#Ella fitzgerald cole porter songbook movie#

These new reels were then marked 'Master' and the old Capitol reels marked 'NFM' (Not For Master). 7, 1957 at Radio Recorders, Hollywood, the four Capitol Studio tapes were redubbed using the Radio Recorders 'Cinema EQ' which (for whatever reason), lost all information below 55 cycles, boosted the 5k range by +4 and killed all top end over 10k with the limiter set on 'stun' (4:1). There was a massive redo of this double album. About a year later, for some reason, apparently consumer complaints that their records skipped. So much for the original pressing and history. The four sides were also mastered at Capitol at the same time and the first pressings were pressed at RCA, Rockaway, NJ. The 2 hour album itself was assembled in September 1956. and March of 1956 at Capitol, Melrose (KHJ Studios), engineer Val Valentin. This double album, 8 songs a side, almost 30 minutes a side was a massive undertaking and a big investment, for those days, huge. Ella singing Cole Porter will put a spring in your step! Still, given the choice between the original and the reissue, it's like an Iranian revolution: a hundred veils are lifted! For Ella fans, this is easy to recommend. in my system at least, a bit of high frequency shaving might have made for a more pleasant sound. Smith just ran the tape flat or if he applied some EQ. The original no matter what you do to it will sound warm and on one level easier on the ears, but it's also clogged and 'colored' in an old-fashioned way. By comparison this reissue sounds far more transparent, with blacker backgrounds and a great deal more detail but it also can sound hard and bright if you turn it up too high. The original pressing is of course more 'tubey' because the entire chain was so. Ella's voice is certainly cleanly presented but it's somewhat bright and occasionally harsh. While it was recorded at Capitol, for some reason it lacks the depth and warmth of Sinatra and Nat 'King' Cole records of that era. Sonically this was never a great sounding production. All of the arrangements were by Buddy Bregman, who also conducted. Granz spared no expense in giving Fitzgerald the lush backdrops both she and the songs deserve, using a big band and when appropriate a small (but large sounding) string section. Strung together they produce a joyous look back at an era of sophisticated popular musical culture that was at the same time accessible to all.

#Ella fitzgerald cole porter songbook movie#

While many stage show and movie songs do best in context, these Porter classics obviously do not. The elegant classics, filled with both Porter's melodic and lyrical genius -familiar to just about everyone, almost regardless of age (or so I like to think!- include 'Just One of Those Things', 'Begin the Beguine', 'From This Moment On', 'I Get a Kick Out of You', 'Too Darned Hot', 'Night and Day' 'Let's Do It' and 'You Do Something to Me'. Thirty two songs were recorded live with orchestra in three sessions at Capitol Studios in Hollywood, February 7- 9 and March 27th 1956. The original's gatefold gives way to a nicely produced laminated cover box set, with the annotation formerly in the original's gatefold now well-printed in the box's insides. Smith at Sterling Sound cut lacquers from the original mono master tapes.

As with previous re-issues from this label, the production spares no expense to do it correctly, including spreading the thirty two songs over three RTI-pressed records instead of the original's two. This release from Analog Spark celebrates the much celebrated album's 60th anniversary. Originally released as a double LP back in 1956, Ella Fitzerald Sings the Cole Porter Song Book was both the first of her eight 'songbook' albums and the first release on Norman Granz's then brand new Verve Records (MG V-4001/2).