Non-Album Tracks, 1960

Thank you to SHTV’s “Bob F” for his invaluable assistance in compiling this information.

Ongoing discussion at the Steve Hoffman Music Forum (LINK)       Album Index

 

April 13, 1960

Nice ‘n’ Easy / River, Stay ‘way from My Door /

I Love Paris / It’s Over, It’s Over, It’s Over

Top Choice:

•20 Golden Greats CD (issued in UK, Canada, and Japan) - original stereo mix, but with channels (intentionally?) reversed, putting the strings on the left, where they (arguably) belong.  (See NOTES at right.)  Yes, it leans a little “warm and soupy,” as do all original stereo mix versions.


Drier, but also thinner (best of the remixes):

•1991 Nice ‘n’ Easy CD, remixed by Larry Walsh (strings on right)


Top Vinyl Option:

•1983 MFSL Nice ‘n’ Easy LP (original stereo mix - strings on right)

Sub-par:

•Mono releases (1984 DMM is a significant step above other options.  See NOTES at right.)


Avoid:

•The Sinatra Touch mono LP - dull, dark, compressed

•Ultimate Sinatra - literally the most compressed version of this song ever released.

•1989 Gold! compilation CD - very heavily processed (Norberg)

•Australian Nice ‘n’ Easy (album) CD releases - poor tape dubs (possibly errantly transferred)

•1999/2000/2002 Nice ‘n’ Easy CD, 1999 Classic Sinatra CD - Norberg remix (heavily processed)

NOTES


•Martin Melucci has suggested that the mono mix may be a fold-down, and there is some evidence to support that.  Regardless, the mono releases are largely unimpressive, with the 1984 Dutch DMM release being (to my ears) heads and shoulders above the others.


•There are lots of “pretty good” releases for this title.  A few stand out as better; a handful are definitely poor, with lots of “good ones” in between.


•The Nice ‘n’ Easy album appears to join the All the Way album in the “originally mixed backwards for stereo” category, with strings errantly (??) on the right.  Some releases correct this problem, including the 1990 The Capitol Years remix, overseen by the reliably-correct-about-such-details Ron Furmanek.


•This song may have the most stereo mixes of any song in the Sinatra catalog at six: 1960, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1999.

Arranger/Conductor: Nelson Riddle

Original Release, mono and stereo:

    Nice ‘n’ Easy, July 26, 1960

Original Single release: Capitol #4408,

    August 15, 1960

Original CD Release: The Frank Sinatra Collection, 1987, UK, Canada, Japan


Releases sampled for this comparison:

•1960 Nice ‘n’ Easy mono LP

•1960 Nice ‘n’ Easy stereo LP

•1960 45 (mono)

•1968 The Sinatra Touch mono LP

•1971 Netherlands Nice ‘n’ Easy LP (stereo)

•1972 UK Nice ‘n’ Easy LP (stereo)

•1973 The Works LP (stereo)

•1975 Japan Golden Double 32 LP (stereo)

•1975 Nice ‘n’ Easy LP (stereo)

•1978 UK Twenty Golden Greats LP (stereo)

•1980 Nice ‘n’ Easy LP (stereo)

•1982 Japan The Hit Maker LP (stereo)

•1982 MFSL Nice ‘n’ Easy (stereo)

•1984 UK Nice ‘n’ Easy LP (stereo)

•1984 Holland mono Nice ‘n’ Easy LP

•1984 Holland stereo Nice ‘n’ Easy LP

•1986 UK 12-inch single (stereo)

•1987 UK The Frank Sinatra Collection CD

•1988 Australia Axis Nice ‘n’ Easy CD (stereo)*

•1988 Nice ‘n’ Easy CD (stereo)**

•1988 Australia EMI Nice ‘n’ Easy CD (stereo)*

•1989 Canada Gold! CD (aluminum, stereo)

•1989 Japan Hit Collection CD (stereo)**

•1989 Japan Best Now CD (stereo)

•1989 Collectors Series CD (stereo)***

•1990 The Capitol Years CD (stereo)****

•1991 Nice ‘n’ Easy CD (stereo)

