I've always heard DAT is still the best quality. Is that true or am I mixing apples and oranges?
They tried to sell DAT players in the US at the same time CDs were introduced, but they never caught on.
Ask Richard!!!
What is 8MH you may ask?
DAT Tape is actually the same quality as a CD 44.1KHz 16bit Stereo.
Whilst it didn't catch on as a consumer format it was used extensively in studios for years.
I have used DAT for a long time and still do occasionally for Stereo location recording, however it has a problem. The tapes start to degrade after approx 10 - 15 year and will eventually become unplayable!
If you can transfer those tapes to something else Gray, do!
That reminds me, I must finish transfering mine!
Richard
Whilst it didn't catch on as a consumer format it was used extensively in studios for years.
I have used DAT for a long time and still do occasionally for Stereo location recording, however it has a problem. The tapes start to degrade after approx 10 - 15 year and will eventually become unplayable!
If you can transfer those tapes to something else Gray, do!
That reminds me, I must finish transfering mine!
Richard
If He Could See Me Now
Richard (or anyone!)
Is the album If He Could See Me Now still available to buy???
Is the album If He Could See Me Now still available to buy???
With warmest wishes
Anna x
Anna x
-
David Durrett
- Posts: 14
- Joined: Sun Mar 22, 2009 7:02 pm
Wow...what a fascinating thread! There are so many things I have noticed or wondered about over the past 30-plus years of virtually memorizing all of Matt's recordings...it's great to see this topic being discussed, and with Richard as an invaluable resource! I have so many questions or comments I will only mention the first that come to me now, in no particular order:
1. Why wouldn't they have redone the line in "Hello Dolly" that Matt sings as "Take her lap, fellas"? Or "Methusefah" in "I'm Glad I'm Not Young Anymore"?
2. Why was such a dissonant piano note left at the beginning of the instrumental interlude in "Over The Rainbow"?
3. Why does Matt's voice come up so much more "reverbed" after the instrumental part in the middle of "I'm Glad I'm Not Young Anymore"? (I've always thought that "off" horn note was done for effect.)
4. I've always hated that "For The Present" included "Singin' in the Rain" and "Till Then My Love." They're great songs...in fact, the latter is one of my all-time favorites. Including them just made it seem like a greatest hits album. (By the way, on FM radio I once heard a version of Matt's "Singin' In The Rain" with the fast part snipped out...it went from the slow part right into the last "singin' in the rain," and it fit together very nicely. It freaked me out at the time, but it did work.)
5. Years ago I exchanged letters with a fan in which we discussed the weird chatter in "From Russia With Love" between "but oh" and "you haunted me so." I've always wanted to slow that part down to see if there's a secret message in there. (Later remasterings have removed it...listen to it on an early CD.) Can you solve the riddle??
6. What is wrong with the 1982 Spanish album? It sounds like Matt's voice has been slowed...the first time I heard it (on a cassette) I was sure I had a bad copy. Matt was in fine voice throughout his career, and we have recordings done after that to prove it...was it poorly produced?
7. Something is wrong with "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and "Speak Softly Love." I'm surprised they show up so often on compilations. Years after I first heard them I came across a review of "For The Present" that commented on those two tracks as well. "Bridge" was made for Matt, but it almost sounds like the key is wrong for him...what is it? And why is his voice so tinny on "Speak Softly"? (Is it just me?)
8. Why would George Martin have let Matt's voice get so lost in "You've Made Me So Very Happy"?
9. I'm annoyed when a compilation cuts off "Happy" before his last "till now" or "Chattanooga Choo Choo" before he says "yeah" at the very end. Why does this happen? (Speaking of the 1975 albums, I like "Sunday Kind of Woman" and have been waiting forever for it to come out on CD!)
10. I think Matt has an undeserved reputation among some in the United States as a sleepy singer, and I think it's because so many tracks from "This Is The Life" and "Here's To My Lady" dominate radio play here. Matt does have a different sound on them, especially when you compare them to the recordings he had just made with George Martin. Fortunately his subsequent Capitol albums had more oomph, and it wasn't just the fact that Billy May came in...the later Sid Feller recordings sound more like "pop star" Matt too. Do you have any thoughts on this point?
11. Why did the two-fer CD with the two Spanish albums from the 60's name "Grandest Exitos" as one of them, when that was a much later re-release of "Todo Pasara"/"Alguien Canto"? ("Todo Pasara" and "Close To You" are my favorite of Matt's LP covers; "Long and Winding Road" and "If I Never Sing Another Song" my two least!)
