Can anyone can tell me if the sound on the Citadel CD "Legendary Hollywood: Alfred Newman Conducts His Classic Motion Picture Scores" is an improvement over the rather odd mastering (to my old ears anyway) of that very limited Varese CD issued in 1992?
And on the subject of Newman and Varese, how does the Japanese reissue of Airport that was released in 2014 (ish) compare to the old Varese disc?
I think you're right! But many thanks for your feedback. I will have to treat myself to the Citadel disc - it certainly can't sound any worse than the Varese CD!
Now, has anyone compared the old Varese Airport with the new Japanese reissue?
I wouldn't be surprised if it somehow sounds worse than Varese, given that it's Citidel...
I think I've never heard the Varese, but the Citadel has a LOT of reverb in it. Some of the vintage Decca stuff on Varese sounds similar (means: not very good) - so I wouldn't be surprised if it's a 1:1 job...
Thanks to all for your responses. I don't really want to waste money on the Citadel CD if it's the same mastering. I was hoping it might be an improvement, especially as a couple of the themes have appeared on several discs in "The Golden Age Of Light Music" series, where they sound so much warmer than on the Varese disc. I'm sure Bruce Kimmel's engineer could do a great job on these old Mercury recordings if The Heiress is anything to go by!
I'm sorry I can't offer an opinion on the Citadel disc, as I only have the HORRIBLE Varese mastering of THE FILM MUSIC OF ALFRED NEWMAN, with its eight miles of fake reverb. If you have ever heard the original mono Mercury LPs of these recordings you'll know what I mean. The sound of the studio was rather dry, but the the music was right in your face and forced you to sit up and take notice. You were right there. That Varese CD drenched everything in so much fake stereo reverb that it robbed the original recordings of their emotional impact. I wish someone would just just release a CD or download of the original Mercury masters. Hey, Pristine Classical, how about you?
I'm sorry I can't offer an opinion on the Citadel disc, as I only have the HORRIBLE Varese mastering of THE FILM MUSIC OF ALFRED NEWMAN, with its eight miles of fake reverb. If you have ever heard the original mono Mercury LPs of these recordings you'll know what I mean. The sound of the studio was rather dry, but the the music was right in your face and forced you to sit up and take notice. You were right there. That Varese CD drenched everything in so much fake stereo reverb that it robbed the original recordings of their emotional impact. I wish someone would just just release a CD or download of the original Mercury masters. Hey, Pristine Classical, how about you?
You're so right Jim - all that reverb is just horrendous! The CD makes for a very painful listen. I wish I'd kept the old LP as i would have been able to do a much better transfer job with today's online technology. It would indeed be great if someone could make the original Mercury recordings available as a download.