•1991 UK 20 Golden Greats CD (stereo)

•1993 Holland The Classic Tracks

    CD (stereo)****

•1995 Sinatra 80th: All the Best CD (stereo)****

•1996 Mastercard Nice ‘n’ Easy (compilation)

    CD (stereo)***

•1996 Complete Capitol Singles

    CD (stereo)

•1998 UK Nice ‘n’ Easy CD (stereo)

•1998 36 All-Time Favorites CD (stereo)****

•1999 Nice ‘n’ Easy CD (stereo)

•2000 Classic Sinatra CD

•2004 Taking a Chance on Love

    CD (stereo)

•2008 MFSL Nice ‘n’ Easy CD (stereo)*****

•2009 MFSL Nice ‘n’ Easy LP (stereo)

•2010 Come Fly Away CD (stereo)*****

•2015 The Ultimate Sinatra CD (stereo)


BLACK = Original 1960 mono mix

PURPLE = Original 1960 stereo mix

BLUE = Original 1960 stereo mix, (correctively?) reversed (strings on left)

BROWN = 1987 remix, shared mastering

GREEN = 1988 remix

PINK = 1990 remix (strings on left)

GREY = 1991 remix

ORANGE = 1999 remix

*Shared mastering

**Shared mastering

***Shared mastering

****Shared mastering

*****Shared mastering

SAMPLE AUDIO CLIPS


All clips posted here mirror those freely available via itunes.  To access the 90-second iTunes clip, click VIEW, then “VIEW IN ITUNES” when prompted.

Song #1:

“Nice ‘n’ Easy”

Take 10 (alternate take)

<---- 1959 Sessions  1960 Singles:   March 2     April 13                         Aug. 31     Sept. 1                       Dec. 20                         Dec. 21 ----> `1962 Sessions

(Click links for audio clips)


Original Mono Mix:

•Original D1 45: NiceEasyClip45D1-GAIN_01-cr.wav

•Original N2”#3 45: (audio here)

•1968 The Sinatra Touch LP (lest you think brickwalling is a new phenomenon): Nice'n'EasyTouchMonoLP-cr-GAIN_01-03.wav

•Other mono-mix editions from assorted releases of the Nice ‘n’ Easy album can be heard on this page.


Original 1960 Stereo Mix (strings on right):

•1973 The Works LP (abbreviated clip, due to disk damage): Nice'n'EasyTheWorksDefective-cr-GAIN_01-04.wav

•1975 Japan Golden Double 32 LP: NiceEasyClipDouble32-cr-GAIN_01-03.wav

•1978 UK Twenty Golden Greats LP: NiceEasyClip20GGLP-cr-GAIN_01-03.wav

•1982 Japan The Hit Maker LP: NiceEasyClipTheHitMaker-cr-GAIN_01-03.wav

•BEST VINYL OPTION:1983 MFSL Nice ‘n’ Easy LP: (Click here)

•1986 UK 12-inch single: NiceEasyClip12Inch-cr-GAIN_01-03.wav

•2015 The Ultimate Sinatra CD: Nice 'N' Easy Ultimate Sinatra-GAIN_01-03.wav

Other stereo-mix editions from assorted releases of the Nice ‘n’ Easy album can be heard on this page.


Original 1960 Stereo Mix w/channels (intentionally/correctively) reversed (strings on left):

•TOP OVERALL CHOICE:1991 UK 20 Golden Greats CD: NiceEasyClip20GGCD-GAIN_01-02.wav


1987 Stereo Remix (strings on right) - uncredited engineer:

•1987 UK The Frank Sinatra Collection CD: (audio here)


1988 Stereo Remix (strings on right) - uncredited, likely mixed by Larry Walsh:

•1988 Nice ‘n’ Easy CD: (audio here) (see re-uses listed at left)

•1989 Capitol Collectors Series CD: NiceEasyClipCollectorsSeries-GAIN_01-03.wav

•1989 Gold! CD, mastered by Robert Norberg: NiceEasyClipGoldNorberg-GAIN_01.wav


1990 Stereo Remix (strings on left) - mixed by Ron Furmanek and Larry Walsh:

•1990 The Capitol Years CD: (audio here)