12. I agree to some extent about the disco arrangements, but I still like the recordings, most of them very much. When Matt Jr.'s duet album came out, I wondered if anyone would or could redo the arrangements on those later tracks, since Matt's voice could so easily be isolated. However, I would take the disco arrangements over so much of what I've heard from his contemporaries on their later recordings. I do think they're very listenable and even timeless compared to what his fellow singers were doing at the time. Also, Matt should be given special praise for not re-recording his hits over and over...being with EMI all throughout his "famous" years had to help him resist that temptation, and keep others from pushing him to do it. (The fact that he was with the same record company from his first hit is also remarkable.) And maybe this is just venting, but it didn't help the album "If I Never Sing Another Song" when they put an old photo of Matt on the cover, included "Long And Winding Road," and named it after a two-year-old single. Again, I do like the songs on it, but the whole package should have received more effort.
13. I have had my doubts over the years about whether Matt ever recorded with a full orchestra once he was with EMI. Of course George Martin was well-known for recording parts separately, but I thought maybe the Capitol recordings were done with full orchestras. However, someone "very" close to Matt once told me that he only sang with the rhythm sections at Capitol. What do you know about this?
14. I would LOVE to hear some of the studio chatter...several years ago Capitol released a version of "Spanish Eyes" with Al Martino commenting on a few false starts at the beginning. What are the chances of having a track like that released on an upcoming CD???
15. I'll only make this point once to anyone who reads these comments and questions...I defer to no one in my love for Matt's music; if this post sounds critical in any way, it's only because my inquisitive ear has heard every note dozens or hundreds of times, and I've collected a lot of questions about things that amount to a fraction of a percent of Matt's music.
That's all for now, Richard! Thank you for making such a difference to Matt's legacy!
1. Why wouldn't they have redone the line in "Hello Dolly" that Matt sings as "Take her lap, fellas"? Or "Methusefah" in "I'm Glad I'm Not Young Anymore"?
2. Why was such a dissonant piano note left at the beginning of the instrumental interlude in "Over The Rainbow"?
3. Why does Matt's voice come up so much more "reverbed" after the instrumental part in the middle of "I'm Glad I'm Not Young Anymore"? (I've always thought that "off" horn note was done for effect.)
4. I've always hated that "For The Present" included "Singin' in the Rain" and "Till Then My Love." They're great songs...in fact, the latter is one of my all-time favorites. Including them just made it seem like a greatest hits album. (By the way, on FM radio I once heard a version of Matt's "Singin' In The Rain" with the fast part snipped out...it went from the slow part right into the last "singin' in the rain," and it fit together very nicely. It freaked me out at the time, but it did work.)
5. Years ago I exchanged letters with a fan in which we discussed the weird chatter in "From Russia With Love" between "but oh" and "you haunted me so." I've always wanted to slow that part down to see if there's a secret message in there. (Later remasterings have removed it...listen to it on an early CD.) Can you solve the riddle??
6. What is wrong with the 1982 Spanish album? It sounds like Matt's voice has been slowed...the first time I heard it (on a cassette) I was sure I had a bad copy. Matt was in fine voice throughout his career, and we have recordings done after that to prove it...was it poorly produced?
7. Something is wrong with "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and "Speak Softly Love." I'm surprised they show up so often on compilations. Years after I first heard them I came across a review of "For The Present" that commented on those two tracks as well. "Bridge" was made for Matt, but it almost sounds like the key is wrong for him...what is it? And why is his voice so tinny on "Speak Softly"? (Is it just me?)
8. Why would George Martin have let Matt's voice get so lost in "You've Made Me So Very Happy"?
9. I'm annoyed when a compilation cuts off "Happy" before his last "till now" or "Chattanooga Choo Choo" before he says "yeah" at the very end. Why does this happen? (Speaking of the 1975 albums, I like "Sunday Kind of Woman" and have been waiting forever for it to come out on CD!)
10. I think Matt has an undeserved reputation among some in the United States as a sleepy singer, and I think it's because so many tracks from "This Is The Life" and "Here's To My Lady" dominate radio play here. Matt does have a different sound on them, especially when you compare them to the recordings he had just made with George Martin. Fortunately his subsequent Capitol albums had more oomph, and it wasn't just the fact that Billy May came in...the later Sid Feller recordings sound more like "pop star" Matt too. Do you have any thoughts on this point?
