Good news for those who enjoyed last year's releases from Mint Audio featuring Rosemary Clooney and Jim Reeves. The U.K.-based label, also responsible for a wonderful concert release from Matt Monro, has added Elvis Presley's The New Sessions to its release slate, while a companion title - Frank Sinatra's The New Recordings - has arrived courtesy of H&H Music. Like the Clooney and Reeves sets, both of these (produced in association with Voice Masters) marry the artists' original vocals to newly-created, full backing tracks.
Sinatra's The New Recordings draws on the artist's late Columbia period, with all 18 vocals originally recorded between 1947 and 1952. The set concentrates on lesser-known performances from Sinatra's Columbia years although many of the titles here are standards as well as songs Sinatra would revisit in later years. Among the selections here, you'll hear "The Song is You," "That Old Black Magic," "London by Night," "April in Paris" and "American Beauty Rose." A couple of Christmas songs ("Christmas Dreaming" and the popular Sammy Cahn/Jule Styne staple "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!") appear here, as well as lyricist Dick Manning's adaptation of a French melody, "While the Angelus Was Ringing," and the charming duet with Rosemary Clooney on "Peachtree Street." All of the recordings, originally released in mono, are transformed into stereo with producer Larry Jordan's newly-recorded, orchestral backing tracks, closely modeled after the original arrangements by Axel Stordahl, George Siravo and Mitch Miller.
Elvis Presley's The New Sessions follows the early 2015 release of The New Recordings. Its 20 tracks have been culled from 1957-1962, and again surround Presley's original vocals with newly-recorded stereo backing tracks. Unlike on the Sinatra release, producer Jordan and orchestrators Arne Benoni, Danny Crawford, Jim Frazier, Scott Graham, Saunders Jones, Jr., George Laughery, Bucky McCann and Pat Severs haven't hewed quite as closely to the original charts though many elements have been preserved in their new interpretations. Cherished Elvis classics like "It's Now or Never," "Return to Sender" and "Are You Lonesome Tonight" are heard here as well as "Suspicion," "Blueberry Hill," "A Mess of Blues" and the traditional holiday hymn "Silent Night."
Both discs (pressed silver CDs) have been mastered by Mint Audio's Richard Moore for vivid sound, and producer Jordan offers liner notes for both titles as well as full credits for all of the newly-engaged musicians and orchestrators involved. Note that both of these releases are in accordance with current European Union public domain laws, and are available now at the links below at Amazon U.S, U.K. and Canada.
Frank Sinatra, The New Recordings (H&H Music/Voice Masters HHCD 916, 2016) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada TBD)
- My Blue Heaven
- My Girl
- You're the One
- London by Night
- Everybody Loves Somebody
- Feet of Clay
- Nevertheless (I'm in Love with You)
- Don't Ever Be Afraid to Go Home
- American Beauty Rose
- The Continental
- Peachtree Street (with Rosemary Clooney)
- April in Paris
- That Old Black Magic
- One Finger Melody
- The Song is You
- Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
- Christmas Dreaming
- While the Angelus Was Ringing
Elvis Presley, The New Sessions (Mint Audio/Voice Masters, 2015) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
- Suspicion
- Fountain of Love
- A Mess of Blues
- Blueberry Hill
- It's Now or Never
- Such an Easy Question
- It's So Strange
- Are You Lonesome Tonight
- Love Me
- Forget Me Never
- Loving You
- Sentimental Me
- Return to Sender
- I Feel That I've Known You Forever
- As Long As I Have You
- True Love
- Young and Beautiful
- Where Do You Come From?
- In My Father's House
- Silent Night - with the Blackpool Aspire Gospel Choir children
Look Out, Ol' Frankie's Back: Sinatra's Final Solo Album Gets Remixed and Expanded for 40th Anniversary
Release Round-Up: Week of August 9
When You're Smiling: Impex Returns to "Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra" with Lavish 1STEP Box
Isn't this along the same lines as colorizing old movies? Was there something inherently wrong with the original recordings that justifies the addition of additional sweetening that we have all somehow lived without for 60+ years? Can't wait for them to ruin Buddy Holly's catalog, too.