•1996 The Complete Capitol Singles CD: NiceEasyClipNorbergSingles-GAIN_01-06.wav

•2004 Taking a Chance on Love CD: NiceEasyClipTakingAChanceOnLove-GAIN_01-03.wav


1991 Stereo Remix (strings on right) - mixed by Larry Walsh:

•BEST REMIX: 1991 Nice ‘n’ Easy CD: (audio here)


1999 Stereo Remix (strings on right) - mixed by Robert Norberg:

•1999/2000 Nice ‘n’ Easy CD: (audio here)

NOTES


•Unlike the original stereo mix of the standard-issue take, this alternate-take mix has strings on the left.

Arranger/Conductor: Nelson Riddle

Original (sole) release, stereo, CD: Romance:

    Songs from the Heart, January 2007


Releases sampled for this comparison:

  1. •2007 Romance: Songs from the Heart CD   (strings on left)

CLICK ALBUM COVER AT LEFT TO HEAR AUDIO CLIP FROM THIS RELEASE.

“Nice ‘n’ Easy” - Take 11/12 (edit)

(standard release version)

Song #2:

“River, Stay ‘Way from My Door”

Top Choice, backwards stereo mix (Strings on right):

•1980 SN-series All the Way LP


Very Close Second, strings on correct side:

•1984 UK All the Way LP


Very Close Second, backwards stereo mix (Strings on right):

•1976 SM-series All the Way LP


Top Mono Choice:

•Japan The Hit Maker LP

Sub-par:

•Original stereo All the Way LP - dead sounding

•1988 All the Way CD - thin sound

•1991 Come Swing with Me CD - odd vocal tone

•1998 UK All the Way CD - heavily compressed


Avoid:

•The Sinatra Touch mono LP - dull, dark, compressed

•Complete Capitol Singles CD (reused for 2002 Come Swing with Me CD - very heavily processed/Norberged

•1966 UK WRC All the Way LP and Japan All the Way: The Hit Collection CD - fold-downs from stereo.  Orchestra sounds anemic; vocal too prominent

NOTES


•Another All the Way track that is mixed backwards, with the strings on the right.  (Releases shown in blue at left reverse this.)


•The 1988 remix fades up slightly late at the beginning.


•Tough to pick a “Best CD” option.  1988 = thin; 1989 Japan = fold down; 1991 = Very boxy vocal at beginning; 1996/2002 = Heavily Norberged; 1998 UK = audibly compressed


Track Layout:

•Left = Saxes, strings

•Center: Sinatra

•Right = Brass, rhythm section

Arranger/Conductor: Nelson Riddle

Original Release: 45 #4376, May, 1960

Original LP Release: All the Way,

    mono and stereo, March 13, 1961

Original CD Release: All the Way, 1988


Releases sampled for this comparison:

•1960 45 (mono)

•1961 All the Way mono LP

•1961 All the Way stereo LP

•1961 All the Way N4 stereo LP

•1966 UK WRC All the Way mono LP

•1968 The Sinatra Touch mono LP

•1973 The Works LP (stereo)

•c. 1975 UK Sunday and Every Day with

  1.     Frank Sinatra LP (mono)

•1976 All the Way LP (stereo)

•1980 All the Way LP (stereo)

•1983 MFSL All the Way LP (stereo)

•1984 UK All the Way LP (stereo)

•1984 Holland All the Way mono LP

•1988 All the Way CD (stereo)

•1989 Japan Hit Collection CD (mono)

•1991 Come Swing with Me CD (stereo)

•1996 Complete Capitol Singles CD (stereo)*

•1998 UK All the Way CD (stereo)

•2002 Come Swing with Me CD (Stereo)*

•2016 All the Way mono LP


*Shared mastering

ORANGE = Reversed stereo image, with strings on right (as on original stereo release)

BLUE = Corrected stereo image, with strings on left


SAMPLE AUDIO CLIPS


All clips posted here mirror those freely available via itunes.  To access the 90-second iTunes clip, click VIEW, then “VIEW IN ITUNES” when prompted.