11. Why did the two-fer CD with the two Spanish albums from the 60's name "Grandest Exitos" as one of them, when that was a much later re-release of "Todo Pasara"/"Alguien Canto"? ("Todo Pasara" and "Close To You" are my favorite of Matt's LP covers; "Long and Winding Road" and "If I Never Sing Another Song" my two least!)
12. I agree to some extent about the disco arrangements, but I still like the recordings, most of them very much. When Matt Jr.'s duet album came out, I wondered if anyone would or could redo the arrangements on those later tracks, since Matt's voice could so easily be isolated. However, I would take the disco arrangements over so much of what I've heard from his contemporaries on their later recordings. I do think they're very listenable and even timeless compared to what his fellow singers were doing at the time. Also, Matt should be given special praise for not re-recording his hits over and over...being with EMI all throughout his "famous" years had to help him resist that temptation, and keep others from pushing him to do it. (The fact that he was with the same record company from his first hit is also remarkable.) And maybe this is just venting, but it didn't help the album "If I Never Sing Another Song" when they put an old photo of Matt on the cover, included "Long And Winding Road," and named it after a two-year-old single. Again, I do like the songs on it, but the whole package should have received more effort.
13. I have had my doubts over the years about whether Matt ever recorded with a full orchestra once he was with EMI. Of course George Martin was well-known for recording parts separately, but I thought maybe the Capitol recordings were done with full orchestras. However, someone "very" close to Matt once told me that he only sang with the rhythm sections at Capitol. What do you know about this?
14. I would LOVE to hear some of the studio chatter...several years ago Capitol released a version of "Spanish Eyes" with Al Martino commenting on a few false starts at the beginning. What are the chances of having a track like that released on an upcoming CD???
15. I'll only make this point once to anyone who reads these comments and questions...I defer to no one in my love for Matt's music; if this post sounds critical in any way, it's only because my inquisitive ear has heard every note dozens or hundreds of times, and I've collected a lot of questions about things that amount to a fraction of a percent of Matt's music.
That's all for now, Richard! Thank you for making such a difference to Matt's legacy!
-
David Durrett
- Posts: 14
- Joined: Sun Mar 22, 2009 7:02 pm
OK...a few more then off to bed:
16. Why was it so hard to get a good copy of "Born Free" on CD until, as I remember it, "The Best of Capitol Years"? Before that, there was such a crackly noise in it that I feared the masters had been damaged. For some reason that one song was the only one I can think of that started out with a noticeably-bad digital remastering.
17. Why has it been hard to get a good clear version of "We're Gonna Change The World" on CD? Every time I hear it, it sounds muffled. (It really stands out especially when I hear it on a compilation with songs by other artists.) I'm not sure if I've ever really heard a bright, clean version on a CD. Do you agree?
18. It's thrilling whenever we hear alternate takes released on CDs...I'm reminded of a few over the years: "Didn't We" on the Matt Jr. duet album and "When Love Comes Along" come to mind. Are there a lot more of these out there? How about an "Alternate Takes" CD...there's one for the die-hards!
19. There are bits of songs that change every now and then--like the ends of "Unchained Melody," "How Do You Do," and "Maria"--that make you aware of how much George Martin cut-and-pasted Matt's recordings. Was there a lot of this going on? I imagine there was more than we realize.
20. As I understand it, Matt wasn't able to release "When I Look In Your Eyes" because he changed the last line to "Those eyes, so pure, so warm, so wise/How I love the look in your eyes" when it was written for "Doctor Dolittle" as "Those eyes, so wise, so warm, so real/Isn't it a pity you're a seal?" But...other artists recorded it without the seal reference, changing the last line to "How I love the look your eyes reveal." I've tried to make sense of it by surmising that the problem was that Matt changed the lyrics on his own before Leslie Bricusse adapted them for human-to-human consumption, and that other covers, ostensibly recorded contemporaneously with Matt's, actually were done later and use the version Bricusse rewrote. As I'm writing this I realize you probably don't have any idea, but I guess that won't stop me from asking!
21. Maybe you can't answer this one either, but why wasn't "Yesterday When I Was Young" released? It's amazing!
22. Did Matt ever record "Si Tu Te Vas" and "Amandote Otra Vez" in English? I love these melodies, and the latter one has a familiar Jurgens/Black/Schultz credit, leading me to wonder through the years if it was adapted for Matt first in English.
