Thanks Oregonpapa. Right now ... I'm in the mood for smoooooth and that means it's Linda/Nelson time. I'm spinning Lush Life. Wow!!!
Not sure I mentioned this, but I picked up an original Asylum 3 record box set. Really well mastered and pressed. |
Bifwynne ...
I'm thrilled that you are enjoying your SE upgrade. Its a real transformation for sure. I have a little over 300 hours on my REF SE now. So, with that said, I have another album recommendation for you guys.
My friend Robert came over last night and he brought with him a very rare Margaret Whiting album. One cut on the album was "I Love You Porgy." About half way through the cut, I commented that as good as Whiting was, this song could only be sung correctly with the proper emotional impact by a Black female singer. Listen carefully to the lyrics and you'll understand why.
So, I got out my rare original mono version of Nina Simone singing the same song. This album has been buried in my collection and hasn't been played since I had the ARC SP-14 and Classic 60 in the system. So, there's been a ton of improvements to the system since then.
Robert and I just sat there awestruck. What a GREAT album this is ... and the sound is amazing. It puts Nina Simone right there in the room. This is the kind of mono record that has you saying ... "who needs stereo?" My suggestion is ... RUN to Ebay to find this album. Only consider the mono version though.The stereo version sucks and so does the CD. This is what you're looking for:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NINA-SIMONE-Little-Girl-Blue-LP-NEW-SEALED-JAZZ-VOCAL-VINYL-/400931511948?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5d59615e8c
This one is a reissue. If it were me, I'd try to find a mint original. Here's an original for sale on Ebay:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NINA-SIMONE-Little-Girl-Blue-LP-BETHLEHEM-BCP-6028-Orig-US-1958-JAZZ-DG-MONO-/261914443289?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cfb513e19 |
I saw her at Radio City Music Hall in NYC with Nelson Riddle conducting. Great show with one embarrassing gaffe. In the middle of one tune, Linda went silent: she forgot the lyrics. Riddle gently saved her by playing some holding chords that segued smoothly into the next song. |
isn't apity I did never see her in concert. |
I have those albums, and yes they are recommended |
My last post on this thread is over a month old. In it, I referred to my ARC Ref 150 amp which had been recently upgraded to SE status, which included KT-150 tubes. Since then, my ARC Ref 150 SE amp is pretty broken in now.
Ok ... so I'm spinning some Linda/Nelson LPs right now. I am just amazed. Forget the audiophile lexicon ... all I can say is WOW!! What a voice and my amp does a terrific job of projecting a wonderful sound stage in front of me.
Oregonpapa ... I get why you were so impressed by your ARC Ref 75 SE. I think ARC made some real magic with the Ref amp SE line.
That said, I am dubious I would be able to fully appreciate the music or the amp without my DEQX PreMATE speaker and room EQ correction device. If interested in the DEQX, check out the thread which was active a couple of days ago. Al (Almarg) is reporting set-up progress with his new DEQX HDP-5. |
Oregon, My mom was an opera singer, and our house was always filled with music, classical and/or operatic, but she did not know much about jazz or the popular singers of her day, such as the ones you listed and more. However, I benefited from her love of music in many ways, including the fact that my dad bought her what I now know is a pretty nice mono audio system in the early 50s, to include Altec Lansing 604 co-axial driver, driven by a mono HK tube receiver off a Garrard changer. Access to this system allowed me to experiment on my own to define my tastes in music, and thus I found out about jazz via mostly Dave Brubeck and Miles Davis. When I first heard "Kind of Blue", that was an epiphany. |
A bit off-analog, but I recently discovered that Wolfgang's Vault has a bunch of old live concert recordings of Linda Ronstadt at her peak that can be downloaded for $7 each. Unfortunately they are not on LP, nor even high-rez. But some of the performances are unique! |
Lewm ...
Linda was indeed re-doing the old ballads as you said. I was brought up on this music. My Mom was a huge fan of the big bands of the 40's and I got indoctrinated. I have albums by Jo Stafford, Helen Merrill, June Christy Sinatra, Freddy Martin, Dick Haymes, Margaret Whiting, and a ton of others. I thought Linda Ronstadt brought a fresh voice into the mix ... so I bought them all. Even a box set with French pressings. The French pressings are quieter than the domestic ones, but the domestic ones sound just as good. |
Lew: No offence taken as I'm sure none intended. |
OK. I got it. I thought later that you might take my post as a put-down. It was never intended as such, and I do apologize if you felt it was. Lush Life is one of my favorite jazz ballads, if not my absolute favorite. If Sinatra had ever recorded it, I would certainly want to hear that recording, but I had already read about his declining to sing it. Thus I was pleasantly surprised to learn that maybe I was wrong. I was not wrong, sadly, but I did learn in the course of my investigation that there is a "bootleg" tape of Sinatra singing it. I'd love to access that. I can actually see why he may have felt it did not suit him.
Nat King Cole first recorded "I love you for sentimental reasons", I think. It was a hit record for a short while. My basic thought was to remind people that Linda Ronstadt was "covering" tunes that already had a history with some of the greatest jazz and pop singers of the 40s, 50s, and 60s. I also read on Wiki that Nelson Riddle passed away during the time that Linda was doing that recording, and his son finished the session as conductor. Anyway, if you like Lush Life, seek out the Johnny Hartman/John Coltrane collaboration, on Impulse. It's "classic". |
Dear Lew: I'm referring to the album titles for the Ronstadt /Riddle collaborations. I never suggested that Sinatra sang a song called "Lush Life" (Ronstadt/Riddle.) It is an album title however (Ronstadt/Riddle.) And I did shorten the album title "For Sentimental Reasons" (Ronstadt/Riddle.)