Audio Clips - Mono

Above: MONO Original D1 45

Above: MONO FOLD-DOWN  OF ORIGINAL STEREO MIX Japan Hit Collection CD, courtesy “progrockfan”

Above: MONO MIX 2016 All the Way LP

Above: MONO MIX 1984 Holland All the Way LP

Above: MONO N3#2 All the Way LP

Above: MONO D3 All the Way LP

Above: 1980 G1 All the Way LP, cut by Gene Thompson - ORIGINAL STEREO MIX

Above: 1983 MFSL All the Way LP, mastered by Stan Ricker - ORIGINAL STEREO MIX

Above: 1988 All the Way CD - Stereo Mix #2 (Uncredited; possibly Larry Walsh)

Above: 1998 UK All the Way CD - original stereo mix, courtesy “rangerjohn”

Above: 1984 UK All the Way LP, courtesy “bferr1” - SAME ORIGINAL STEREO MIX, BUT WITH CHANNELS REVERSED (INTENTIONALLY?)

Above: MONO FOLD-DOWN  OF ORIGINAL STEREO MIX1966 UK World Record Club mono All the Way LP, courtesy Pieter Kozak

Above: MONO 1968 The Sinatra Touch LP

Above: MONO 1982 Japan The Hit Maker LP

Above: MONO c. 1975 UK Sunday and Every Day with Frank Sinatra LP (mastered by Richard Langham)

Audio Clips - Stereo

SAMPLE AUDIO CLIPS


All clips posted here mirror those freely available via itunes.  To access the 90-second iTunes clip, click VIEW, then “VIEW IN ITUNES” when prompted.

Above: 1991 Come Swing with Me CD - Stereo Mix #3, mixed and mastered by Larry Walsh

Above: 1996  The Complete Capitol Singles Collection CD - Stereo Mix #4, re-used on 2002 Come Swing with Me CD, remixed and mastered by Robert Norberg

Above: 1961 D4 All the Way LP - ORIGINAL STEREO MIX

Song #3:

“I Love Paris”

Top Mono Choice:

•1989 Australian Frank Sinatra Sings the Select Cole Porter CD


Top Stereo Choices:

•1984 UK Sinatra Sings...of Love and Things LP

•1987 Come Fly with Me CD (and its reuses)

•1989 UK Great Films and Shows CD and LP


Close Second, stereo:

•1983 MFSL Sinatra Sings...of Love and Things LP

Sub-par:

•Sinatra Sings...of Love and Things stereo LPs - unpleasant tone

•Japan Golden Double 32 LP - thin, trebly tone


Avoid:

•1973 The Works LP - glaring tape damage

•1986 Australian The Frank Sinatra Collection 2-CD set - soupy mono mix, with severe stereo widening

•Sinatra Sings...of Love and Things mono LPs - soupy mix

•Complete Capitol Singles, 1998 Come Fly with Me, and 2008 At the Movies CD - very heavily processed/Norberged

NOTES


•Track Layout:

-Left = Saxes, strings

-Center: Sinatra

-Right = Brass, rhythm section


•The “Top Choice” 1989 Australian  Cole Porter CD has some subtly clipped waveforms on the loudest peaks, but nothing to worry about.  (It’s not an audible problem.)


•Odd that this tune did not receive a CD-era stereo remix until 1996, with all earlier versions using LP-era mixes.


•1973’s The Works suffers from extreme tape dropouts, so is not sampled here.

Arranger/Conductor: Nelson Riddle

Original Release: Sinatra Sings...of Love and

    Things, mono and stereo, July 2, 1962

Original CD Release: The Frank Sinatra

    Collection 2-CD set, Australia, 1986 (mono)


Releases sampled for this comparison:

•1962 Sinatra Sings...

    Of Love and Things mono LP

•1962 Sinatra Sings...

    Of Love and Things stereo LP

•1965 Frank Sinatra Sings the Select

    Cole Porter mono LP

•1973 The Works LP (stereo)

•1975 Japan Golden Double 32 LP (stereo)

•1980 Sinatra Sings...

    Of Love and Things LP (stereo)

•1983 MFSL Sinatra Sings...

