Four years ago, Grammy award-winning engineer Andreas Meyer of Swan Studios was tasked by Impex Records with restoration and transfer of the original analog tapes for Frank Sinatra's transitional masterpiece, 1950's Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra. Chris Bellman then mastered the LP and cut lacquers at Bernie Grundman Mastering; the historic album was then released by Impex as an outstanding 180 gram, 33 1⁄3 rpm LP. Gus Skinas at Super Audio Center/Sonoma Systems authored an equally superb high-resolution SACD to accompany the LP's release. Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra was more than just a great album; it represents a critically important, career-defining moment from Sinatra's vast catalog of recordings. The almost criminally neglected record formed the foundation for all of Sinatra's future successes, and Impex has decided to bestow upon their already good version the increased level of refinement possible by taking it to the next step—1STEP. And the super deluxe, 45 rpm 1STEP LP set for Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra has just been released! Author, musical historian, and record producer Charles L. "Chuck" Granata served alongside Andreas Meyer as Special Edition producers of both Impex's original LP release and the new 1STEP package. And as the world's foremost authority on all things Frank Sinatra, Chuck Granata also penned the excellent essay that accompanies all versions of the release; his treatise assesses not only the album's importance to Sinatra, but also to the world of popular music.
Sinatra's star was rapidly falling
Chuck Granata's thoroughly detailed analysis chronicles Frank Sinatra's almost dire circumstances from the late Forties leading into the next decade. Sinatra's indisputable star power was fading fast; any movie roles had all but dried up, and his live television show on CBS was essentially a bust. His record sales tumbled, much to the chagrin of his label, Columbia Records, and the ballads he crooned were no longer in fashion. His income from live appearances in clubs and weekly radio appearances managed to keep him afloat, but Sinatra was for all intents and purposes broke as he approached the 1950's. A series of highly publicized missteps contributed to the failure of his marriage, and almost made him a pariah to the public. In a matter of a few years, Frank Sinatra had metamorphosed from one of the most celebrated performers in the world to quite nearly an afterthought, and was desperately in need of an image makeover. In an unexpected moment of sheerest serendipity, Mitch Miller arrived on the scene and became the man who might help make that a reality.
Frank Sinatra with Alec Wilder and Mitch Miller.
Columbia Records had just hired Miller as a producer and A&R Director for the label, and the idea was born between them to try and right Sinatra's flagging fortunes with a new album. It would be his sixth studio album for Columbia, and was tentatively titled Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra. And Mitch Miller seemed to Columbia to be the one person who could perhaps make Frank Sinatra relevant again to the record-buying public. Miller was encouraged by the energy Sinatra generated in a few uptempo test recordings made in the album's early sessions, and he successfully convinced the label that the new record should be a "concept" album of sorts. Which would consist entirely of more jazzily upbeat and swinging numbers, rather than a regurgitation of the stale ballads that had helped land him in this predicament. The label bit, and rubber-stamped Miller's idea while also hedging their bets that Sinatra again would make money for them. Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra was released on October 16, 1950; despite representing a major stylistic shift that showcased the "new" Sinatra, it wasn't the commercial and critical success everyone had hoped for. And it proved to be his last album for Columbia, setting the stage for the next phase of his career at Capitol Records.
Impex Records' 1STEP process delivers the finest audiophile LPs available
Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra came at the dawn of the LP and magnetic tape, but typical for releases of the period, the 1950 mono recording was originally released in three different formats, including a 10-inch 33 1⁄3 LP, a set of four 78 rpm shellac discs, and a set of four seven-inch 45 rpm discs. The album wasn't repressed or reissued in any format until a 1996 compact disc from Sony/Legacy (Chuck Granata co-produced that release), and not again until Impex's LP and SACD reissues in 2020. Scattered across the three original release formats, only five total copies are available for sale on Discogs, and they range from poor to good condition, but have various issues, like missing covers or even missing entire discs from multiple disc sets. Because the album wasn't a complete success upon its original release, it wasn't reissued as an LP for seventy years, which helps explains the lack of available resale copies on the market.
