The Reprise titles look like the ones from the Reprise Years box set. Sturdier cardboard sleeves than that box, would you say, Bob, or exactly the same?
Worse, Bryan. These are skimpier single sleeves, not gatefolds, and the assembly is sloppy (e.g. folded edges don't line up correctly).
Bob thanks for the pics the gatefold style on the reprise mini lp set last year was pretty bad in my opinion, I didn't like the way they closed or not as was the case. These although not gatefold dont look too bad. The Swingin Affair cover looks like my uk grey label lp with a yellowy faded look to the whole affair.
David, trust me: These sleeves are of worse construction than those in THE REPRISE YEARS box set. Coloring probably has more to do with my camera flash and Photoshop fiddling.
Slightly off-topic: Bob, what are your thoughts on the Icon comp? I picked it up at Best Buy the other day but haven't listened to it yet. I figured, since it is a comp, it had to be a new mastering job to make the different tracks sound consistent, and it might give us a clue how future FS projects might be handled.
Predictions for 2015 for Frank's centenary. So what are UMe going to do? We can come back here in two years and see who was closest then get them to choose our lottery numbers in two years time. My predictions to start this rolling: 100 years, 100 songs across the Capitol Reprise era. Selected by FSE. A Man And His Music 50th anniversary super deluxe set. 1 cd best of as selected by the public, think Michael Jackson's king of pop. That's what I bet so far, not necessarily we want but potentially what we may get. Who's next...
^ A Tony Bennett/Miles Davis/Bob Dylan-style Complete Album Collection on CD. Select LP reissues on 180g vinyl. Hopefully some hi-res offerings on HDtracks or on UMe's High Fidelity Pure Audio line of Blu-rays.
If there are any vinyl releases, they will probably match the quality of Capitol's From The Vaults series at best. Recycle the Norbergs for any CDs. I think most of 2015's new releases will be in a mega iTunes download campaign, with limited CD and VERY limited vinyl copies.
On a sad note, I received an email from Music Direct yesterday afternoon, announcing that the following MFSL titles have been cancelled: Wee Small Hours LP Wee Small Hours SACD Songs For Swingin' Lovers LP A Swingin' Affair LP Come Fly With Me LP Come Fly With Me SACD
Poor and cheap are my thoughts. I hope "Signature Sinatra" are proud of their 1st release! They can come back and snap at us that at least it wasn't another compilation mish-mosh.
What a truly terrible presentation! The only positive is that it keeps these albums in print for the non-audiophile. -Robert
And where those (former) Reprise titles are concerned, the EOTC remastering was far from Norbergville.
Since 2015 will be two more years into the download era, I'd have to go with this one. Maybe a repackaging of Concepts for iTunes and a compilation that mixes Capitol with Reprise on two CDs, but that's it. I think Frank's core audience already has everything they want and new fans are only going to be interested in the hits.
Wow, what a huge disappointment. I was really looking forward to the rest of those MoFi SACD hybrid Sinatra titles. That just stinks. So what is the next best "digital" thing for WSH and CFWM, perhaps the versions from the big British Capital box?
The following have NOT been cancelled (yet): Songs for Swingin' Lovers SACD A Swingin' Affair SACD Point of No Return SACD Point of No Return LP
Call me Debbie Downer but don't you think they will end up cancelling the rest of them if they cancelled the other titles? What do I know? I hope those others come out.
I think they may have been far enough into production on those that cancellation was problematic for MoFi, Debbie. Just a guess, though.
What we need is a Reprise mono single box set…..until then, I have enough copies of each Sinatra album in mono and stereo to keep me happy.
Completing the sonic analysis of 5 CLASSIC SWINGIN' ALBUMS ... All tracks are bit-identical to previous CD releases: A Swingin' Affair! = 2004 Capitol Records Concept Albums mini box (Norberg mastering) Sinatra's Swingin' Session!!! = 2000 Concepts box = 1998 Entertainer of the Century CD* (Norberg) Come Swing with Me! = 2004 Capitol Records Concept Albums mini box (Norberg) Swing Along with Me = 2010 UMG The Reprise Years box = 2009 UMG CD = 1999 Reprise EOTC CD Sinatra and Swingin' Brass = 2010 UMG The Reprise Years box = 2010 UMG CD = 1998 Reprise EOTC CD *No bonus tracks