    Of Love and Things LP (stereo)

•1984 UK Sinatra Sings...

    Of Love and Things LP (stereo)

•1984 Holland Sinatra Sings...

    Of Love and Things mono LP

•1984 Holland Sinatra Sings...

    Of Love and Things stereo LP

•1986 Australia The Frank Sinatra Collection

    2-CD set (mono)

•1987 Come Fly with Me CD (stereo)*

•1989 Australia Frank Sinatra Sings the Select

    Cole Porter CD (mono)

•1989 Japan Best Now CD (stereo)*

•1989 UK Great Films and Shows CD (stereo)

•1989 UK Great Films and Shows LP (stereo)

•1991 Frank Sinatra Sings the Select

    Cole Porter CD (stereo)*

•1995 Sinatra 80th: All the Best CD (stereo)*

•1996 Complete Capitol Singles CD (stereo)**

•1998 UK Sinatra Sings...

    Of Love and Things CD (stereo)

•1998 Come Fly with Me CD (stereo)***

•2001 The Heart of the Matter CD (stereo)***

•2008 At the Movies CD (stereo)**


*Shared mastering

**Shared transfer to digital, differently mastered

***Shared mastering

Audio Clips - Mono

Above: 1998 UK Sinatra Sings...of Love and Things CD, courtesy “old coder.”

Above: 1962 N2 Sinatra Sings...Of Love and Things LP

Above: 1982 J1#1 abridged Sinatra Sings...Of Love and Things LP, mastered by Jay Maynard

Above: 1983 MFSL Sinatra Sings...Of Love and Things LP, mastered by Jack Hunt

Above: 1984 Holland mono Sinatra Sings...of Love and Things LP

Above: 1984 UK Sinatra Sings...of Love and Things LP, courtesy SHTV’s “BFerr1.”

SAMPLE AUDIO CLIPS


All clips posted here mirror those freely available via itunes.  To access the 90-second iTunes clip, click VIEW, then “VIEW IN ITUNES” when prompted.

Mono Mix #1 - 1962 - Heavy Reverb


Most mono releases use the original mono mix from 1962, which has a large dose of reverb on the vocal, and is quite soupy overall, especially in the quieter sections near the beginning.  This is a sub-par mix, so I am only including one version, the 1984 Holland DMM Sinatra Sings...of Love and Things LP, shown at left.  To my ears, even in exemplary masterings, this mix is poor and not worth seeking out.

Mono Mix #2 - 1965 - Dry Vocal (less reverb)


A new mono mix was prepared for the 1965 compilation LP, Frank Sinatra Sings the Select Cole Porter, and it is a vast improvement over the 1962 mix.  Clips from this excellent remix are provided at left, with the CD mastering being vastly superior to the LP mastering.

Above: 1976 H11 All the Way LP, cut by Gene Thompson - ORIGINAL STEREO MIX

Above: 1989 EMI/Axis Australia mono Frank Sinatra Sings the Select Cole Porter CD

Above: 1965 T2 mono Frank Sinatra Sings the Select Cole Porter LP, courtesy SHTV’s “MMM”

Audio Clips - Stereo

SAMPLE AUDIO CLIPS


All clips posted here mirror those freely available via itunes.  To access the 90-second iTunes clip, click VIEW, then “VIEW IN ITUNES” when prompted.

Above: 1975 Japan Golden Double 32 LP

Above: 1984 Holland Sinatra Sings...of Love and Things LP, courtesy SHTV’s “roda12.”

Above: 1987 Come Fly with Me CD, mastered by Larry Walsh (re-used in 1989 Japan Best Now, 1991 Frank Sinatra Sings the Select Cole Porter, and 1995 Sinatra 80th: All the Best)

Above: 1998 Come Fly with Me CD, remixed and mastered by Robert Norberg, re-used in the 2001 The Heart of the Matter CD, courtesy SHTV’s “rangerjohn”

Above: 1989 UK The Great Films and Shows LP, courtest SHTV’s “roda12”

Above: 1989 UK The Great Films and Shows CD

Above: 1996 The Complete Capitol Singles Collection CD, remixed by Robert Norberg, re-used with additional tweaking on 2008 At the Movies CD.  Thanks to SHTV’s “rangerjohn” and “Grumpy Old Man.”