Squeezing out the bucks. Ugh!
Squeezing out every last buck. Ugh!
If money was the motivation, the labels would have just slapped together the same old tracks and thrown them out there in the marketplace and fans would have bought them. Instead, the labels invested time, effort and MONEY to do something unique and special, and did so with great care.
And yes, there was something "inherently wrong" with the Sinatra recordings. They were recorded 70 years ago when recording technology was very primitive. They usually used only 6 mics on his sessions, only 1 of which picked up the entire string section. We were able to use the tools of the digital age to subsume a lot of the original instrumentation and enable you to hear it -- and Frank's voice -- more clearly. But some of it still remained too dim and hard to hear, so we strengthened it by having talented pro musicians play the same notes. We were careful to assure that Sinatra's voice was brought forward so nothing overpowers him. These songs now have stereo width and are more consistent with today's listening preferences.
Remember -- nobody is taking the originals away from you, and the recent success of a Sony Elvis CD (which sold millions of copies) proves a lot of fans love overdubs. These also garner the artists more airplay and draw in new fans.
The good news is, you have the originals. So they aren't going away. Glad to see this company is keeping this current. These won't be replacing the originals anywhere, so it's not like what Neil Sedaka did to "reclaim" his old songs with the soundalikes. Or what Jeff Lynne did to screw Epic out of licensing the original ELO masters with his soundalikes. So calm down! I'm a purist, AND I like to hear what people do with old material.
as a devoted Sinatra fan for over 60 years, I say keep things coming......
his base of fans is slowly fading away and down the road, who's going to know who Sinatra is/was? as I have come to find out when mentioning his name to some people under 25........
"The recent success of a Sony Elvis CD (which sold millions of copies) . . ." And you started off arguing that money wasn't the motivation. LOL!
I enjoy these kinds of releases. Like Jeff stated earlier, it isn't like the originals are going away. These projects just give a newer fresh take on already brilliant vocals. I really liked the recent Elvis CD from Sony. I also loved the Guitar Man album RCA put out in the 80s where they used Elvis' original vocals over new music tracks. I see nothing wrong with these. Those who only want the originals don't have to buy these.
I'd like it if they went back to some of the black artists of the 50s and early 60s who were lumbered with awful whitebread, often shrill, backing vocalists and shrill, hysterical strings and did new backings more sympathetic to the style of the main vocalist. Jackie Wilson comes to mind. Even Sam Cooke on some of his LP tracks.
Let me see if I correctly understand this Sinatra in Stereo project.
Frank Sinatra's original vocal tracks were lifted off of the original masters.
Newly-created, full backing tracks were recorded "in stereo" by some "newly-engaged", "world-class musicians and orchestrators" brought in to a recording studio to play "the same charts, note for note, as were on the original orchestrations".
This description from H&H is accurate, right?
If so, then why does the album cover for "Frank Sinatra The New Recordings" use what appears to be an altered photo that places Sinatra in a recording studio with presumably session musicians from the same era in which the tracks were originally recorded in mono?
There is something incongruent between the project's premise and the album cover and it leaves me with feelings of consumer manipulation and disappointment.
The descriptors that offer a better explanation for this project imo are: "European Union public domain" and "Limited Collector's Edition" (on amazon's listing) that imply low cost and pressure marketing. Could "public domain" also explain why two Christmas songs were included on a primarily secular album?
This site should not be reviewing unauthorized overdubs
I agree! I have so much respect for Ed and am quite shocked he acknowledged the existence of this rip off rubbish that goes against every fiber of my being.
I sincerely apologize. I meant to say Joe not Ed. Joe has been in charge of this wonderful blog for a long time and I love it. Where. Got the name Ed from is beyond me.
And I suspect that the reason the Sinatra disc is no longer available on Amazon USA is that Jordan ran into some legal trouble with the Sinatra estate
Indeed...the Sinatra abomination has been removed from amazon.com. I hope that the Sinatra estate/ Frank Sinatra Enterprises and Sony Music flexed their muscle.
