Come Dance with Me - recorded 1958
Stereo Releases
A quick review of Sinatra’s stereophonic recording history at Capitol:
Where Are You, Come Fly with Me, the seven stereo-recorded This is Sinatra, Volume Two tracks, and Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely were recorded via separate mono and stereo systems at the Capitol tower. For each, a large handful of microphones (8 to 10, depending on needs), plus live-added acoustic reverb from the famous underground chambers, was used to create a mono mix “on the fly” in the main booth, while the stereo recording used something much closer to a turnkey system: A separate, makeshift “booth” installed upstairs, outfitted with Ampex 3-track tape machines. The vocal mic was “split” from the mono set-up and the orchestra picked up via two U47s (set to omnidirectional mode) with each mic on it’s own track: left orchestral mic on track 1; vocal mic on track 2; right orchestral mic on track 3.
Come Dance with Me is the first Sinatra album at Capitol to utilize a new recording technique, taking the tried-and-true monophonic mic setup and simply assigning each mic to one of the tracks on the three-track tape, with no reverb added. This three-track master was used to create mono and stereo mixes, with reverb added during mixdowns. The track assignments were:
Track One (stereo left): Saxes, rhythm section (probably 5 mics total: Saxes, piano, guitar, bass, drums -- one mic each)
Track Two (center): Frank Sinatra vocal mic
Track Three (stereo right): Brass (probably 2 mics)
Obviously, this creates a rather awkward stereo balance, with most of the band “hard left,” and only the blaring brass at hard right, and Sinatra by himself in the center. On the whole, the stereo presentation took a real hit in the shorts, in my opinion, vis-a-vis previous stereo albums, but it also achieved a major goal: eliminating “double inventory” recording sessions, consolidating mono and stereo into one booth and one crew. Luckily, this part of the “stereo gestation period” was short-lived, and things would improve considerably around 1960.
(Photos posted by Jordan Taylor @ SHTV.)
Above: D4#2 LP - Defective Stereo Mix #1 - Lacquer cut from master tape
Above: circa 1965 X10 LP - Stereo Mix #2 - lacquer cut from tape copy in NYC (Audio courtesy SHTV’s “Arkoffs”)
Stereo Audio Clips
“Come Dance with Me”
(Click photos below to hear clips)
Each clip on this page falls within the 90-second free sample clip freely available on iTunes. Click VIEW in the iTunes box below to hear the 90-second iTunes clip.
Recording session for the COME DANCE WITH ME album, December, 1958.
Above: Canada D1#2 LP - Defective Stereo Mix #1 - Lacquer cut from master tape at Capitol; pressed at RCA in Ontario
Above: 2009 G1 “From the Vaults” LP - Stereo Mix #2 - lacquer cut in Hollywood by Ron McMaster
Above: 1970s SM-series H14#1 LP - Stereo Mix #2 - lacquer cut from master tape by Gene Thompson
Above: 1984 Japan LP - Stereo Mix #2 - lacquer presumably cut from a tape copy
Above: 1970s Netherlands “The Frank Sinatra Story, Volume 9” LP - Stereo Mix #2 - lacquer presumably cut from a tape copy
Above: 1984 UK LP - Stereo Mix #2 - lacquer cut from a digital copy of the USA master tape at Abbey Road’s Penthouse Mastering
Above: 1976 Germany “2 Originals of Frank Sinatra” 2-fer LP - Stereo Mix #2 - lacquer presumably cut from a tape copy
Above: circa 1961 7.5 ips reel-to-reel tape - Stereo Mix #2
Above: 1987 CD - Stereo Mix #2
Above: 1998 UK CD - Stereo Mix #2 (audio clip courtesy SHTV’s “Old Coder”)
Above: 1998 CD - Stereo Mix #3 - remixed/mastered by Robert Norberg (audio clip courtesy SHTV’s “floweringtoilet”)
At Left: 2015 “Sinatra 100” series LP - Stereo Mix #2 (Audio courtesy SHTV’s “AxeD”)
Above: 1983 MFSL LP - Stereo Mix #2 - lacquer cut at half-speed from master tape by Jack Hunt
At Left: 2015 HD Download - Stereo Mix #2 (Audio courtesy SHTV’s “Rudy”)
Above: D7 LP - Defective Stereo Mix #1 - Lacquer cut from master tape
Above: circa 1965 N13 LP - Stereo Mix #2 - lacquer cut from tape copy in NYC (Audio courtesy “Arkoffs”)
Stereo Audio Clips
“Saturday Night (Is the Loneliest Night of the Week)”
(Click photos below to hear clips)
Each clip on this page falls within the 90-second free sample clip freely available on iTunes. Click VIEW in the iTunes box below to hear the 90-second iTunes clip.
Above: Canada D3 LP - Defective Stereo Mix #1 - Lacquer cut from master tape; pressed at RCA in Ontario
Above: 2009 G1 “From the Vaults” LP - Stereo Mix #2 - lacquer cut in Hollywood by Ron McMaster - Defective mix of unknown origin that originally appeared on the 1984 UK LP
Above: 1970s SM-series H15#1 LP - Stereo Mix #2 - lacquer cut from master tape by Gene Thompson
Above: 1984 Japan LP - Stereo Mix #2 - Lacquer cut from a tape copy
Above: 1970s Netherlands “The Frank Sinatra Story, Volume 9” LP - Stereo Mix #2 - Lacquer cut from a tape copy
Above: 1984 UK LP - Defective mix of unknown origin
Above: 1976 Germany “2 Originals of Frank Sinatra” 2-fer LP - Stereo Mix #2 - Lacquer cut from a tape copy
Above: circa 1961 7.5 ips reel-to-reel tape - Stereo Mix #2
Above: 1987 CD - Stereo Mix #2
Above: 1998 UK CD - Stereo Mix #2 (Audio courtesy SHTV’s “DJ Wilbur”)
Above: 1998 CD - Stereo Mix #3 - remixed/mastered by Robert Norberg (Audio courtesy SHTV’s “rangerjohn”)
At Left: 2015 “Sinatra 100” series LP - Defective mix of unknown origin that originally appeared on the 1984 UK LP (Audio courtesy “AxeD”)
Above: 1983 MFSL LP - Stereo Mix #2 - lacquer cut at half-speed from master tape by Jack Hunt
At Left: 2015 HD Download - Defective mix of unknown origin that originally appeared on the 1984 UK LP (Audio courtesy SHTV’s “Rudy”)
Above: N5 LP - Defective Stereo Mix #1 - Lacquer cut from tape copy in NYC (audio courtesy SHTV’s “Muzyck”)
Above: N4 LP - Defective Stereo Mix #1 - Lacquer cut from tape copy in NYC (audio courtesy SHTV’s “Muzyck”)
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