Portrait of My Love

A collection of previously unheard alternate versions of many of Matt's biggest hits, album tracks and rarities along with the some of the rare 'Airmen of Note' recordings,
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paul jh
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Portrait of My Love

Post by paul jh » Tue Nov 26, 2013 5:29 am

I'm loving the alternate version of Portrait, esp the Michelangelo line. But the entire song sounds clearer than on other CDs. I always that his voice was a bit husky on Portrait. Maybe the clarity on Alternate has to do with your work, Richard. To compare, I played the version on the CD that came with the WH Smith magazine/book. That seemed clear too. I still haven't listened to my 45 yet. Next I will compare the Complete Singles version to Alternate.

Maybe they're all the same and my ears are off. But I do like his phrasing on the alternate version.

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Rmoore
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Re: Portrait of My Love

Post by Rmoore » Tue Nov 26, 2013 10:55 am

The version on the Complete Singles and the Bookazine are identical (as is Singer's Singer 2011 version). The clarity of the alternate is because it's direct from the session tape so is first generation - the original tape recorded in the studio in 1960. The version on Complete Singles etc is from the earliest generation that survives. The final master was an edit of two takes and has been cut out of the session reel. What happened to the original is unknown, it's possible that the version I used (from the compiled 'Very Best Of' from 1974) WAS the original tape, but it is just as likely to be a copy.

There will also be differences in mastering between the Singles and Alternate. Singles was put together using contemporary mixes and the sound had to be even across 30 years worth of different recordings, on Alternate the majority of the recordings were brand new mixes, so the direct stereo mastering would reflect this too.

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