23. Any chance there's an English "Those Were The Days" out there? When I saw the Liberace clip on the new DVD, I was reminded how much I had hoped one would turn up some day.
16. Why was it so hard to get a good copy of "Born Free" on CD until, as I remember it, "The Best of Capitol Years"? Before that, there was such a crackly noise in it that I feared the masters had been damaged. For some reason that one song was the only one I can think of that started out with a noticeably-bad digital remastering.
17. Why has it been hard to get a good clear version of "We're Gonna Change The World" on CD? Every time I hear it, it sounds muffled. (It really stands out especially when I hear it on a compilation with songs by other artists.) I'm not sure if I've ever really heard a bright, clean version on a CD. Do you agree?
18. It's thrilling whenever we hear alternate takes released on CDs...I'm reminded of a few over the years: "Didn't We" on the Matt Jr. duet album and "When Love Comes Along" come to mind. Are there a lot more of these out there? How about an "Alternate Takes" CD...there's one for the die-hards!
19. There are bits of songs that change every now and then--like the ends of "Unchained Melody," "How Do You Do," and "Maria"--that make you aware of how much George Martin cut-and-pasted Matt's recordings. Was there a lot of this going on? I imagine there was more than we realize.
20. As I understand it, Matt wasn't able to release "When I Look In Your Eyes" because he changed the last line to "Those eyes, so pure, so warm, so wise/How I love the look in your eyes" when it was written for "Doctor Dolittle" as "Those eyes, so wise, so warm, so real/Isn't it a pity you're a seal?" But...other artists recorded it without the seal reference, changing the last line to "How I love the look your eyes reveal." I've tried to make sense of it by surmising that the problem was that Matt changed the lyrics on his own before Leslie Bricusse adapted them for human-to-human consumption, and that other covers, ostensibly recorded contemporaneously with Matt's, actually were done later and use the version Bricusse rewrote. As I'm writing this I realize you probably don't have any idea, but I guess that won't stop me from asking!
21. Maybe you can't answer this one either, but why wasn't "Yesterday When I Was Young" released? It's amazing!
22. Did Matt ever record "Si Tu Te Vas" and "Amandote Otra Vez" in English? I love these melodies, and the latter one has a familiar Jurgens/Black/Schultz credit, leading me to wonder through the years if it was adapted for Matt first in English.
23. Any chance there's an English "Those Were The Days" out there? When I saw the Liberace clip on the new DVD, I was reminded how much I had hoped one would turn up some day.
Hi David, Thanks for the questions answering them has kept me nearly as busy as Michele does!
1. Hello Dolly:- I’m trying not to give away too many secrets in relation to recording sessions, but the sessions for Broadway were unique with many “head†arrangements which is why mistakes crept in. All will be revealed in time
1 – 3 “I’m Glad I’m not Young†and “Over the Rainbow†, Victims of the previously discussed sloppy production. John Burgess should never have let these slip through the net – George Martin, I’m certain wouldn’t. Colin Keys once told me how horrified he was that that horn note slipped through – especially as there was two years between recording and release! “The Other Side of the Stars†is one Album crying out to be remixed, but because of the cost probably never will be
4. The problem with “Singin' in the Rain" and "Till Then My Love." is that although they had been released in the US on Liberty in 1965, in the UK these were previously unreleased recordings. They do stick out like a sore thumb in relation to the newer recordings and it wasn’t as if they were short of material – there were quite a few single tracks or even unreleased recordings from the time that could have been used. I don’t know the source of the edit you mention, although many radio stations had the habit of making their own edits at one point.
5. I’ll have to try find an older copy of the song but I doubt I’ll have much more luck than you do – however I’m going to try and persuade EMI to let me remix the single version of From Russia into stereo for the singles project. Both single and LP vocals are on the same tape so I might be able to find out them – if it’s not a mistake from the mixing session where perhaps two studios were trying to use the echo chamber at the same time!
6. I can’t really say here – do remember though that singing in Spanish wasn’t all that easy for Matt and all of the vocals were recorded as overdubs which he wasn’t very comfortable with. I can only assume that the producers wanted him to sing in a particular style. Michele would know more about this than me.
7. Bridge has quite a vocal range and this performance doesn’t quite work for either, not Matt’s fault, but the arranger and as he was the producer too, there was no one to question the suitability of the key! George didn’t get things wrong often, but he wasn’t infallible. Speak Softly is from the same session, I don’t know why it sounds thin other than its mixed this way. I wouldn’t call it tinny just a little thinner sounding than normal. It’s just Matt’s vocal which could have been eq’d better I suppose, It’s never really concerned me in the past, but I will look at it if I get the chance to re-master it’s next release.
