Sinatra / Capitol Sound Quality and General Discussion: Come Fly with Me (recorded 1957)*

Downloaded the mono version on iTunes. Doesn't sound awful, but it does sound very thin compared to the recent mono remasters done by MoFi of the Sinatra Capitol era.

 

Not as good as the 2009 and 2014 Capitol LPs. You can hear actual clips here: http://11fifty.com/Site_108/1958_-_Come_Fly_with_Me_2.html

 

@GyroSE - is your COME FLY WITH ME DMM LP stereo or mono? It was issued both ways (and with the same catalog number and same cover art, no less).

 

Based on what I've heard, I agree.

I don't think the Dutch DMM stereo is any better than the stereo MFSL. (I think the Dutch DMM stereo is definitely better than the DMM Dutch mono.) (More blather about it here.)

 

EOTC is the Norberg CD. @Bob F is the expert on tracking down the original, and has likely already posted the sure-fire steps earlier in this thread, but I'm not sure.

Just looking back over this lengthy thread, I'm finding a few little things that I did not bring up on my website, some of which still seem a little odd to me:

•Come Fly with Me: It's still a mystery as to why some versions have an audible finger-snap (assumedly by Frank) during the second "...angels cheer [snap] 'cause we're together," while other versions are somehow missing that snap. (IIRC, the snap is on all mono versions and most stereo versions.)
•Isle of Capri: First note is missing on the 1987 stereo CD.
•Moonlight in Vermont - there's a very cool "fade into the ether" reverb effect at the end of the song in mono that is missing in all stereo versions.
•London by Night - there's an obvious insert (tape splice) in London by Night's original stereo mix that appears to be undocumented. Whatever the source of that insert is, the 3-track tape must have still existed in 1987, because Larry Walsh completely smoothed out the splice in his 1987 remix. It's audible on the 1998 Norberg CD, and on all (other) versions that use the original mix. (I suppose that it's conceivable that after the 3-track was mixed to stereo something turned up that rubbed somebody the wrong way, and part of the 3-track was remixed and then the resulting stereo segment was spliced into the existing stereo mix tape, but that seems like a long shot.)
•Brazil: The 1987 CD runs longer on "Brazil"

 

Outside of boxed CD sets, only two official masterings exist: Walsh and Norberg. If it isn't the Norberg, it's the Walsh.

 

Definitely more bass, because the bass was miked, yes.
(The following sentence is sort of part of an ongoing gag/theme that some will "get" here, so please -- nobody take offense at it.) The last thing I want is for the new Songs for Swingin' Lovers to sound like the mono Come Fly with Me!

 

Paul will likely chime in and answer for himself (and he's more enthusiastic about the mono mix than I am, IIRC), but here's the gist of what's going on:

My views on the mono mix have been beaten into innocent people's* heads (largely via this thread) ad infinitum, and many people don't agree with my overall disliking** of the mono mix, and I'm okay with that. I love the discussion of our assorted opinions, likes, dislikes, etc. There are many, many fans of the mono mix here, and I'm absolutely a fan of certain aspects of it, but I'm more fanny-er of the stereo recording when well presented, which is (admittedly and sadly) not what has typically happened. (There loads of bad stereo editions out there.)

(*people who I like a lot and respect a lot and whose opinions I absolutely respect)
(**I'll be the first to express that there are some real plusses to the mono mix; in the end, I don't think they outweigh the minuses; YMMV.)

To be totally fair and thorough, my views on the mono/stereo debate are complicated, I do see/hear positives and negatives to both recordings, and I've written a four-page audio novel about it, starting here: http://www.11fifty.com/Site_108/1958_-_Come_Fly_with_Me_2.html ....that anybody is welcome to check out.

Opinions aside, I don't think that anybody here has ever denied the fact that there be a whole lotta reverb on Sinatra's vocal on the mono recording of Come Fly with Me. Love it or hate it, it's a severely different recording style than what is on Songs for Swingin' Lovers. Even the oft-derided, "reverb-added" versions of Songs for Swingin' Lovers that hit the market around 1962 don't have as much vocal reverb as the mono recording of Come Fly with Me. The thought of that much reverb being plastered onto Songs for Swingin' Lovers is a scary thought, largely because Swingin' Lovers is such a well-balanced recording "as nature intended."

As I'm sure I've said before, the music on COME FLY WITH ME is so good that it really doesn't matter how you listen to it. Just find a version and enjoy it, because it's a fantastic achievement in music-making, with all involved (except maybe the recording crew) working at the highest levels.

 

Not just me -- a LOT of people contribute knowledge and audio to that site -- but thank you for the kind words. I appreciate it!