As another reviewer has said, it's much like colorizing an old black and white film...which often had terrible results and violates the integrity of the original film.
These folks would probably buy the Mona Lisa and strip her down and redo her in soft pastels, claiming that she wasn't meant for modern audiences.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with the original Sinatra recordings. To do this is a slap in the face to the performer, arrangers, musicians, and anybody involved in these beauties.
The less said about the Elvis atrocities the better.
After a date with Elvis' "If I can dream"-album I say it's a gimmick not build to last. A string-drenched "Burning love"? Not for me please!
Both "Kevin" and Mr. Mock have been very busy lately trolling the internet to find any of the overdub CDs I've produced, and then proceeding to not only trash them, but attack me personally -- including ascribing motives to me they could not possibly know.
Kevin says overdubs without a deceased artist's permission should be "illegal" and Mr. Mock's latest comment on another forum was: "Larry Jordan may you burn in hell for what you have done for a quick buck... How can you sleep well at night you incredible demon?" And yet he moralistically lectures The Second Disc reviewer for writing about "rip off rubbish." That's really rich.
Fans have a right to make up their own minds about these products without being ridiculed as dolts, especially by people who seem clueless about the fact that millions of public domain CDs are sold every year in America by mainstream venues and independent importers without encumbrance.
Trying to suppress a CD only makes fans want it more, and turns it into a COLLECTABLE. So such a strategy is self-defeating and short-sighted.
We anticipated that the CDs would be released sooner than they were, hence the inclusion of Christmas songs, but fans have commented these holiday tracks are so well done that they are destined to become perennial favorites.
All of the photos of Frank Sinatra that appear throughout the booklet and on the cover were taken during the same recording session, and we used the shot of Sinatra with the actual orchestra heard on a lot of the tracks. It didn't seem to make any sense for us to depict him with a photo of our musicians.
Kurt, I like your idea!
The Patsy Cline album ("The Divine Ms. Cline") is incredible and extremely well done, and the Elvis sets do not disappoint. I look very forward to receiving the Sinatra CD as well. Keep these sets coming, Mr. Jordan. They are fresh and exciting. Well done!
Good reply, Larry! Keep them up.
Yeah, this is about as low and unnecessary as reissuing can get... Why not just get a Sinatra (or Elvis) soundalike an re-record the whole thing and pretend it's a valid, worthwhile project?
The entire concept (that it is only the vocalist's performance, not those of the accompanying musicians, producers and engineers that is valid and desirable on these recordings) is terminally flawed... I don't think there's one person alive who would sanely try and argue that Mr. Sinatra or Mr. Presley would hear this idea and approve of it... especially a perfectionist like Mr. Sinatra.
And to suggest that the original recordings left a lot to be desired and were somehow so primitive as to need re-recording, is not only insulting, but suggests a complete misunderstanding of sound, the recording process and the place of music in our lives.... there is nothing wrong with these recordings, just because a few dunderheaded people think that if it ain't digital if it ain't digital it ain't cool, that don't make it so...
It's true, that lovers of the actual, proper recordings don't have to listen to them or purchase them, but they do dilute and clutter the marketplace, and stand as an ongoing testament to just how dumb people can be and just how many stupid ideas will be accepted in the name of 'each to their own'.
Sure, flog your product to those people who like music as wallpaper rather than as actual listening material, grab every penny you can... but I'd sure appreciate if you'd stop with the pretense that this is anything other than a lazy financial exercise that trades desperately on the deceased's names and reputations (just as that god-awful If I can Dream record did last year, that Priscilla shamelessly hawked around is if it was a 'new' Elvis record)...
Do what you're gonna do, just don't pretend there's anything 'proper' or actually desirable about these records. They are cheap rehashes designed for petrol station bargain bins and impulse purchases at the supermarket checkouts.... they do nothing but belittle the music and the artists in question... they are empty of calibre and quality, from the concept on down.
BRAVO, Simon!!!!
"Simon Olivier," you are a bit of a crusader, are you not? You routinely insult anyone who does not like their music raw, flawed and old-sounding. You reject any advances in technology that enable producers to clean up early recordings that were marred by such things as sibilance, drop-outs, tape hiss, missed chord changes, over-modulation, variations in tempo, etc. and insult music lovers who embrace improvements in the quality of their favorite recordings.
