Non-Album Tracks, 1956

Thank you to SHTV’s “Bob F” for his invaluable assistance in compiling this information.

Ongoing discussion at the Steve Hoffman Music Forum (LINK)       Album Index

 

January 17, 1956 -

Well Did You Evah? (with Bing Crosby)

Top Choices, in significantly differing flavors:


•Original mono LP

In Hollywood (modern stereo remix) CD

That’s Entertainment (modern stereo remix) CD

•Audio track on DVD (modern stereo remix)


PLEASE SEE DETAILED NOTES ABOUT EACH OF THESE FOUR CHOICES FARTHER DOWN THE PAGE.

Not as good:


•All the pre-2002 stereo remixes for LP and CD


Avoid:

Original 45/78: Significantly edited

Sinatra 80th and Australia Frank Sinatra Collection CDs: poor mono sound

NOTES


•I’ve read some comments about this being Sinatra’s first stereo recording, which simply is not true, nor is this the first time that the public got to hear Sinatra in stereo.  Consider:

•Customers at Cinemascope-equipped theatres got to hear Mr. Sinatra sing Three Coins in the Fountain in 4-track stereo starting in May 1954, likely the first time that fans got to hear a stereo Sinatra recording.  (This version was never officially released on vinyl or CD.)  That track was almost certainly the first time that a Sinatra performance was recorded to multiple tracks with the end goal at the time of production being stereophonic reproduction (as opposed to multiple optical film tracks being used to create a highly polished mono soundtrack.)

High Society (the film) was released to theatres in MONO ONLY.  No stereo mixes were heard until the stereo LP reached stores in 1961, well after the first home-use Sinatra stereo product: the Where Are You open reel release (very late 1957?); and after early stereo LP releases such as Stars in Stereo and Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely (fall of 1958).

Arranger: Skip Martin; Conductor: Johnny Green

Original Release: High Society soundtrack LP, June 25, 1956

Original CD Release:

    Japan All the Way: The Hit Collection, 1989

Releases sampled for this comparison:

•1956 78*

•1956 High Society mono soundtrack LP

•1982(?) UK Stereo 45

•1989 Japan This Hit Collection CD**

•1989 High Society soundtrack CD**

1991 Japan High Society soundtrack CD**

•1995 Sinatra 80th - All the Best CD

•1996 Complete Capitol Singles CD**

•1996 Australia The Frank Sinatra Collection CD

•1997 Australia High Society soundtrack CD**

•2002 Reprise In Hollywood CD

•2006 Rhino That’s Entertainment CD


BROWN = mono mix (*=edited)

ORANGE  = alternate mono mix; shared mastering

GREEN = unaltered original stereo LP mix

PINK = altered version of original stereo LP mix

BLUE = Each uniquely remixed from 35mm mag film elements


**Shared raw digital transfer from original stereo mix

Audio Characteristics and Clips

Above: 1996 Complete Capitol Singles CD, mastered by Bob Norberg, courtesy “rangerjohn”.

Four days after this recording session, which featured an  arrangement by Skip Martin and orchestra conducted by Johnny Green, this blurb appeared in Billboard (link):   

Shortly thereafter, on February 11, 1956, this interesting feature on the woes of using artists from competing labels on a soundtrack album appeared (link).

“Reciprocal Deals” refers to arrangements in which one label “loans” an artist to another label, with the understanding that quid pro quo (aka tit for tat) will result.

One of the best known examples of a “reciprocal deal” occurred when Columbia artist Bob Dylan featured prominently on Apple Records’ The Concert for Bangladesh album.  Years later, Columbia (CBS/Sony/Epic) distributed the album in  parts of the world.

Perhaps to solve the potential conundrum, Capitol signed Bing Crosby to a contract just a week or so later.


(link)

Capitol heavily promoted the album.

(link)

The “steal” was very short lived!

(link)

July 7, 1956 review.

(link)

Above: Original D20 mono pressing, courtesy Arkoffs

SAMPLE AUDIO CLIPS


All clips posted here mirror those freely available via iTunes.  To access the 90-second iTunes free samples, click

“View,” then “View in iTunes.”

Above: c. 1989 Capitol CD #CDP 0777 7 93787 2 2, later reissued in Europe, courtesy Bob F and Hodgo.

This song was largely recorded on January 17, 1956, in “pre-recording” sessions at MGM, in excellent fidelity on multiple mag film tracks, allowing for precise mono and stereo mixing in post-production.  (The film itself was released to theatres strictly in mono.)

•Some dialogue recorded live during actual filming has also been used in some mixes. 

•Some extraneous sounds that accompanied those live-recorded dialogue snippets have also appeared in some mixes/edits.

Foley effects are audible in the dvd mix, of course.

•The familiar instrumental intro (about ten seconds) was not included in the film, but was recorded at MGM specifically for use by Capitol on the soundtrack, presumably to provide some foundational context that was not necessary in the film itself, which finds Sinatra suddenly singing while chatting with Crosby.

•There are three official edits: 2:52 (mono single); 3:39 (actual film version and In Hollywood remix); 3:49 (Capitol full-length LP/CD versions)

Above: Original mono pressing, courtesy EHarmonica

Click photos below for brief audio clips, all of which fall within the itunes free sample window, linked above left.

At Left: 1995 Sinatra 80th: All the Best CD

Above: Japan Hit Collection CD, courtesy “progrockfan”

(All CDs of this mix sound like shared masterings, despite very minor timing differences.)

At Left: 2002 Reprise  In Hollywood CD

At Left: 2006 Rhino  That’s Entertainment CD, courtesy SHTV’s Rudy.

At Left: 5.1 DVD remix (reduced to stereo for clip)

Awkwardly spliced in from 1989 Capitol soundtrack CD

Stereo Remix 1

•2002 Reprise In Hollywood CD

Above: UK stereo 45

<---- 1955 Sessions  1956 Singles:  Jan. 6    Jan. 12                            Jan. 17   Jan. 20   March 8   April 4    April 5    April 9                        Nov. 26                          Dec. 3  ----> 1957 Sessions