? Does it contain all the Spanish versions?
     
    Last edited: Jan 4, 2018
  17. RMoore

    RMoore Forum Resident

    I remastered a version of "Alguien Canto" the first Spanish LP on the twofer, the re sequenced version called "Grandes Exitos" which was a later release from Spain (used just because Michele fancied doing something different), but that was from vinyl - EMI saying they couldn't find the tapes - I found them hiding in plain site a few years later!), "En Espana" the second LP was not remastered by me. This was the first CD I made for EMI and I am not particularly happy with it, especially as I know the masters are in the vault!

    There is a CD called "En Español" but I had nothing to do with it. It is however another version of the "Alguien Canto" LP. This was released by EMI Spain.
     
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  18. voles

    voles Forum Lurker

    Location:
    UK
    Thanks again.
     
  19. voles

    voles Forum Lurker

    Location:
    UK
    I noted in your sessionography (Page 84) that there was a set of tracks recorded in 1961 probably for 'Matt's Kind of Music' which you say are available as 'Internet Downloads from One Media Publishing'. I emailed the latter company and the nearest download they could come up with was Live in Manila which indeed has a very similar set of songs. All very confusing. :)
     
    Last edited: Jan 4, 2018
  20. RMoore

    RMoore Forum Resident

    Info is a little out of date. All are available on the Delta CD "Born Free". where they were sub licensed from One Media. The Estate licensed the material to One Media with the permission to use as they wish. They have used them in all sorts of ways and i don't think any one download contains all the tracks. The Delta CD misses off one song we licensed "Christmas Magic" but that is now available in better quality anyway.

    All songs are definitely from "Matt's Kind of Music", this is now confirmed. We have 4 and a bit episodes (minus credits) out of the 13 broadcast. Nobody anywhere seems to have recorded these except whoever recorded the ones (from an FM feed) for Matt himself. We would love to find more, but it now seem very unlikely. We've issued pretty much all of the tracks we have, with a few repeated songs and a few smaller bits & duets. One major track we haven't been able to issue (much to our annoyance) is his version of "Things are Swinging" which is a great perfromance, totally ruined by someone tuning the radio out and back in again during the song!
     
  21. voles

    voles Forum Lurker

    Location:
    UK
    Thanks yet again, Richard. Yes they certainly seem to have 'used them as they wish'. :) I have ordered the Born Free CD as it is very reasonably priced. The CD also purports to include most of the viable tracks from Manilla on the 30th April 1983 as well as 14 tracks from a concert in Australia in 1967 which I believe are the same as the Evening with Matt Monro tracks from Matt Sings. I don't know if they use the same mastering however. There are the same 9 Manilla tracks on the One Media Live in Manila. However both CDs seem to omit 'Born Free' from that concert for some reason. The rest of the tracks on the Manilla CD seem to be the 1961 'Matt's Kind of Music' tracks again but with added Christmas Magic!
     
    Last edited: Jan 5, 2018
  22. voles

    voles Forum Lurker

    Location:
    UK
    I think 'Born Free' from Manilla is on Yesterday - The Legendary Manilla Concerts but that already is in order. I will need to do a bit of sorting.
     
  23. vzok

    vzok Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    UK
    Yes it is. Odd that the track missing on the CD “Born Free” is “Born Free”.

    It’s a shame that so many of Matt’s radio performances were lost.
     
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  24. voles

    voles Forum Lurker

    Location:
    UK
    Well 'Born Free' does appear in the Australian concert. But it is getting more difficult to avoid buying the same thing twice. Are they all the same masterings I wonder? I believe Richard Moore remastered Yesterday - The Legendary Manilla Concerts. I think Richard also mastered the Evening with Matt Mono DVD though I don't know if that applies to the tracks extracted from it for Matt Sings and Born Free.
     
  25. RMoore

    RMoore Forum Resident

    It's omitted so the song doesn't appear twice

    Yes Matt mad about 350 TV appearances and 350 Radio appearances. Less than 10% survive.
     

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