Why are present-day new recordings not etched in transcription disks and done in mono like they were in the past? Why did Sinatra embrace stereo when it became available? Why are we all not watching b&w TV with rabbit ears? Are you still using a black rotary dial phone?
The modern world has afforded us many amazing IMPROVEMENTS in the way we live our lives, so why should technology not be applied to enable fans of iconic artists to enjoy their favorites in a manner that is more consistent with today's listening preferences?
So-called "purists" are frightened of change and cling desperately to old ways which are vastly inferior, and do so with an arrogance that they know better than anybody else, and an elitist disdain for the millions of fans who disagree with them. The irony is that NOBODY IS TAKING THE ORIGINALS AWAY FROM YOU, and you have no right to prevent others from making up their own minds about the newly reworked recordings.
It is precisely BECAUSE we honored the artistic integrity of the originals that we sought to replicate the original arrangements on the Sinatra project, by having very talented musicians play the same charts note for note, only in stereo. We WERE able, through the use of technology, to subsume Sinatra's voice so it can be heard more clearly. Apparently you don't want fans to be able to hear this great artist better. The top flight musicians who signed on to the Sinatra and Elvis projects -- and indeed all the CDs I've produced over the years -- have their reputations at stake, and I assure you would not have participated if they felt there was anything inferior about the end result. As for a "lazy financial exercise" -- projects of this type are considerably more expensive than merely throwing a bunch of old tracks together and tossing them out into the marketplace, which is what MOST labels -- large and small -- do. Now THAT'S lazy.
As for these projects being suitable for only "bargain bins," fans around the world think otherwise. NONE of the CDs I've produced are sold cheaply. The price is always premium because the quality of the work is superior and the labels who release them need to amortize their investments.
The improvements that skilled restoration engineers and others have brought to old recordings are truly awesome, and have gone a long way toward attracting new listeners, getting hits for long-deceased artists on radio stations worldwide, and thereby perpetuating the legacies of these artists -- your putrid diatribe notwithstanding.
Yeah, I didn't think you'd get it. Class dismissed.
you ram your opinions down others throats-so capitalist American.They are taking advantaGE of the public domain laws in Europe which are thankfully different from the US and instead of sending the same old compilations to the world and the US they are reinvogorating these recordings-not ripping people off.We have suffered e same old repackaged stuff for 40 years this is at last a breath of fresh air-so to the purists,get a life
three cheers for LARRY JORDON.hr
This hate mail just came to my supposedly private email address. How did that happen?
Charles Roberts
9:25 AM (8 minutes ago)
to me
What the fuck is your problem man? I see your juvenile taunts and tirades and reckless accusations all around the web, everyplace you can find to draw attention to yourself.
You can't let anybody have a different opinion about music or overdubs than you, without belittling them with personal attacks. What makes you such an expert? What have YOU ever done to make beautiful music that entertains and soothes people????
The people you assail have brought much happiness to the world with their CDs while you have spewed your vitriol all over them.
Aren't you the same Paul Mock who kisses Sony's ass in Culver City? You want to suppress the freedom of people to buy overdubs if they want to and that sure seems to be inconsistent with the freedoms our brave military men and woman have fought so hard and died to protect over the years. Aren't you ESGR's chair? What kind of crazy bastard does this organization have heading them up NATIONALLY, when you harass people online and shadow them?
I wonder if your employers know about your antics and your aggressive attacks on people you don't even know online?
You've got a BIG PROBLEM and you need to confront it before your dirty little secret becomes widely known. You do NOT uphold the honor and ideals of the Guard and Reserve when you behave such a contemptible way, and it's time that your screwball posts and vicious personal attacks on people are exposed.
Have a nice day!
....In response to Mr. Charles Roberts (who has been reported for sending unwanted hate mail)...
I am not now, nor have I ever been affiliated in any way with Sony Products and have no idea what or who ESGR is. So go have fun. You are barking up the wrong tree.
