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

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by MLutthans, Feb 20, 2010.

  1. paulmock

    paulmock Forum Resident

    Location:
    Hollywood, CA
    Sounds like a lot of friction behind the scenes.
     
  2. marmil

    marmil It's such a long story...

    @MLutthans - while I agree with you that FOTL is a brilliant album of ballads that also happens to sound fantastic ('specially the MoFi) I'd like to recommend another great album of ballads - Duke Ellington's Indigos, which has just been released as a gold disc by Impex, partially remastered by Kevin Gray. I was never a great fan of the stereo version of the LP but this thing sounds amazing and it has all of the takes from the stereo and mono versions of the LP. The perfect soundtrack to a romantic evening. Trust me.

    Duke Ellington Ellington Indigos Gold CD-Elusive Disc »
     
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  3. jtaylor

    jtaylor Senior Member

    Location:
    RVA
    I think so, Paul, but Gene Lees is really the only person I've ever seen suggest that their relationship was more complicated than generally reported.
     
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  4. MLutthans

    MLutthans That's my spaghetti, Chewbacca! Staff Thread Starter

    Does anybody know the story behind these SY-series releases of the 1970s? The ones with the alternate rear covers?
    Rear cover:
    s-l1600-60.jpg
    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:
    [​IMG]
    (Come Fly with Me has the same STEREO logo.)
    From four years ago:
    Here's that old Portland photo:
    [​IMG]
    (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:
    s-l1600-59.jpg
    ....but of even more interest is this SY copy:
    s-l1600-56.jpg
    ....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.

    ????
     
    Last edited: Mar 11, 2016
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  5. paulmock

    paulmock Forum Resident

    Location:
    Hollywood, CA
    It very well could have been just "healthy" competition between two very powerful individuals in the industry at the time. All quite interesting to hear about now. Thanks.
     
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  6. paulmock

    paulmock Forum Resident

    Location:
    Hollywood, CA
    I did have both CFWM and OTL copies of those purchased in the Capitol-poor 70's. They were my only link at the time to that era until I found an old collector in Cleveland who was thinning out his vast collection. I have since passed them on to others.
     
  7. Ronald Sarbo

    Ronald Sarbo Forum Resident

    Location:
    NY, NY, USA
    They were just budget re-issues. As much as we laud "Songs For Swinging Lovers", "A Swinging Affair" and "In The Wee Small Hours" there were long periods of time when they were out of print. "Come Fly With Me" and "Only The Lonely" were usually available and in the bins. Cole's "Love Is The Thing" was also usually available and I believe was part of this series with the same type rear cover.

    Sinatra always admired Cole and always treated him with great respect. Cole would not have been human if he was not sometimes embittered by the racism of his time that denied him the movie stardom of Crosby, Sinatra, and Martin as well as the TV success of Como and Martin. Nevertheless Cole was always gratified by their friendship and support.
     
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  8. paulmock

    paulmock Forum Resident

    Location:
    Hollywood, CA
    Oh, there is no doubt that Nat was every bit a "King" among men. Whatever human faults, etc. he may have had he always presented himself in a classy, polished way. Even in a sweater and hounds tooth hat he was as stunning as if he were in a tux.
     
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  9. jtaylor

    jtaylor Senior Member

    Location:
    RVA
    One last bit about Nat & Frank and then we can steer this ship back where it belongs...

    Ron: To your knowledge, was there any attempt by Frank and Reprise to sign Nat in late 1960/early 1961 when his Capitol contract was expiring? I know that just about every label came at him HARD, but it wouldn't surprise at all if Reprise was not one of them, for obvious reasons, I think.
     
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  10. Ronald Sarbo

    Ronald Sarbo Forum Resident

    Location:
    NY, NY, USA
    Cole was in a precarious tax situation. His royalties were paid to a tax deferred account. If Cole had left Capitol for any other label and Capitol had to turn over these funds to him outright on the termination of his contract he might have had substantial income tax to deal with.

    I don't believe Sinatra tried to sign Cole. He took Dean and was in protracted legal proceedings with Capitol. If Sinatra also tried to take Cole Capitol might have had more ammunition on their side of the dispute. Mind you this is all just my speculation.
     
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  11. jtaylor

    jtaylor Senior Member

    Location:
    RVA
    Thanks, Mr. Sarbo. Astute as usual.
     
  12. MLutthans

    MLutthans That's my spaghetti, Chewbacca! Staff Thread Starter

    Question regarding release dates:

    R-1119928-1394966884-5787.jpeg.jpg
    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.

    R-4960816-1411993106-5816.jpeg.jpg
    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?
     
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  13. MLutthans

    MLutthans That's my spaghetti, Chewbacca! Staff Thread Starter

    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.
     
    Last edited: Mar 19, 2016
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  14. MLutthans

    MLutthans That's my spaghetti, Chewbacca! Staff Thread Starter

    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.
     
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  15. AxeD

    AxeD Forum Resident

    Hi Matt,

    I have the WRC release, but unfortunately there is not indication of release date on either cover or label.
    The WRC catalogue Number is S/5004 maybe that helps to backtrace the actual release date.
    (I have tried myself at some point but wasn't able to guess anything better than "ca 1968-1972 or so").

    The "One For my Baby" LP was also released in Belgium (same cover as the UK release, but
    different catalogue number) , maybe that adds to the confusion :/
     
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  16. MLutthans

    MLutthans That's my spaghetti, Chewbacca! Staff Thread Starter

    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.
     
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  17. MLutthans

    MLutthans That's my spaghetti, Chewbacca! Staff Thread Starter

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  18. MMM

    MMM Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    Lodi, New Jersey
    Val Valentin is correct, Matt...
     
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  19. MLutthans

    MLutthans That's my spaghetti, Chewbacca! Staff Thread Starter

    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.
     
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  20. aza14782

    aza14782 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Montreal
    [​IMG]
    Here's the cover from mine, it's a 9 o'clock with the spire. I'm not sure if that's what you were trying to point out but I do notice the subtle difference in shade from his head to the cover. My SN pressing is more "contrasty" and those details just get lost in the dark.
     
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  21. MLutthans

    MLutthans That's my spaghetti, Chewbacca! Staff Thread Starter

    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!
     
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  22. MMM

    MMM Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    Lodi, New Jersey
    There is a different pianist on that song, Matt.
     
  23. MLutthans

    MLutthans That's my spaghetti, Chewbacca! Staff Thread Starter

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

    Bob F Senior Member

    Location:
    Massachusetts USA
    Could it be a case of someone trying to "improve" on the original (Grammy-winning) cover? Blasphemy!
     
  25. Bob F

    Bob F Senior Member

    Location:
    Massachusetts USA
    That is a matter of debate. Bill Miller is the only pianist listed on the union report for the evening session. Harry Sukman is listed for the afternoon session, but I've suggested he was there ONLY for the recording of the film-related single "Monique" (the song from 'Kings Go Forth'). "Monique" was recorded at 2 p.m. They didn't get to "Only the Lonely" until after 9 p.m., following a break from 5 to 8:30.

    See also this: —> New Mobile Fidelity Frank Sinatra Gold CD's (and surrounding posts by @bdvogel).
     
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