8. Purely a mixing decision, a matter of taste on the part of George and Engineer John Stewart. It is very similar to the level of the vocal on the original ‘Blood Sweat and Tears’ recording. Interestingly, this was one of the rare occasions that Matt recorded his vocal at De Lane Lea studios.
9. Happy being cut is just sloppy mastering fading early to avoid a tiny amount of tape hiss. The reason Chattanooga fading early is because on CD this has never come from its master tape, only from a vinyl dub. It’s faded early to avoid vinyl noise and it’s not just these two tracks that suffer from this problem. The whole of “Other Side†comes from vinyl, and a number of other recordings scattered across his EMI releases too – this is unforgivable when the tapes are in the archives. The worst culprit is Impossible Dream which hasn’t come from a master tape in nearly 30 years!
10. I find it hard to see an early and late Capitol period because he recorded five albums in twelve months! Dave Cavanaugh produced Matt’s first albums in a similar way to the last recordings of Nat Cole but it’s really the choice of the material that dictated Sid Fellers arrangements. DC did like to theme albums and the first two Capitol albums also fit together as a pair (not surprising as they were recorded back to back) These Years couldn’t help to be contemporary, and as you will eventually learn, Broadway was a different kettle of fish entirely.
11. Michele’s decision – I think she preferred the cover and thought it would be a bit more unusual, but once again that is for her to answer rather than me.
12. Agreed, recordings by some of the greats in the 80’s and early 90’s were fairly awful – too many midi keyboards! I think the good thing was that Matt recorded in stereo from his third EMI session onwards and they were very good quality in the first place so there was no reason to re-record. I still can’t get excited about the Disco recordings though, the arrangements could be re-done as the multitracks are still in the archives, but I doubt this will ever happen.
13. On the contrary, Matt nearly ALWAYS recorded with an orchestra live in the studio. I can think of only two or three occasions where any vocals were recorded separately during the Parlophone years. Whilst at Capitol he once again recorded live with the orchestra for four out of five albums. From these four one track had an additional string overdub but that was all. Back in the UK he still sang live 95% of the time (apart from Spanish recordings which needed more time to get the pronunciation right so were all done separately). However John Burgess did prefer to record him with just a rhythm section and overdub strings later – something Matt disliked. How much this happened is hard to tell though because the majority of the session documentation from that time no longer exists. George Martin did regularly track ‘Pop’ records but not singers like Matt.
14. I love studio chatter too, I have some great bits from Nat Cole, for instance. The problem is that the general listener probably doesn’t like this sort of thing. Not only that you do have to spend an enormous amount of time and money listening and researching all of the existing tapes. It would be nice, but will probably only happen if we find something really interesting whilst researching something else.
16. Once again, it’s because it’s taken from vinyl (most likely a copy of Invitation to the Movies), once again needlessly – the original master is in the EMI archives. Even the Capitol Years used the LP master which is a generation away from the master.
17. I really don’t know why it’s mixed like this. It was John Burgess’ first productions with Matt – I’ll hopefully look at it again when we do the singles.
18. It would be nice, but due to expense it’s doubtful to happen – If it’s unlikely to sell well then it won’t get made.
19. Very little editing actually took place. This would only be to get the best performance possible and I can find very few instances of this happening. The songs you mention are different because they were either early edits that have been issued by accident or are mixes made later than the original mix, without the aid of editing notes. Sometimes the US would also get different edits to the UK as these may also have been done on different occasions. For instance, a song was mixed and the mix sent to the US. If a copy of that mix was not kept a new mix would be prepared, and if the mix was made from two different takes then this could easily occur.
20. I’m afraid I don’t have an idea, it does make sense though!
21. It was common to record more than was needed for an album and then choose the best tracks. Why this was passed over in favour of others (it comes from the Other Side of the Stars sessions) who can say. Why it eventually appeared on “The Collection†I can’t say as I was not working with the estate then. (Another one for Michele I’m afraid!)
22. Now that would be telling!
23. Unfortunately not. Matt never recorded an English vocal for this song and like Can’t Take My Eyes off You will remain forever in Spanish!
