Ella Fitzgerald: "Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie"

Thanks, y'all. I like the picture more than the album, which is good, nothing more. My favorite after the first album is Trust. That is one awesome record!

And of course none of the CDs do any of his catalog justice IMO. British vinyl for everything after the first album, domestic for the first.

TP

 

I have 'Trust' and 'Blood and Chocolate' on British vinyl and I know what you mean.'Trust' in particular sooooo good.
The Ryko's are nice for the bonus tracks, which are hard to collect on vinyl from all over. However, I can't agree with 'King..' being nothing more than just 'good'. To each his own! And I could never live with only one Costello album. I even liked 'Mighty Like a Rose' after a few tries
Dan

 

Trust is demo disc quality. Play Whisper to a Scream. It rocks! (Don't damage your hearing though.)

Everybody has his favorites. Spike to me is a work of art, the last of his I find compelling.

TP

 

Steve,
Did you ever get a chance to listen to the Classic Records gold cd that Tom P. was going to lend you. I'd be curious as to what you think in comparrison to the regular Verve cd release as I don't have that one to compare it to.

Let us know. Thanks.

 

Tom, have you heard any of the Rhino Costello CDs? I assume they are a no-go so I've stayed away but I've heard numerous (obviously questionable) views on these.

 

Steve, there is no way on God's green earth that i'm gonna have my wife sing followed by the divine Ella Fitzgerald. Given my wife's singing voice, that just might ruin my appreciation for both of them!

I'll just have to take your word that the gold cd is on the bright side; besides, the regular Verve issue has bonus tracks.

Ray

 

Ella on CD? Good things may come to those who wait...

Hey Steve, if nobody has to do MY tests, why should they have to do yours?!

This is actually a very good test. I remember back when I was selling Legacy out of my house a guy brought over a Diana Krall CD to use in the audition. We played one cut, and as a soon as it stopped, I turned to the guy and said "Well...?", and he seemed to be pleased.

This did not surprise me, but it certainly confused me. I said "What is all that trash at the top of her voice doing there? Do you hear that when I sing?" And I got up and stood between the speakers and sang a few lines from the song, doing my best Krall imitation (no vibrato, flat, dry) in as breathy and high a voice as I could muster. I said "Do you hear any funny stuff going on at the top of my voice, any phony harmonics, anything unnatural sounding, like the sound we just heard on that CD?"

Of course the answer was no. The question that follows is, of course, "Then why do you listen to something like this to evaluate the sound of audio equipment? Is more trash on her voice better or worse? How would you know? I think a pair of Vandersteens would be better on this material, a speaker I am not fond of to say the least, if only to help "darken" her voice, to obscure some of the phony detail on the CD with that speaker's famous 3db suckout between 3 and 5k. This Legacy speaker is not going to mask any of that recording's flaws, and therefore you may not like the sound as well. But you are now hearing reality, IMO." Sometime in the session I played Frankie Laine, 1948 mono, ribbon mikes, all tubes, all live, and showed him the difference. Natural recording + natural playback system = natural sound, just like a live person standing before you.

Now Steve can't fix everything, can't go back in his time machine and switch mics on Nat King Cole, but with rare exceptions the vocals on his discs and LPs will sound surprisingly lifelike (some rock is beyond redemption, IMO.) One I especially like is Judy Collins; lots of echo maybe, but a real breathing person sings those songs, with a pretty darn natural voice from top to bottom. We audiophiles used to look down our noses at sound like that. Now we cherish it. The tubes and myriad improvements in our stereos bring her to life right in our livingrooms the way she never could be before. It only took 25 years and a ton of money but it was worth it!

Ella, I regret to say, will have to wait until someone masters her recordings properly, for us to be able to hear what she really sounds like in our homes. Those who don't have good turntables that is. I fell in love with my Verve LP of Clap Hands well over ten years ago. Still think it's the best thing she ever did. Notice how far down in the mix her bandmates are. She's front and center with them behind her all the way. A record would never be made like that today. A shame, that.

TP

 

I was actually surprised that Steve commented on the rather bright sound of the Gold CD of "Clap Hands". Usually he doesn't say yey or ney.

BUT, then I looked at the booklet for the Ella Gold CD. Ah, I see; mastered by Mr. A. Nonymous.

No wonder Steve felt free to comment.

 

It really says that? Wow...

Todd

 

They're okay for CD, a pale imitation of the good LP versions, but people seem to find many pale imitations to their liking, so who can say? (Just between you and me, I say pass.).

TP

 

John,

Really? The Classic Gold CD of "Clap Hands Here Comes Charlie" by Ella has no mastering credit at all?

Odd, isn't it?