I just finished listening to the cd. The songs were even better than I remembered. Anyone that might be on the fence about ordering a copy should get off the fence and order one. It is outstanding!
Re: The Bing & Rosie CD
Posted by Paul Mechem on October 10, 2013, 5:57 am, in reply to "The Bing & Rosie CD"
My cd arrived this morning, I have just played it and now i am going to play it again !!!!! it is absolutely fantastic. What's your next project Larry?
Glad you enjoyed the CD. It was a labor of love to work with music by such legendary artists as Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney. Most of these tracks are not generally well known even by diehard fans. A majority of the recordings had only bass, piano and drum accompaniment. Also, there was no reverb on their voices. This was a producer's dream come true because it allowed me to build on top of it.
In other cases, the arrangements on the originals were quite pretty (as with Rosey's commercial releases such as "Half As Much" or "Brahm's Lullaby.") But they were mono and sounded one dimensional. We cleaned them up and then I had my musicians play note for note on top of the originals. I wasn't even sure we could do this from a technical standpoint, but the fact that we were able to pull it off is a testament to the talented people with whom I've worked. This transformed the songs into stereo. We also added other sweetening instrumentally -- many subtle touches, including glissandos, arpeggios, a variety of string treatments ranging from pizzicato (on the fun and humorous duet "Man (Uh-Huh) and Woman (Uh-Huh)") to double stopping, spiccato, etc. I had an outstanding percussionist who did a phenomenal job of enhancing the rhythm on a song and bringing it to life.
I enjoy taking tracks that have problems and correcting them. On "Brahm's Lullaby,” for instance, the intro was too bright, there were three or four brief drop-outs on the bridge and I heard a cellist playing four notes off-key. So we got rid of the original music and built a new intro, new bridge and of course my strings played along with the original. I also asked my superb pianist, Danny Crawford, to play the Steinway grand to accompany Ms. Clooney as that song really begged for a piano.
Scott Graham was a terrific addition to my crew and not only has a sophisticated understanding of music theory but also is a skilled studio engineer. AND a perfectionist, as are my other people. So Scott fit right in.
Although up to now I have produced primarily country recordings (though there are exceptions on the Jim Reeves and Patsy Cline CDs I've done in the last year), "Bing Crosby & Rosemary Clooney: The New Recordings" is the first time I've ventured into the more sophisticated realm of pop orchestration. It's been a lot of fun and a learning experience. (I didn't realize oboe was so hard to play and on a couple of tracks I had to use flute instead as the oboists couldn't sustain the long notes I wanted; we did, however, add oboe to such songs as Rosey's jazzy version of "I'll Be Around" and also "Ebb Tide.")
As you can tell, I'm very excited about this wonderful new CD that I produced for a European label, which manufactured and released it in the EU! (It is also available in other locales around the world). It gives me enormous pleasure and satisfaction to take a diamond in the rough and work with such bright and creative people to polish it into something exquisite...which this CD definitely is. Amidst a whole bunch of Crosby releases by UMG and others this year (it's puzzling how there is such renewed interest all of a sudden in Bing), I can guarantee you there is nothing out there that compares to this particular release.
I feel that now these great vocals are showcased in musical settings that do them justice. The songs are all very pretty and the richness of Bing and Rosey's voices will surprise you. I doubt that most people even realize how great these two singers were.
Judge for yourself by listening to samples at the link below.
Posted by JULIE (Webmistress) on October 16, 2013, 4:24 pm, in reply to "The Bing & Rosie CD"
There are some fans who claim to be "purists" and have already attacked the new Bing Crosby/Rosemary Clooney overdubs, which we saw coming. But I thought you might be interested in hearing a comparison of one track called "Yours," which Jim Reeves also recorded.
If you click the link below, the first half of the song is the "old" version done in the UK in the late 1970s where they had a chorus singing on top of Bing and as one person commented today, it sounds like Crosby is singing in a phone booth!
The second half of the sample is the NEW overdub that Larry produced for the EU label that released this new CD. Notice how Bing's voice is brought forward and sounds much richer, and the accompaniment is crisp and tasteful, in stereo. Hear for yourself how much better it is! So these people that claim to like "the originals" -- which one lady wrote today are "much better" -- must be tone deaf.
You can order this wonderful new CD, "Bing Crosby & Rosemary Clooney: The New Recordings" at: www.good-music.biz/bing.html
Have these"fans" heard the new recordings? these overdubs have been done with love and respect and in no way detract from the legacy of either artist. Jim's fans in particular have good reason to be wary of overdubs ( the late 70's RCA overdubs were horrendous!!!) but ALL the projects Larry has been involved with have been nothing short of excellent. LISTEN BEFORE CRITICIZING THEM
Paul, I don't really agree with you about the '70's overdubs being "horrendous". I liked most of them. But I do agree with you about Larry's overdubs. All of them are just fantastic, and there's not a bad one in the whole lot! I think Jim himself would have been very pleased with everyone of them!
The 2 overdubs on the "Special collection" lp are superb .... But the entire "it's nothing to me" Lp should never had been released with its Overpowering instrumentation ..... Especially the title Track. "Nashville '78" and "there's always me" were Ok but nothing special. Larry has shown us how It should have been done in the first place.
on October 8, 2013, 8:23 pm