Hope this helps
1. Hello Dolly:- I’m trying not to give away too many secrets in relation to recording sessions, but the sessions for Broadway were unique with many “head†arrangements which is why mistakes crept in. All will be revealed in time
1 – 3 “I’m Glad I’m not Young†and “Over the Rainbow†, Victims of the previously discussed sloppy production. John Burgess should never have let these slip through the net – George Martin, I’m certain wouldn’t. Colin Keys once told me how horrified he was that that horn note slipped through – especially as there was two years between recording and release! “The Other Side of the Stars†is one Album crying out to be remixed, but because of the cost probably never will be
4. The problem with “Singin' in the Rain" and "Till Then My Love." is that although they had been released in the US on Liberty in 1965, in the UK these were previously unreleased recordings. They do stick out like a sore thumb in relation to the newer recordings and it wasn’t as if they were short of material – there were quite a few single tracks or even unreleased recordings from the time that could have been used. I don’t know the source of the edit you mention, although many radio stations had the habit of making their own edits at one point.
5. I’ll have to try find an older copy of the song but I doubt I’ll have much more luck than you do – however I’m going to try and persuade EMI to let me remix the single version of From Russia into stereo for the singles project. Both single and LP vocals are on the same tape so I might be able to find out them – if it’s not a mistake from the mixing session where perhaps two studios were trying to use the echo chamber at the same time!
6. I can’t really say here – do remember though that singing in Spanish wasn’t all that easy for Matt and all of the vocals were recorded as overdubs which he wasn’t very comfortable with. I can only assume that the producers wanted him to sing in a particular style. Michele would know more about this than me.
7. Bridge has quite a vocal range and this performance doesn’t quite work for either, not Matt’s fault, but the arranger and as he was the producer too, there was no one to question the suitability of the key! George didn’t get things wrong often, but he wasn’t infallible. Speak Softly is from the same session, I don’t know why it sounds thin other than its mixed this way. I wouldn’t call it tinny just a little thinner sounding than normal. It’s just Matt’s vocal which could have been eq’d better I suppose, It’s never really concerned me in the past, but I will look at it if I get the chance to re-master it’s next release.
8. Purely a mixing decision, a matter of taste on the part of George and Engineer John Stewart. It is very similar to the level of the vocal on the original ‘Blood Sweat and Tears’ recording. Interestingly, this was one of the rare occasions that Matt recorded his vocal at De Lane Lea studios.
9. Happy being cut is just sloppy mastering fading early to avoid a tiny amount of tape hiss. The reason Chattanooga fading early is because on CD this has never come from its master tape, only from a vinyl dub. It’s faded early to avoid vinyl noise and it’s not just these two tracks that suffer from this problem. The whole of “Other Side†comes from vinyl, and a number of other recordings scattered across his EMI releases too – this is unforgivable when the tapes are in the archives. The worst culprit is Impossible Dream which hasn’t come from a master tape in nearly 30 years!
10. I find it hard to see an early and late Capitol period because he recorded five albums in twelve months! Dave Cavanaugh produced Matt’s first albums in a similar way to the last recordings of Nat Cole but it’s really the choice of the material that dictated Sid Fellers arrangements. DC did like to theme albums and the first two Capitol albums also fit together as a pair (not surprising as they were recorded back to back) These Years couldn’t help to be contemporary, and as you will eventually learn, Broadway was a different kettle of fish entirely.
11. Michele’s decision – I think she preferred the cover and thought it would be a bit more unusual, but once again that is for her to answer rather than me.
12. Agreed, recordings by some of the greats in the 80’s and early 90’s were fairly awful – too many midi keyboards! I think the good thing was that Matt recorded in stereo from his third EMI session onwards and they were very good quality in the first place so there was no reason to re-record. I still can’t get excited about the Disco recordings though, the arrangements could be re-done as the multitracks are still in the archives, but I doubt this will ever happen.
13. On the contrary, Matt nearly ALWAYS recorded with an orchestra live in the studio. I can think of only two or three occasions where any vocals were recorded separately during the Parlophone years. Whilst at Capitol he once again recorded live with the orchestra for four out of five albums. From these four one track had an additional string overdub but that was all. Back in the UK he still sang live 95% of the time (apart from Spanish recordings which needed more time to get the pronunciation right so were all done separately). However John Burgess did prefer to record him with just a rhythm section and overdub strings later – something Matt disliked. How much this happened is hard to tell though because the majority of the session documentation from that time no longer exists. George Martin did regularly track ‘Pop’ records but not singers like Matt.
