Matt Monro Forum

Hi guys,

It's been a while. Watched the musical Cats last night at The West End, London. Really enjoyed the show, in particular Kerry Ellis' rendition of Memory. It's made me get out Matt's version this morning from The Singers Singer. Is there a better quality version anywhere? It just doesn't sound as well remastered as the rest of the collection.

Thanks guys,

Alex.

Which edition are listening to? The Long Box or the Square 2011 edition. The 2011 is the best I've managed so far. Although I'm always on the look out for a better source.
The problem is that Memory and Be My Lady were recorded in the Philippines by Dyna Records and the master tapes cannot be found. Dyna either don't have them (or are unwilling to find them) and the master tapes to the album the tracks appeared on (The Very Best Of Volume 3!) are not with Dyna or EMI Asia - Put it this way i left no stone unturned trying to find them. In the end I had to resort to dubbing from vinyl (as EMI had in the 90's when they last transferred it). The quality of vinyl in the Philippines - for this album at least - left a lot to be desired. The hole wasn't quite centered and the vinyl - although it was a sealed copy - had small pock marks or dimples in the surface.

A more detailed explanation is in my notes for the reissue on my website.

http://mint-audio-restoration.co.uk/News/SingersCD.html

Agreed Richard. Most vinyl I bought when I was living there was slightly off centered and the quality was not good. I bought an album by Kiss called "Unmasked" in 1980 which was released by Dyna and the quality of that album sounded really distorted. It's even worse with their cassette tapes which sound like the songs were played on a station with a lot of static. It's really a pity as Dyna was one of the better distributors at the time along with it's sister company WEA.

The 2011 edition Richard.

Technology moves on and IF we ever get the chance to issue the track again maybe a better copy or source can be found. I do now have a Cassette version of the Very Best vol 3 but haven't got around to seeing if it is any better - The hiss factor might be a problem there. At the moment Warner and Universal aren't interested in putting anything out. They've had the "Definitive" compilation in their hands for 18 months and still haven't "found a slot" to release it in. So don't expect a new version any time soon i'm afraid.

Hi Richard, from experience the Philippine cassettes are worse than their records. UGH. I have a Kenny Rogers "Share Your Love" put out by Dyna, and it's just so horrible.