Click here to Reply or Forward
Randy,
I really want to know how this schmuck got my email address if addresses are not published. This is a concern for me and I am sure other regular contributors here.
He has been reported and my email provider has contacted me re: this intrusion of privacy.
This thing with a wild horse like Jordan who will try any tactic to sell his shabby product has now gotten way out of hand! Invasion of personal emails is a serious issue!
Mr. Mock, you have previously posted that you hope I "burn in hell" for producing an overdub CD (and your post was removed from Amazon) and now you're accusing me of bullying you, trolling you, and somehow invading your privacy. All I can say to that is GET HELP!!!!!!! Your paranoid delusions are getting out of hand. You need to re-read your offensive, over the top comments that bear no resemblance to a fair-minded review or a mere exercise of your right to express yourself. You are not flagrantly engaging in hate speech and slander.
Mr. Mock, you have previously posted that you hope I "burn in hell" for producing an overdub CD (and your post was removed from Amazon) and now you're accusing me of bullying you, trolling you, and somehow invading your privacy. All I can say to that is GET HELP!!!!!!! Your paranoid delusions are getting out of hand. You need to re-read your offensive, over the top comments that bear no resemblance to a fair-minded review or a mere exercise of your right to express yourself. You are now flagrantly engaging in hate speech and slander.
This company that has done these travesties to the Sinatra and Presley recordings would be the type to listen to Louis Armstrong's Hot Fives and Sevens recordings and redo them, because they are a little scratchy.
THey have no respect for art or history. Heck, they would probably vote to junk the Constitution and redo it in 12-point Ariel to make it more readable.
Anonymous person "DJR," if you're so proud of your convictions, why use a pseudonym? The histrionics that some people display over the mere use of today's technology to embellish time-worn old recordings is not only absurd, it's laughable, and displays an intemperance that reveals more about the attacker than it does about the projects we produce which have received worldwide praise from pro critics and fans alike. The accusations are bogus as is your baseless speculation. There are plenty of other far more important things in the world to worry about than whether or not a fan somewhere buys and enjoys an overdubbed CDs, especially since THE ORIGINALS ARE STILL AVAILABLE TO YOU untouched.
Restoring music is one thing...I absolutely love what labels and historians have done to restore and preserve the recordings and the masters.
What you people do is bastardize them taking advantage of copyright laws overseas.
You are just one nasty person...for somebody who promotes this crap, you sure are one lousy promoter by being such a jerk.
Go away.
Have you ever BOUGHT any of our CDs? Do you OWN any of them? What are your credentials? We're out here in the marketplace and engaging friends and foes openly while some lurk in the shadows and post ad hominem attacks as you have done. If it is such "crap," and I'm such a "lousy promoter" and "jerk," why do you get so worked up over it? Why is it even worth your time? Unless you have some other agenda.
I bought the first Elvis one, mistaken that it was an officially licensed RCA/ Sony/BMG release, only to find that it was Elvis' pirated vocals on a bootleg. One of the few times I threw a CD in the garbage.
Not even Tom Parker would have thought of this garbage.
And don't respond...I don't want to deal with your nastiness anymore.
The Sinatra disc may circulate outside of the US, but I am glad that the copyright holders and the SInatra estate are removing it here.
Here it comes...the reckless slander. Your use of the words "pirated" and "bootleg" are erroneous and imply criminal activity, which is obviously your intent in using these inflammatory terms and a pathetic and desperate attempt to smear this fine work. But you didn't read the comments by the Second Disc reviewer who pointed out what most well-informed people know: ALL of these recordings are out of copyright under EU law, where the labels are located that released them. Possibly you have heard of the U.S. Supreme Court. Are you aware of their ruling in the First Sale Doctrine case in 2013? Do you know that millions of public domain CDs are sold by a variety of venues in the U.S., which are unencumbered in doing so?
And what is the proof of your assertion that "the copyright holders and the Sinatra estate are removing it here?" There are a multitude of sales venues that are selling it to U.S. customers so it is readily available.
