Sinatra / Capitol Sound Quality (and general discussion): Singles, Soundtracks, Etc.

Track listing:
1. Come Freeze with Me
2. Around the Arctic
3. Aleutian Isle of Capri
4. Snowlight in Vermont
5. Winter in New York
6. On the Phone to AAA
7. Let's Get Inside, Away from It All
8. January in Paris, Virginia
9. Schenectady by Night
10. Brazil Nuts Roasting On an Open Fire
11. Blue Extremeties
12. It's Nice to Try to Go Trav'ling

 

Is this common? I've not seen a copy before.

I assume it's just the Capitol version?

 

Whenever the mono/stereo differences of the Come Fly with Me album get discussed, the fact that the multi-miking used on the mono recording picks up details (mandolin, bass, etc.) that are essentially lost on the 3-mic stereo recording is always part of the conversation.

With that in mind, we move to the next "singles" (etc.) track, Dec. 11, 1957's If You Are But a Dream. This song is, as far as I know, unique in the Sinatra/Capitol catalog insofar as it was released in stereo in the LP era (albeit virtually unknown to be out there) but has yet to appear in stereo in any digital format. As with Come Fly with Me, the stereo is minimally miked. That said, probably the result of 1.) the person in charge of mixing the live-to-mono version, 2.) the placement of mics vis-a-vis the placement of the musicians, and 3.) the addition of reverb LIVE during the session for the mono recording, we have a case of there being details that are much more prominent in stereo than in mono -- the opposite of the Come Fly with Me scenario (although, in fairness, there are spots in that one, too, where certain details come through more in stereo, but, by-and-large, that's not the case).

Clip #1: https://app.box.com/s/ivve8fejbf91ab87aohntmhftdftmp26 - Listen for the celeste (the bell-like sound in the left channel), the flutes (in the right channel) and, to a degree, the harp. They are quite prominent in the stereo mix, and buried (especially the celeste, which is inaudible) in the mono track that follows.

Clip #2: https://app.box.com/s/xnwmsx5nmqydlf318z50c2h84lptii4s - There is some super-tasty flute writing by Nelson Riddle here -- sometimes in trio with the harp, even -- that is just kind of "flute oatmeal" in the mono mix. Arguably, the flutes are too prominent in the stereo mix, but it's a shame that playing and writing that is that sweet should just go unheard in the mono mix (IMO).

(Yes, there's also a very slight speed difference between the stereo and mono mixes. I haven't checked yet, but my guess is that the mono is correct.)

 

Actually, it's 2016, but....

Of course. Thanks! Fixed.

 

Thank you! Glad you like it, as I do!

Following up on that thought, I have audio clips for nine masterings (7 mono, 2 stereo) of If You Are but a Dream now posted down the page here: http://www.11fifty.com/Site_108/1957_-_SinglesEtc35.html.

I've picked one of the stereo masterings as my top choice, even though I have to concede that the better mono masterings have better overall tone. (Tone usually trumps other elements for me. Have you seen my signature line?) To my ears, the best sounding (in terms of typical criteria) release is the hard-to-find, promotional, 1996 The Mastercard Series, Volume One: Deep in a Dream CD from which @Bob F was kind enough to submit a clip. (Thanks, as always.) It has unfettered dynamics and nice, warm tone. It sounds beautiful. That said, I think that the music, somewhat separate from the sound, is better served by the stereo mix, and the best of the two available presentations of the stereo mix is on the 1982 "Duophonic" LP reissue of This is Sinatra, Volume Two, the release that @mahanusafa02 brought to our attention a few months back. (The earlier stereo release in The Works is a little middling by comparison, but can suffice in a pinch.)

SO, the "sound guy" in me goes with that Mastercard CD in mono, but the long-dying "musician guy" in me leans to the side of the stereo track for reasons outlined a few posts back. YMMV, and I'd love to hear other opinions, of course. (Dialogue > monologue.)

Here's what I posted on the site:

Oh, the "defects" on the "top choice" are minor: One tape dropout (very brief), and a weird spot where the vocal sort of swerves to the right on one word (also very brief, and not very bothersome). The stereo presentation on "The Works" does not have either of these little defects, but it also does not sound as good to me.

 

From an earlier post about "You'll Always Be the One I Love" --

I knew there was something "fishy" about this release, and I figured it out finally:
(Groan......)

Moving on.... Does anybody have the stereo release of the 6-LP set, The Sinatra Touch? I've got the mono set, but not stereo. I'm looking for a clip of "Put Your Dreams Away" from that stereo set. If you've got it and can send a clip, please PM me. Thanks!

 

Yes, it is mono. There's a clip on my website and all references there are MONO for that release.

 

This has been discussed either here or at the Sinatra Family Forum, but in a nutshell: Even though this was not released as a single, it would have been chosen as a bonus track for the Singles set, but was left off simply as an "oops." I think there's a quote from Chuck Granata to that general effect. It was an oversight.

 

Cool! Glad to see we see more-or-less ear-to-ear on these. Thanks!

 

Re: Put Your Dreams Away

Does anybody have Round #1 from 1974? Is this track Duophonic, or true stereo?

 

From five years ago, in another thread, regarding "Put Your Dreams Away" --

@stevelucille sent along a stereo clip that includes the beginning of the stereo version from 1962's The Great Years (the first stereo release of this song), and that "thunk" is NOT on that version. Much to my surprise, it IS at the start of the version on The Capitol Years, which was remixed in 1990. This tells me that it's something that's on the 3-track tape, i.e., a burst of wind that reached the mic diaphragm and caused a low-frequency distortion to occur. (Odd that it's completely inaudible on the 1962 release.)

Anybody have the stereo THE SINATRA TOUCH or ROUND #1, or THE BEST OF FRANK SINATRA so we can dig a little deeper?

[EDIT: thanks to @mahanusafa02 , I can confirm that Round #1 is Duophonic (or at least fake stereo) for this track. Still looking for those other two....]

 

Continuing with Put Your Dreams Away:

What's the scoop on the Classic Sinatra CD? Norberg remix? Remaster of an existing stereo mix?