14. I love studio chatter too, I have some great bits from Nat Cole, for instance. The problem is that the general listener probably doesn’t like this sort of thing. Not only that you do have to spend an enormous amount of time and money listening and researching all of the existing tapes. It would be nice, but will probably only happen if we find something really interesting whilst researching something else.
16. Once again, it’s because it’s taken from vinyl (most likely a copy of Invitation to the Movies), once again needlessly – the original master is in the EMI archives. Even the Capitol Years used the LP master which is a generation away from the master.
17. I really don’t know why it’s mixed like this. It was John Burgess’ first productions with Matt – I’ll hopefully look at it again when we do the singles.
18. It would be nice, but due to expense it’s doubtful to happen – If it’s unlikely to sell well then it won’t get made.
19. Very little editing actually took place. This would only be to get the best performance possible and I can find very few instances of this happening. The songs you mention are different because they were either early edits that have been issued by accident or are mixes made later than the original mix, without the aid of editing notes. Sometimes the US would also get different edits to the UK as these may also have been done on different occasions. For instance, a song was mixed and the mix sent to the US. If a copy of that mix was not kept a new mix would be prepared, and if the mix was made from two different takes then this could easily occur.
20. I’m afraid I don’t have an idea, it does make sense though!
21. It was common to record more than was needed for an album and then choose the best tracks. Why this was passed over in favour of others (it comes from the Other Side of the Stars sessions) who can say. Why it eventually appeared on “The Collection†I can’t say as I was not working with the estate then. (Another one for Michele I’m afraid!)
22. Now that would be telling!
23. Unfortunately not. Matt never recorded an English vocal for this song and like Can’t Take My Eyes off You will remain forever in Spanish!
Hope this helps
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David Durrett
- Posts: 14
- Joined: Sun Mar 22, 2009 7:02 pm
Wow, Richard...I never expected answers so quickly, and such thoughtful ones! Thank you!! Just a few followups:
1. Hello Dolly:- I’m trying not to give away too many secrets in relation to recording sessions, but the sessions for Broadway were unique with many “head†arrangements which is why mistakes crept in. All will be revealed in time
This is exciting to me, as I would have considered Matt's sessions to be tightly controlled...is it Michele's book that will reveal the secrets you allude to? (P.S. I did have to look up "head arrangement"!)
13. On the contrary, Matt nearly ALWAYS recorded with an orchestra live in the studio. I can think of only two or three occasions where any vocals were recorded separately during the Parlophone years. Whilst at Capitol he once again recorded live with the orchestra for four out of five albums. From these four one track had an additional string overdub but that was all. Back in the UK he still sang live 95% of the time (apart from Spanish recordings which needed more time to get the pronunciation right so were all done separately). However John Burgess did prefer to record him with just a rhythm section and overdub strings later – something Matt disliked. How much this happened is hard to tell though because the majority of the session none from that time no longer exists. George Martin did regularly track ‘Pop’ records but not singers like Matt.
This is very unexpected and welcome news to me! Thanks!
14. I love studio chatter too, I have some great bits from Nat Cole, for instance. The problem is that the general listener probably doesn’t like this sort of thing. Not only that you do have to spend an enormous amount of time and money listening and researching all of the existing tapes. It would be nice, but will probably only happen if we find something really interesting whilst researching something else.
Keep looking!! 8^)
17. I really don’t know why it’s mixed like this. It was John Burgess’ first productions with Matt – I’ll hopefully look at it again when we do the singles.
It's not so much the original...it's the CD versions, I think. I remember the EMI cassette of "The Very Best Of" having an extremely bright version, much more so than the contemporaneous "Heartbreakers" CD.
21. It was common to record more than was needed for an album and then choose the best tracks. Why this was passed over in favour of others (it comes from the Other Side of the Stars sessions) who can say. Why it eventually appeared on “The Collection†I can’t say as I was not working with the estate then. (Another one for Michele I’m afraid!)
I'm very interested to learn that this is when that was recorded! I would have put it a few years earlier. It didn't fit the "Other Side" theme, I guess.
22. Now that would be telling!
I like that answer and will take it the way I please!
23. Unfortunately not. Matt never recorded an English vocal for this song and like Can’t Take My Eyes off You will remain forever in Spanish!
Too bad...BTW, I have noticed that the "Can't Take My Eyes" take used on recent CDs is not nearly as smooth as the original album one. Why is that one being used?
