Sinatra / Capitol: General Purpose Sound Quality (and more) Discussion Thread*

No, you have the '91 Walsh. What's important is the catalog number, as printed on the disc label.

I only supplied the original Capitol UPC numbers for completeness, but identification by barcodes is unreliable. I'm not sure where your barcode comes from, but I sometimes see these CDs with different UPC numbers, e.g. from record clubs or particular stores and distributors.

 

Amazon combines reviews from 98/Norberg and the UK import (Walsh???) of WSH, so those reviews may refer to Norberg. The first one I read, (printed below) clearly refers to Norberg. Like I said earlier, the sq on the UK WSH is not up to the level of MFP SE/SFYL or MFSL OTL, but it still sounds musically alive and is not at all no-noised (which mars the common cuts on the Capitol Set.)

 

The out-of-print Walsh CDs are considerably more valuable than the Norbergs (which are still available on store shelves). Just ask anyone who's tried to obtain a Walsh Close To You and More.

If you can find an All The Way in decent condition for 10 bucks, I'll double your money in a heartbeat. (I own two of them, and I paid MANY times more than that years ago.) The soundtrack albums (High Society, Pal Joey, Can-Can) are also impossible to find.

 

I'm afraid it's the case with all of the CDs. After all, they're based on the Norberg remasters. However, the mini box is a nice item to have, if only for the authentic artwork on the cardboard LP-style sleeves. As you say, the price is right, especially if you shop around. (They're selling it now for $60 at Sinatra.com. Your $35 price was a steal for 14 CDs.)

But as far as the sound quality, well... When I sent one of the files to Matt for his samples page, he asked me if it came from an MP3 source. Draw your own conclusions.

 

Sinatra / Capitol U.S. CD Catalog Numbers

I promised earlier to supply a list of catalog numbers. These are for the U.S. Capitol versions of original (1954-62) Sinatra LPs which are/were available as individual compact discs (not within boxed sets).

Included are the CD issue date; catalog number (and UPC bar code, if different); [original LP catalog no./release date]; and {original+bonus} track counts.

Remastered by Larry Walsh:

Jan'87: CDP 7 46570 2 (077774657020) [W 653/Mar'56] {15+0} Songs For Swingin' Lovers!
Jan'87: CDP 7 46571 2 (077774657129) [W 581/Apr'55] {16-1} In The Wee Small Hours [abridged]
Jan'87: CDP 7 46572 2 (077774657228) [W 789/Jan'57] {12+3} Close To You
Jan'87: CDP 7 46573 2 (077774657327) [W1491/Jan'61] {12+3} Sinatra's Swingin' Session!!!
Nov'87: CDP 7 48329 2 (077774832922) [W 894/Sep'57] {12+2} A Jolly Christmas From Frank Sinatra
Nov'87: CDP 7 48334 2 (077774833424) [W1676/Mar'62] {12+4} Point Of No Return
Nov'87: CDP 7 48468 2 (077774846820) [W1069/Jan'59] {12+4} Come Dance With Me!
Nov'87: CDP 7 48469 2 (077774846929) [W 920/Jan'58] {12+3} Come Fly With Me
Nov'87: CDP 7 48470 2 (077774847025) [W 587/May'55] {16+0} Songs For Young Lovers/Swing Easy!
Nov'87: CDP 7 48471 2 (077774847124) [W1053/Sep'58] {12+2} Sings For Only The Lonely
???'88: CDP 7 91149 2 (077779114924) [W1417/Jul'60] {12+0} Nice 'N' Easy [no bonus tracks]
???'88: CDP 7 91150 2 (077779115020) [W1538/Mar'61] {12+0} All The Way
???'89: CDP 7 91248 2 (077779124824) [W1301/Apr'60] {12+0} Can-Can Soundtrack
???'89: CDP 7 91249 2 (077779124923) [W 912/Oct'57] {16+0} Pay Joey Soundtrack
???'89: CDP 7 93787 2 (077779378722) [W 750/Jun'56] {10+0} High Society Soundtrack
Apr'91: CDP 7 91209 2 (077779120925) [W 855/Sep'57] {12+4} Where Are You?
Apr'91: CDP 7 94518 2 (077779451821) [W 803/May'57] {15+1} A Swingin' Affair!
Apr'91: CDP 7 94519 2 (077779451920) [W1221/Jul'59] {11+4} No One Cares
Apr'91: CDP 7 94520 2 (077779452026) [W1594/Jul'61] {12+5} Come Swing With Me!
Aug'91: CDP 7 96826 2 (077779682621) [W 581/Apr'55] {16+0} In The Wee Small Hours
Aug'91: CDP 7 96827 2 (077779682720) [W1417/Jul'60] {12+4} Nice 'N' Easy
Nov'92: CDP 7 99647 2 (077779964727) [W 735/Jul'56] {12+0} Tone Poems Of Color [Concepts box]

"Entertainer of the Century" 20/24-Bit Remastered by Bob Norberg:

May'98: 72434 94753 2 8 (same UPC #) [W1491/Jan'61] {12+3} Sinatra's Swingin' Session!!!
May'98: 72434 94754 2 7 (same UPC #) [W1069/Jan'59] {12+4} Come Dance With Me!
May'98: 72434 94755 2 6 (same UPC #) [W 581/Apr'55] {16+0} In The Wee Small Hours
May'98: 72434 94756 2 5 (same UPC #) [W1053/Sep'58] {12+2} Sings For Only The Lonely
Sep'98: 72434 96087 2 6 (same UPC #) [W 920/Jan'58] {12+3} Come Fly With Me
Sep'98: 72434 96088 2 5 (same UPC #) [W 803/May'57] {15+1} A Swingin' Affair!
Sep'98: 72434 96089 2 4 (same UPC #) [W 587/May'55] {16+0} Songs For Young Lovers/Swing Easy!
Sep'98: 72434 96226 2 3 (same UPC #) [W 653/Mar'56] {15+0} Songs For Swingin' Lovers!
Oct'99: 72435 21381 2 8 (same UPC #) [W 894/Sep'57] {12+2} A Jolly Christmas From Frank Sinatra
Jan'02: 72435 33738 2 5 (same UPC #) [W 735/Jul'56] {12+0} Tone Poems Of Color
Jan'02: 72435 33739 2 4 (same UPC #) [W1594/Jul'61] {12+5} Come Swing With Me!
Jan'02: 72435 33740 2 0 (same UPC #) [W1676/Mar'62] {12+4} Point Of No Return
Jan'02: 72435 33741 2 9 (same UPC #) [W1221/Jul'59] {11+4} No One Cares
Jan'02: 72435 33743 2 7 (same UPC #) [W 789/Jan'57] {12+3} Close To You
Jan'02: 72435 33745 2 5 (same UPC #) [W1417/Jul'60] {12+4} Nice 'N' Easy
Jan'02: 72435 33746 2 4 (same UPC #) [W 855/Sep'57] {12+4} Where Are You?

 

The prices for the soundtracks have considerably dropped, though. I remember that it was virtually impossible to find a used copy of "Pal Joey" at a decent price (not to speak of "High Society") when I started collecting Sinatra. Last time I looked, I did see a copy of "Pal Joey" that didn't make the opening bid of $10. I assume the demand for these titles has lowered due to the availability of European public domain pressings.

"All The Way" was one I never even considered buying due to its scarcity. It may very well be that this has now changed as well. After all, you can compile your own version by using tracks from the "Concepts" and "Singles" box set and "Sings The Select Sammy Cahn". Sound quality is of course variable then...

 

Thanks for clearing that up. Guess I'll wait for a report on that single UK disc from this forum.

 

Many thanks for the listing. Until now, I didn't know that there were two different versions of "Nice 'N' Easy".

 

I have two sealed All The Way CDs and another double CD titled All The Way/Frank Sinatra Hit Collection which is comprised of 44 FS Capitol singles. It beats the Complete Capitol Singles where sound is of matter.

 

I think it's the only U.S. issue CD to have the long version/take of "To Love and Be Loved".

 

Even that is nothing special, but, yeah it's an improvement over the old mix. You can improve Larry's, to my ear anyway, by tweaking it a bit. A clip is linked below - the first 10 or so seconds is the Walsh master untampered (except for a slight level boost to match), and the rest is from my "master", taken from the '87 SWINGIN' SESSION CD. I love that song...

http://www.4shared.com/file/154399114/96095e1e/Ol_MacDonald_comp.html

 

Nope: Frank Sinatra Sings The Select Sammy Cahn (1996).

 

Very nice, thanks Bob.

The Larry Walsh issue of TONE POEMS may be the best mastered Sinatra title that he worked on himself back then of all (I've never heard the AT THE MOVIES comp, which is supposed to be excellent). Except that I would have wished for a tube playback transfer, I can't nitpick it. It's really good. I made a small bump at 500hz for myself (for a touch of tubey presence, as much as is possible with Eq), but it doesn't need any real adjustments. Too bad it's the most obscure title, and the hardest to find of all the "concept albums" - it was only available in the original CONCEPTS box.

 

Thanks...

 

Yeah, the mini sleeves are cool and I got that box for a steal. So all of them are louder than the previous Norbergs?

 

I have that, and my good friend Rick Apt was selling sealed ones in the longbox a couple of years ago for $20.00. I got a couple of those.

 

Is this UK box still in print?

 

So this box is not the Norberg remasters?

I notice the release date is 1998, which is when they started releasing them...

 

The UK box

Aside from the majorly stupid book included, the UK Capitol years box is worth raising money and selling blood for. I was blown away by it when I bought it in 2004. I was fortunately able to sell the Concepts box and almost break even.

 

No, as mentioned time and again above, the British CD reissues are neither the Walsh nor Norberg remasters. They were apparently mastered independently from the American versions at EMI's Abbey Road studios in London.

The 1998 date is coincidental.

 

Another question: does the box include individual CDs for each album?

The Amazon description says it's just a three CD set, which really doesn't make sense.

 

Thanks. It's really easy to get lost in the details of this thread, trust me.

 

Ok, one more:

I know it's probably covered time and again above, but are the CDs in the box the same masterings as the CDs that are available individually from Amazon UK?

 

No.