I think you guys raise some interesting points. I'll go a little bit further and note that sometimes it is difficult to know what the original recording was like, and all we have to go by is what is currently available. As a general rule, I prefer my recordings "dry" without a lot of post-production processing.
For example, I'm a Sinatra fan but I don't go bananas over it and I don't spend a lot of time talking about his music on the forums. But he is one among many very important artists to me and I do have nearly all of his work on vinyl, some on 1/4" four track tape, and everything he recorded on CD. For the longest time I owned a 1960s vinyl reissue of
Songs for Swingin' Lovers. It's my favorite Sinatra album and I thought it sounded just fine....until someone told me that some of Sinatra's Capitol Records albums were remastered in the early 1960s and echo was added to Frank's voice. I noticed it was there but I didn't think it was too bad.
But after that discussion I found myself a minty 1956 original Capitol Records gray label pressing of
Songs for Swingin' Lovers and I don't think the difference is subtle....but you can judge that for yourself. Here are some 30 second clips.
You Make Me Feel So Young (Original 1956 Capitol Records Release)You Make Me Feel So Young (EMI - Cut from the 1960s remaster)To the casual music listener I don't think the difference will amount to a hill of beans. But I think the original is better, and Frank's voice, while not bone dry, does sound much more natural and that is the way I like my music to sound.
The thing is that anyone who has not heard the original release wouldn't know this, because every subsequent reissue of this album used the remastered dub tape with the echo added -- even the LP boxed set that was issued by Mobile Fidelity.
--Jerome
