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Product DetailTrack ListingAMG Review
SONIC GRADE: (?) |
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VINYL PLAYGRADE:(?) |
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Mint Minus Minus |
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Mint Minus Minus |
Tubey Magic Is Key
The best copies have the kind of Tubey Magical Midrange that modern records cannot even BEGIN to reproduce. Folks, that sound is gone and it sure isn't showing signs of coming back. If you love hearing INTO a recording, actually being able to "see" the performers, and feeling as if you are sitting in the studio with the band, this is the record for you. It's what vintage all analog recordings are known for -- this sound.
If you exclusively play modern repressings of vintage recordings, I can say without fear of contradiction that you have never heard this kind of sound on vinyl. Old records have it -- not often, and certainly not always -- but maybe one out of a hundred new records do, and those are some pretty long odds.
What to Listen For (WTLF)
Copies with rich lower mids and nice extension up top (to keep the strings from becoming shrill) did the best in our shootout, assuming they weren't veiled or smeary of course. So many things can go wrong on a record! We know, we heard them all.
And we know a fair bit about the man's recordings at this point. As of today, we've done commentaries for more than 21 different Sinatra shootouts, and that's not counting at least another ten titles that either bombed or were sold off years ago.
We've searched high and low for his records and played them by the score over the years. We plan to keep a good supply on to the site in the coming years so watch for new arrivals in the Vocal section (linked to the left).
What do the best Hot Stamper pressing give you?
Energy for starters. What could be more important than the life of the music?
The Big Sound comes next -- wall to wall, lots of depth, huge space, three-dimensionality, all that sort of thing.
Then transient information -- fast, clear, sharp attacks, not the smear and thickness so common to these LPs.
Tight punchy bass -- which ties in with good transient information, also the issue of frequency extension further down.
Next: transparency -- the quality that allows you to hear deep into the soundfield, showing you the space and air around all the instruments.
Then: presence and immediacy. The vocals aren't back there somewhere, lost in the mix. They're front and center where any recording engineer worth his salt would have put them.
Extend the top and bottom and voila, you have The Real Thing -- an honest to goodness Hot Stamper.
TRACK LISTING
Side One
Ramblin Rose
Unforgettable
Straighten Up And Fly Right
Pretend
Ballerina
It's Only A Paper Moon
Smile
Side Two
Walkin' My Baby Back Home
Route 66
For Sentimental Reasons
Send For Me
Sweet Lorraine
The Christmas Song
Medley: Mona Lisa/Too Young/Nature Boy
AMG Review
Alongside Cole's collaborator, Billy May, and notable jazz arranger Claus Ogerman, Davis and company turned in one of the finest and most underrated efforts. The obvious affinity and respect the artist had for Cole dated back to Davis' work with the Will Mastin Trio in the 1940s. No one can match Cole's refined and sublime delivery however, Davis adds his own unique presence to a variety of pop ballads, early R&B tunes, and all seminal entries in Cole's sizable catalog.
Special kudos deserved of the closing medley of "Mona Lisa," "Too Young," and Cole's signature "Nature Boy." Ogerman's restrained instrumentation allows Davis room to make the melodies his own, while still very much retaining the warm, embracing, and above all gentle style that defined Nat King Cole.
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