Even if sales IN the U.S. were halted, fans in the U.S. would still be able to acquire it from foreign sources, so despite the obvious hatred evident in your posts, censorship never works and just makes a product MORE desired and MORE of a collectable.
Folks, just ignore Larry Jordan.
It's clear he is a few pancakes short of a stack, a few donuts short of a dozen...his elevator doesn't go to all the floors...whatever analogy you want to use.
He is a bully and troll...and one best not to feed.
Ignore his crappy pirated bootlegs, and ignore him.
How old are you DJR? From your juvenile postings, I would guess 5 maybe? If Larry's releases are as you say, then why would "Billboard" Magazine be interested? Why would the BBC have Larry Jordan on a 1 hour special. Why would "Country People" write glowingly of them? The list goes on and on. You call him a bully but it is you and a few others that attacked him, so who's the bully?
i wish you'd write in British English and with correct British English spellings-I have to put my google translate on whenever you write
whatever the ' pissing match' is between supporters and detractors, how does a Yank in California purchase the Sinatra CD you are advertising/talking about?
I notice Discogs has some.
I'd just like to step in with a reminder that insults and personal attacks of any kind are not tolerated at The Second Disc. Civil discourse as to the actual content of any release covered here, including these two titles, is welcome...but that's all. In our six-plus years, we here at TSD have done our best to foster a community of music lovers who might not always agree, but always express their opinions in a measured and respectful manner. I ask that any further comments on this thread simply be relegated to discussion of the MUSIC. Thanks for reading, all.
Joe,
Any idea how this "Charles Roberts" got my email address? This does concern me. He has the wrong person sharing my same name targeted for some pretty aggressive stuff.
I'd appreciate a response.
Thanks for ALL you do here!!!!
Thanks, Paul. Unfortunately, I have no idea except to confirm that it wasn't linked from The Second Disc. As should be seen on the page itself, TSD does not publish email addresses in comments; there's even a reminder that "Your email address will not be published" in the submission area each time one makes a comment.
I don't have anything further to add, but I am happy to respond to your query, above, as to why we would cover these releases. Each day here at TSD, I make decisions as to what's "newsworthy." Clearly the traffic and interest generated by Randy's article confirmed my impulse that these titles are indeed, worthy of discussion. I'm still catching up on this thread here, but I'm surprised that it has taken on a tone I haven't encountered over thousands of articles in the past six-plus years. I regret that a routine news story has engendered so much vitriol and controversy, but I would make the same decision again to report on titles that are clearly of interest to our readers.
Thanks to you and everybody here for reading and remaining respectful.
Thanks Joe. I know what the site says about publishing email addresses but this one really freaked me out, as I am sure you can understand.
Mr. Marchese, you are exactly right.
The problem is there are a number of us who think these products are beyond atrocious and without integrity.
Yet when we post such reviews here, this guy launches attacks against those who criticize. Not just here but elsewhere.
We are music lovers...in this case Sinatra aficionados...and think these trashy releases diminish the Sinatra discography. I've made many posts here on this cool site, this being, I think, the first review of a title that was negative.
Any fair minded person who reads my responses will see that I was unfailingly polite, but I do not intend to allow people to describe the release of these CDs by EU labels as criminal behavior ("pirates" and "bootlegs"), but some of you want to be argumentative about that point and think I shouldn't have a right to respond to that sort of misinformation. Personal accusations that I am a "troll", (you posted on Amazon that you hoped I would "burn in hell"), or are stalking you are absurd. The assertion that sale of the Sinatra CD has been "halted" and is by inference unobtainable by U.S. fans is patently FALSE.
After dragging these releases and me personally through the mud you portray yourselves as the victims, which is laughably absurd. Even now you are calling the these CD "trashy releases" -- which is an insult to the big-league musicians, engineers, arrangers and labels who participated in these projects, all of whom, btw, have received widespread critical praise from respected media sources and fans alike.
I KNOW OF LARRY jORDON THROUGH HIS SUPERB jIM REEVES RELEASES AND HE DOES A FANTASTIC JOB-IF YOU DON'T LIKE WHAT YOU HEAR THEN MOVE ON.THREE CHEERS FOR lARRY JORDON'S WORK