Sinatra / Capitol Sound Quality, etc.: "Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely" (1958)

Does anybody know the story behind these SY-series releases of the 1970s? The ones with the alternate rear covers?
Rear cover:

I ask because I've got a couple of these, both purchased sealed. One is Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely, and the other is Come Fly with Me. In the case of Only the Lonely, the front cover looks like this on my copy, with the unique STEREO text under the Capitol logo:

(Come Fly with Me has the same STEREO logo.)
From four years ago:

Here's that old Portland photo:

(It's a cruddy cell phone photo, but note the SY catalog number on the spine, and the HIGH FIDELITY logo under the Capitol logo.)

Tonight, I found this on Ebay, another SY copy without the STEREO logo:

....but of even more interest is this SY copy:

....which (based on the sticker in the upper right corner) raises the question: Were these SY-series LPs releases part of some sort of TV advertising campaign? Maybe in conjunction with THE WORKS set from Longines Symphonette? THE WORKS set is catalog #SYS-5637. Only the Lonely is SY-4533, and Come Fly with Me is SY-4528. Both are listed on Discogs as being released in 1973, the same year as THE WORKS.

????

 

Question regarding release dates:


I've always had the above UK LP listed (in this thread and on my site) as a 1976 release. Discogs says 1973; SFF says 1975.


I've mentioned the above Australian World Record Club version being a 1972 release, and discogs seconds that, but SFF says 1968.

Anybody have any definitive info on these?

 

Bump for ^^^^^^^^^^^^.

Anybody?

For what it's worth, regarding the Australian release, #S/5004, , above, is listed as 1972 at Discogs.com, #S-5003 is a Ronnie Aldrich album, also listed as 1972, and S-5005 is a re-issue of the Beach Boys' Wild Honey album, also listed as 1972 at Discogs. I think, then, that 1972 is a safe bet, not 1968, but even using that 1972 date, that makes this the first 12-song, unabridged stereo release of this title, not the 1973 Japanese "Best Recording Series" LP that I have been crediting as being the first such release.

 

Regarding the date of the UK "One for My Baby" LP, #MFP 50089:

MFP 40088 = The Swingalongs: Swinga Song of Christmas. Discogs date = 1973
MFP 40087 = Songs from the Thames TV Programme, "Rainbow." See wikipedia entry here. The discogs date of 1973, paired by the 1973 date on the sleeve and the September, 1972 premiere date of the television program and the mention of the LP being released in 1973 on the Wikipedia page make me lean toward this being a 1973 release, meaning that the "One for My Baby" album is likely also from 1973.

 

Good advice, and I think we were perhaps cross-posting. See a few posts back. Based on catalog numbers, it looks like that WRC release is from 1972, and One for My Baby is 1973.

 

I've got the start to a "page two" of the website up, getting into the mono/stereo recording differences a bit: Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely - 1958 Differences between mono and stereo recordings (WIth apologies to Mr. Fellini.) »

 

Thanks, Martin; I'll revise the wording to reflect that.

Any thoughts on this little nugget from the site?
<<I suspect that for the May 29 recording of the song ONLY THE LONELY, a larger piano, maybe even a 14’ full concert grand, was brought in, and was positioned at far left. I suspect this because on just that one song, the piano is played in a somewhat (pardon the cliche) Tchakovskian manner, perhaps with a more “classical” sound being desired, and is clearly positioned at far left, which is unique for this album. >>

I wonder if, perhaps, there had been a Leonard Pennario (classical pianist under contract to Capitol at the time) recording in the tower within a day or so of the ONLY THE LONELY session, and they had, say, a Steinway D sitting in the corner, and used it. I can't really imagine that they would move the otherwise-in-use piano mid-session, which would involve juggling a whole lot of players, stands, mics, cables, etc., but we'll probably never know for sure.

Also, let's talk ALBUM COVER for a minute. Today, I noticed that my 1984 LPs are printed with such clarity/resolution/balance/contrast/whatever that all of "Clown Sinatra's" painted head, including the top or "skullcap" area, is clearly visible, i.e., the upper part of the head that is typically in shadow and merely blends with the black background is, instead, a subtly different shade of (near-)black on these two covers, so the entire head is visible, not just the facial/"mask" area. I think this is unique among all the many versions I have of this album.

 

That's it, yes. Thanks for the pic! All of my other copies, including my original, have the "I can't make out the top of his head" look, and the 1984 copies look like what you posted.

That's one clean looking 50+ year-old cover you've got there!

 

Yes, but why at another piano? If Bill Miller is not playing, could he just get up and give the bench to somebody else?