Above: 1962 D2 Sinatra Sings...Of Love and Things LP, courtesy SHTV’s “MMM”

Song #4:

“It’s Over, It’s Over, It’s Over”

Top Choice, backwards stereo mix (Strings on right):

•1976 SM-series LP, mastered by Gene Thompson


Very Close Second, corrected stereo image (Strings on left):

•1984 UK All the Way LP


Excellent lighter-tone option:

•1983 MFSL stereo All the Way LP


Top Mono Choice, despite being a fold-down:

•1966 UK World Record Club All the Way LP

Sub-par:

•Original-release mono All the Way LPs

•The Works LP - a little thin

•Some editions of The Great Years


Avoid:

•The Sinatra Touch mono LP - dull, dark, compressed

•Complete Capitol Singles CD - very heavily processed/Norberged

NOTES


•Another All the Way stereo track that is mixed backwards, with the strings on the right.  (Releases shown in blue at left reverse this.)


Track Layout:

•Left = Woodwinds, celeste, strings

•Center: Sinatra, vocal trio

•Right = Brass, rhythm section

Arranger/Conductor: Nelson Riddle

Original Release: 45 #4376, May, 1960

Original LP Release: All the Way,

    mono and stereo, March 13, 1961

Original CD Release: All the Way, 1988


Releases sampled for this comparison:

•1960 45 (mono)

•1961 All the Way mono LP

•1962 The Great Years mono LP

•1962 The Great Years stereo LP

•1962 The Great Years stereo tape

•1966 UK WRC All the Way mono LP

•1968 The Sinatra Touch mono LP

•1973 The Works LP (stereo)

•1976 All the Way LP (stereo)

•1980 All the Way LP (stereo)

•1983 MFSL All the Way LP (stereo)

•1984 UK All the Way LP (stereo)

•1984 Holland All the Way mono LP

•1988 All the Way CD (stereo)

•1996 Complete Capitol Singles CD (stereo)*

•1998 UK All the Way CD (stereo)

•2016 All the Way mono LP


*Shared mastering

ORANGE = Reversed stereo image, with strings on right (as on original stereo release)

BLUE = Corrected stereo image, with strings on left


SAMPLE AUDIO CLIPS


All clips posted here mirror those freely available via itunes.  To access the 90-second iTunes clip, click VIEW, then “VIEW IN ITUNES” when prompted.

Audio Clips - MONO

Above: 1984 UK stereo All the Way LP, courtesy “bferr1”

Above: 1984 Holland mono DMM All the Way LP

Above: 1961 D6 All the Way LP

Above: c. 1962 N2#2 All the Way LP

Above: 2016 All the Way LP

Above: 1983 MFSL All the Way LP, mastered by Jack Hunt

Above: 1988  All the Way CD  - 1988 STEREO REMIX

Above: 1998 UK  All the Way CD, courtesy “old coder”

Above: c. 1980 J14 All the Way LP, mastered by Maurice Long (SN-series release re-uses metal parts from earlier SM-series release)

Audio Clips - STEREO

Above: 1996 The Complete Capitol Singles Collection CD, same remix as 1988 CD, but radically re-mastered by Robert Norberg.  Audio courtesy SHTV’s “rangerjohn”.

Above: 1966 UK World Record Club All the Way LP - FOLDED TO MONO FROM THE STEREO MIX, courtesy Pieter Kozak

Above: c. 1976 SM-series H9 All the Way LP, mastered by Gene Thompson, cut 8/3/76

Above: 1960 D1 45

Above: MONO 1968 The Sinatra Touch LP

Above: 1973 STEREO R1 The Works LP

Above: 1962 STEREO The Great Years 3.75 IPS reel, courtesy stevelucille

Above: 1962 STEREO X4 The Great Years LP, courtesy stevelucille

Above: 1962 D1 The Great Years LP

Above: c. mid-to-late 60s (later re-press in the ST series) STEREO W3 The Great Years LP, courtesy MMM