As it is, the song is actually called: "I Love You For Sentimental Reasons" on the "For Sentimental Reasons" (Ronstadt/Riddle)album. If there is any confusion between that and any Sinatra recording, I'm not aware of it. I don't have much in Sinatra's repertoire.
"For Sentimental Reasons" Linda Ronstadt/Nelson Riddle
Elektra Asylum Nonesuch Records Asylum 60474-1-E |
Dear Gvasale,
A search on Google revealed the following quote from Wikipedia and nothing else about Sinatra ever having recorded Lush Life:
"On May 25, 1958, Sinatra unsuccessfully attempted to record Billy Strayhorn's ballad "Lush Life". A bootleg recording of Sinatra's attempt at "Lush life" exists; this was the only time Sinatra sang the song in his career."
In fact, it seems he might have been planning to include it on "Only the Lonely". Nor can I find that Sinatra recorded an album titled "Sentimental Reasons". However, he did record the song by the same name. |
Dear Oregon,
Seriously? Andreas Vollenweider? Never heard of that dude.
On "Only the Lonely", Sinatra takes about 12 ballads and hits every one of them out of the park. It's an unbelievable display of talent and sensitivity to lyrics. I bought that album when it first came out in 1958, as a kid too young to drive, and I have lived with it all my life since. However, only as an older adult did I take up the art of jazz singing for myself, as an avocation, and through my own experiences as a singer, I appreciate Frank's work on that album, and many others of course, all the more.
Dear Gvasale, Frank recorded "Lush Life"? I am not aware of that, nor have I ever heard of the album "Sentimental Reasons", which may be why. But legend has it that Frank rejected the idea of singing Lush Life after hearing it played. Supposedly he thought it was too hard and said so in no uncertain terms. The quintessential version of Lush Life is of course Johnny Hartman's, accompanied by Coltrane. But I will have to hunt down "Sentimental Reasons". Other than "Only the Lonely", another other great Sinatra recording with emphasis on ballads is "Wee Small Hours", made in 1954 or 55 I think. |
I have had "What's New?" for ages and just got "Sentimental Reasons." The last, I think is Lush Life. "What's New"
is the better of the two. Have to wait and see about "Lush Life." |
Lewm ...
I have that Sinatra album ... its a killer, especially if you're a little depressed. Great sound. Funny how with a great system the personalities of the singers just comes through along with the music. Sinatra was such a great singer. I've read that he was so good that he'd walk into the studio and do one take ... and that was all she wrote. Good right from the get-go.
Here's another album you guys should get:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ANDREAS-VOLLENWEIDER-White-Winds-Original-PROMO-LP-from-1984-CBS-FM-39963-/361281480275?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item541e0de653
Bifwynne ... this album will make your Maggies sing for sure. |
Bif, Now listen to Sinatra sing What's New, on his 1958 album, "Only the Lonely". Make sure there are no sharp instruments around when you do listen to it. Of course, the song was written for him. |
Listened to What's New last night. Real classy. |
You see What's New around a lot in thrift shops. All these recordings are great,good stuff. |
Bifwynne ...
I'm happy that you're enjoying the recordings. They're among my favorites.
Here's another must have: Dean Martin's "Dream With Dean." Its just been re-released by acoustic sounds on a two-record set ... 45rpm. But, if you can find a clean copy of the original, its simply magic. This is what you're looking for: http://www.ebay.com/itm/DEAN-MARTIN-LP-REPRISE-RS-6123-STEREO-DREAM-WITH-DEAN-/351071651187?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item51bd804573
If you get this album, you will be freaking out. It that good.
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I enjoyed the Ronstadt/Riddle recordings very much, and than Natalie Cole released 'Unforgettable, With Love' and I pretty much forgot about the Ronstadt recordings! |
" What has happened to me ???"
You grew up ! It happens to the best of us ! |
I'm waiting for Acoustic Sounds or somebody qualified to reissue the trio of LPs using the original masters--maybe done at 45rpm. I have the MOFI "What's New" and the regular releases of the other two--love them all but "Sentimental Reasons" is my personal favorite. Her version of "Goodbye" off "What's New" just blows my mind and "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" off "Sentimental Reasons" is another one that just takes hold of me when I'm in the mood for schmaltz. Sometimes when I put these records on I wonder what I would have thought if my dad played the same recording when I was 17. What has happened to me??? |
Picked up the set for 5 bucks at a flee market about a year ago. Records/box are mint. What a find!! What a buy!! What a recording(s)!!! |
Fair point Ebm.
Anyway, I listened to all 3 records. Wow. Just terrific! I repeat my suggestion that it would be worthwhile to pick up this special collection.
I think Oregonpapa alerted me to the eBay site where the set was auctioned. Thanks man!!
P.S. On another subject, while I think it's too early to post detailed comments on the SE upgrade to my ARC Ref 150, suffice to say, I think the amp sounds better than it did before. Still waiting for the flowers to bloom because the amp is just starting beak-in. |
There is a music section!!HELLO!!!!! |
Yep, I've got the original set too. |
This was also released on DVD-A as a multi-channel recording. Great sound, back in the day when Linda could sing like an angel. |
I have two of them on vinyl that I purchased new back around '84.I agree these are outstanding recordings! |
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