Since the original tapes hadn't been reused for an infinite procession of reissues over the years, they were in remarkably good shape, and the 2020 work from Andreas Meyer's restoration and Chris Bellman's mastering were perfect for use in the 1STEP process. The analog mixdown master tapes were again used by Bellman to cut each set of lacquers for the very demanding 1STEP process, which requires a new set of lacquers for every pressing run of 500 LPs. This demanding level of perfectionist precision allows Impex Records to offer the finest available audiophile grade LPs. Limiting the number of pressings per lacquer guarantees each LP set will be a faithful reproduction of the original throughout the pressing runs, which are limited to 5000 numbered copies for this edition. The LPs were plated and pressed at RTI in Camarillo, California, under the direct supervision of Dorin Sauerbier, Bryce Wilson, and Adam Webb. 1STEP exclusively uses Neotech's VR900 Supreme vinyl formulation, which allows the resulting LPs to achieve exceptional levels of clarity and quiet during playback.
Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra features the attention to sonic detail and perfectionist packaging that are the hallmarks of Impex and 1STEP. That packaging was produced by Stoughton Printing in City of Industry, California, and features the heavy gatefold album jacket they refer to as their Ultra-Luxe "Monster Pak." Stoughton's classic tip-on process accurately and faithfully reproduces a near-perfect facsimile of the original outer jacket, which also sports a beautiful high-gloss coating that hearkens to LP jackets of yesteryear. The gatefold's two album sleeves hold the pair of 45 rpm, 180 gram LPs; each LP is inserted into a scratch-free poly inner sleeve to further protect it from dust accumulation and static buildup. A 32-page booklet is bound into the center of the gatefold, and features Chuck Granata's informative, entertaining, and highly detailed essay that's accompanied by a wealth of photos and memorabilia. The inner panels and booklet are embellished with visually striking high gloss varnish effects; the LP jacket is then inserted into a stylized and textured natural white outer slipcase with foil stamped logos and diamond embossing. The slipcase adds an additional measure of protection for the LPs and also visually completes the 1STEP package.
Impex's Robert Sliger continues to confound my ability to apply appropriately over-the-top superlatives to his innovative designs, which are not only visually beautiful, but also functionally perfect. His outstanding concept for Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra combines authentically-styled mid-century modern typography and graphics; the original art elements and photos used in the 1STEP packaging were provided by Chuck Granata, Tom Dwyer, and the Sony Music Archive. Impex's Abey Fonn and Robert Bantz served as executive producers, Martin M. Melucci and Bob Donnelly were associate producers, and Henry Towns was the project director. Each successive 1STEP release has redefined the industry standard for classic reissues with LPs that offer not only astounding sonics, but impressive packaging as well; you can order a 1STEP copy of Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra from their partner Elusive Disc HERE.
Frank Sinatra, Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra. (2) Impex 1STEP 45 rpm LPs, $129.99
In its original incarnation, Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra consisted of eight tracks on a ten-inch LP, but the new 1STEP release adds eight additional bonus tracks to flesh out the pair of LPs. Those consist of alternate takes, unused studio tracks, a pair of previously unreleased tracks, and in-progress tracks with studio chatter that highlight the recording process and Frank Sinatra's creative input, including an extended version of "It All Depends On You." Which is a fifteen-minute-plus track that fills side four, and demonstrates how very vested Frank Sinatra was in the orchestral arrangements, as he personally conducts the various players in his backing band. The action stops and starts frequently, as Sinatra offers suggestions to achieve his desired effect or improve the overall tonal quality of the recorded sound; it's enlightening, as well as entertaining, and not at all what you'd expect from an A-list singer in the studio!
Prior to the commencement of the recording sessions for this album, Sinatra was singing three shows a night at New York's Copacabana nightclub, radio shows five days a week, and regular benefit performances along with other studio sessions. At one of the Copa shows in April, 1950, he hit a high note in Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Bali Hai," and suffered a submucosal hemorrhage in his throat, completely losing his voice. When Sinatra returned following a month of being unable to sing, his voice began to change, taking on a deeper tone that Chuck Granata refers to as the "quintessential Sinatra sound" that he became so very famous for during his years at Capitol Records and beyond. That subtle change in his voice, along with the transition to the more swing-based sound of Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra, resulted in what Granata describes as "Sinatra's transition from sweet, romantic crooner to cool, swinging sophisticate." You hear that in spades on Impex's new 1STEP, where what you hear is never a singer that's down on his luck, but instead a consummate artist preparing himself for the next big stage of his career. All of the performances on Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra show an artist who's never anything less than at the height of his powers.
Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra, 1STEP Tracklist
SIDE 1
- Lover
- It's Only a Paper Moon
- My Blue Heaven
- It All Depends On You
- You Do Something To Me
- Should I
SIDE 2
- The Continental
- When You're Smiling
- You Do Something To Me (Orchestral Backing Track/False Starts/Alternate Vocal Take)
- It's Only a Paper Moon (Alternate Take)
SIDE 3
- Farewell, Farewell to Love ("Barbecue Riffs")
- Deep Night
- American Beauty Rose (Orchestral Backing Track)
- American Beauty Rose (Vocal Take)
- Meet Me at The Copa
SIDE 4
- It All Depends On You (Includes Previously Unreleased Session Material)
Listening Results
Clicking on my name in the header above allows you to see the full complements of the components that occupy my dual audio systems. I used my all-analog system for my evaluation of the 1STEP LPs in Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra. That system now features a new pair of XSA Labs Vanguard compact monitor loudspeakers, which are built to many of the same specifications as classic British monitor designs like the LS3/5A. I'm using them in tandem with a pair of Caldera 10 subwoofers to add a couple of extra octaves to the overall bass response. The setup also incorporates the excellent PS Audio Stellar phono preamp, and the loudspeakers are powered by my PrimaLuna EVO 300 tube integrated amplifier. The EVO 300 features a matched quad of Sovtek 6550 power tubes and a pair of vintage, NOS Brimar 12AU7 output tubes, both of which provide an impressive uptick in my analog sound quality. While Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra contains a pair of mono LPs that I'd typically play on my mono-equipped table, due to the more resolving nature of these Neotech's VR900 pressings, I decided to use my ProJect Classic turntable that's mounted with an Ortofon Quintet Bronze moving coil cartridge. The combination gave the 1STEP LPs the finest sound quality one could possibly expect!
RTI's 180 gram LPs were perfection incarnate; they were razor-flat and perfectly centered, and had beautifully glossy surfaces. As typical of Neotech's VR900 Supreme vinyl formulation, the pressings were dead silent, and no noise of any type was evident during playback. Abey Fonn confided in me that Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra may be the best-sounding 1STEP release yet, and after having it in regular rotation here for weeks, I can't argue with her conclusions. I can definitely say this without reservation: it's undeniably the best mono LP I've ever heard, bar none! Across the latest incarnation of my analog setup, the 1STEP playback showed deathly black backgrounds that allowed you to hear very deeply into the performances, which even though they were mono, came through with a clarity and vibrancy that stunned my senses with its goodness! Frank Sinatra's voice was rendered with a level of realism such that in my nearfield listening environment, I felt I could reach out and touch him, as if he was actually in the room with me. Even more shocking, the orchestral accompaniment, which I've always felt on mono recordings can have a somewhat congested sound (especially compared to small combo sessions), had the kind of presence that seemed to spread across the soundstage, rather than simply pinpointed in the center—you could close your eyes and virtually see Sinatra surrounded by the orchestra in front of you. While you get much of this impression with the superb 33 ⅓ LP, with Impex's new 1STEP, you get everything!
My digital source system has also recently been upgraded, with the latest operating system updates to my Euphony streaming system, as well as a new S.M.S.L. VMV D2R DAC. The new DAC allows for 1-bit direct-DSD playback, and for giggles, I played my DSD rip of Impex's excellent SACD of Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra. The sound quality was so much better than when I first heard the SACD version a couple of years ago, with a greater level of clarity and heightened musicality compared to my previous digital source setup. While the SACD is remarkably good, and comes very close to matching the analog warmth of Impex's new 1STEP, I still have to give the overall nod to the 45 rpm LPs, which are nothing less than killer over the analog system. And the 45's have the additional bonus tracks that aren't on the SACD, especially the 15-minute version of "It All Depends On You"—which, upon finding that it was a mostly "studio chatter" track initially lessened its appeal to me. After hearing it, I now find it so instructive with regard to Sinatra's perfectionist approach in the studio—what better way to enjoy a capture of a perfectionist at work than on the only true perfectionist version of this album that exists—1STEP.
Impex Records' Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra shows the 1STEP process at its best!
Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra captures an artist who could easily have phoned-in his performances for these sessions, but instead he showed his mettle, and the true creative birth of the legend he would go on to become. The almost ghostly quiet, breathtaking clarity, and abundantly detailed sound of the Neotech VR900 Supreme vinyl pressings—in combination with the demanding lacquer-cutting regimen required by Impex's 1STEP process—have resulted in an audiophile album for the ages. Robert Sliger's outstanding packaging is truly extraordinary, and Chuck Granata's excellent treatise on Frank Sinatra and the events surrounding this historic recording is both enlightening and entertaining. Thanks to everyone at Impex Records, and especially Abey Fonn for making this possible. Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra comes very highly recommended!
Impex Records
Elusive Disc
All photos courtesy of Impex Records and Elusive Disc.