Thanks again, Richard! Years and years ago, I thought, "Why isn't there someone with engineering talent out there who is as interested in the minutiae of Matt's music as I am"...and here you are, an answered prayer!
1. Hello Dolly:- I’m trying not to give away too many secrets in relation to recording sessions, but the sessions for Broadway were unique with many “head†arrangements which is why mistakes crept in. All will be revealed in time
This is exciting to me, as I would have considered Matt's sessions to be tightly controlled...is it Michele's book that will reveal the secrets you allude to? (P.S. I did have to look up "head arrangement"!)
13. On the contrary, Matt nearly ALWAYS recorded with an orchestra live in the studio. I can think of only two or three occasions where any vocals were recorded separately during the Parlophone years. Whilst at Capitol he once again recorded live with the orchestra for four out of five albums. From these four one track had an additional string overdub but that was all. Back in the UK he still sang live 95% of the time (apart from Spanish recordings which needed more time to get the pronunciation right so were all done separately). However John Burgess did prefer to record him with just a rhythm section and overdub strings later – something Matt disliked. How much this happened is hard to tell though because the majority of the session none from that time no longer exists. George Martin did regularly track ‘Pop’ records but not singers like Matt.
This is very unexpected and welcome news to me! Thanks!
14. I love studio chatter too, I have some great bits from Nat Cole, for instance. The problem is that the general listener probably doesn’t like this sort of thing. Not only that you do have to spend an enormous amount of time and money listening and researching all of the existing tapes. It would be nice, but will probably only happen if we find something really interesting whilst researching something else.
Keep looking!! 8^)
17. I really don’t know why it’s mixed like this. It was John Burgess’ first productions with Matt – I’ll hopefully look at it again when we do the singles.
It's not so much the original...it's the CD versions, I think. I remember the EMI cassette of "The Very Best Of" having an extremely bright version, much more so than the contemporaneous "Heartbreakers" CD.
21. It was common to record more than was needed for an album and then choose the best tracks. Why this was passed over in favour of others (it comes from the Other Side of the Stars sessions) who can say. Why it eventually appeared on “The Collection†I can’t say as I was not working with the estate then. (Another one for Michele I’m afraid!)
I'm very interested to learn that this is when that was recorded! I would have put it a few years earlier. It didn't fit the "Other Side" theme, I guess.
22. Now that would be telling!
I like that answer and will take it the way I please!
23. Unfortunately not. Matt never recorded an English vocal for this song and like Can’t Take My Eyes off You will remain forever in Spanish!
Too bad...BTW, I have noticed that the "Can't Take My Eyes" take used on recent CDs is not nearly as smooth as the original album one. Why is that one being used?
Thanks again, Richard! Years and years ago, I thought, "Why isn't there someone with engineering talent out there who is as interested in the minutiae of Matt's music as I am"...and here you are, an answered prayer!
This is exciting to me, as I would have considered Matt's sessions to be tightly controlled...is it Michele's book that will reveal the secrets you allude to? (P.S. I did have to look up "head arrangement"!)
Hopefully If there is room for my session listing!
It's not so much the original...it's the CD versions, I think. I remember the EMI cassette of "The Very Best Of" having an extremely bright version, much more so than the contemporaneous "Heartbreakers" CD. - Just down to the mastering then, and probably not using a decent tape in the first place.
BTW, I have noticed that the "Can't Take My Eyes" take used on recent CDs is not nearly as smooth as the original album one. Why is that one being used?
Have I missed something here? I wasn't aware of a difference. Matt's Spanish recordings were often made from multiple takes because of the language barrier, so there were not any alternate takes in any case no session tapes or alternates of any kind exist in the Archives.
Hopefully If there is room for my session listing!
It's not so much the original...it's the CD versions, I think. I remember the EMI cassette of "The Very Best Of" having an extremely bright version, much more so than the contemporaneous "Heartbreakers" CD. - Just down to the mastering then, and probably not using a decent tape in the first place.
BTW, I have noticed that the "Can't Take My Eyes" take used on recent CDs is not nearly as smooth as the original album one. Why is that one being used?
Have I missed something here? I wasn't aware of a difference. Matt's Spanish recordings were often made from multiple takes because of the language barrier, so there were not any alternate takes in any case no session tapes or alternates of any kind exist in the Archives.
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David Durrett
- Posts: 14
- Joined: Sun Mar 22, 2009 7:02 pm