For me, OTL is top 5 for sure. Sinatra's best are very hard to rank order due to being so great. Only The Lonely, Wee Small Hours. Sinatra & Strings, Point Of No Return, Where Are You, as well as the albums with Jobim and Ellington are probably my favs (I'm probably forgetting some) Its often been said that few rock bands/recording artists have more than 5 truly great albums. When you look carefully this is true much more often than not. But it does not apply to Frank Sinatra whose career is just stunning from the 30s through the 70s and even afterward. He is my #1 all time favorite singer in popular music history. When I tell people this, they often do not know what to say. This is because - let's face it - his musical genre is not en vogue these days and has not been for many decades. And there are also moral judgement - right or wrong - about Frank Sinatra's conduct and behavior. But you have to forget all that and look only at his artistry. A full reckoning of his work places above everyone else in the history of recorded music.
I think Frank Sinatra and his fantastic music will never go out of style completely and the fact that his magnificent music and swagger is often mimicked by other popular entertainers of the day is one strong indication that his influence is not going away anytime soon. Even rap artists have given Frank shout outs in their songs and the way they dress as well. His timeless songs are still used in popular movies, just look at the holographic like footage used in the recent blockbuster sequel Bladerunner 2049. Frank and Elvis are two stars who's charisma, voice and iconic catalogue will sustain them in the pop culture for many years to come!
Okay, I am a very casual Sinatra fan, and it looks like I picked just the right time to be hunting this album. The MFSL vinyl is 9 years old, OOP and priced accordingly I see. Waiting to $ee what'$ coming is my be$t bet.
I agree, Sinatra's music will never disappear. This is especially true now as we live in the internet age where people are exposed to so much more than ever before and can access anything. Its sad that record stores are becoming a thing of the past but people can actually get more online then they ever could at a big store.
So glad to learn of this! I've been eyeballing the old MFSL CD for a couple months, but now there may be something more affordable (and perhaps competitive in quality) on the horizon. Yay!
Yeah, is this really happening? And when, in what form, etc.? Because a Google search brings up this thread and forum and nothing else. Not exactly encouraging.
You would be better off trusting what you read here than searching on Google or speculating. See my starting post in this thread, dated June 4, 2018, with source link:
I know people love to speculate, but really folks, this IS happening. Normally, Nancy is not permitted to make such an announcement in advance of the official press release. But I kind of forced her hand by quoting an “insider” mention in a review of her daughter AJ Lambert’s recent tribute show for the album: Emphasis on “re-mastered,” which I think is the only thing that can be said with certitude at this point in time.
Bob, I always believed this was happening. I was among the first to respond to the post here and my post meant "Now wait to hear what everyone is speculating what will be on it...or what they want to be on it." Never doubted it for a moment.
I know that, Paul. I quoted your post in order to highlight the false “speculation” that somehow this was not real because it hasn’t yet shown up on the web. I'm all for hearing the suggestions and wishes, but we won’t know the details for sure until FSE is ready to tell us. Should be soon, I hope.
By the way, there was a hint that Capitol/UMe might be working on the album back in November 2016, when the following article about preserving and transferring Capitol master tapes appeared in L.A. Weekly: Master Recordings — From Abbey Road to Born to Run — Could Be Lost Forever, Without Archivists' Help
I've read that article numerous times (great read), and did notice the Sinatra mention, but never really put that and this upcoming release together until now. Thanks!
Well, hopefully they don't have to use a digital transfer for this reissue. I wonder if some of these guys just automatically transfer to digital and use it to remaster LPs without even trying to use the analog tape. If they had Bernie Grundman, Steve Hoffman or Kevin Gray I doubt that would happen. Does anyone even know who remasters the Sinatra Ume reissues? If not, why the secrecy? Many have sounded very good, albeit probably all digital. MFSL used the original analog tapes for the mono LP of this album in 1998 (the date on the back cover of my copy, which amazingly is 20 years ago now!) Although it physically came out a few years later. Maybe the tapes have held up as it was recorded in the 50's when tape was supposedly more robust than on the 70's. But whether they will even try is debatable.
Yes, thats the MFSL. They always state who remasters. My question is on the Ume Sinatra reissues already released. I don't believe they ever state who remasters.
No, don’t believe everything you read on album covers. MFSL was contractually required to duplicate the fine print on the Capitol (stereo) CD, mastered by Bob Norberg in 1998. Their mono mastering was new in 2008 or 2009.
Correct. I believe it was actually released in 2009 which must be when they used the original analog tapes to remaster this mono LP.
I wonder why Ume is so secretive about who remasters these releases? Now that AF is closed, maybe Mr. Hoffman............ We can dream.
Oh boy, that very interesting article, and more particularly the quote from the Universal Music executive, sends a welcome shiver down my spine in a good way. This gives me hope that something new and exciting with regard to a brilliant remastering of this iconic album might be actually taking place for this deluxe release. And what about the fascinating quotes regarding the extra studio banter and out-takes? I am keeping my fingers crossed for something that really surprises us! I know we have been disappointed at times before, but maybe this is the releases that will surprise the Sinatra fandom in a good way and beat expectations for a change.