Mario Lanza recording artificially enhanced?

[ShawDAMAN]

Before I begin this post I want to say that I am a long time Lanza
fan; and one of my pet peeves is people suggesting that Lanza's
amazing sound was created with studio engineering.

That is not what I am doing here!

But.....

Some time ago I obtained some recordings from Lanza's 1947 Hollywood
bowl appearance, which I was quite pleased with. One of them was the
well-known "Un di, all'azzurro spazio" from Andrea Chenier.

Later I purchased Jeff Rense's CD of remastered live Lanza
performances, which I was also very happy with. The same recording of
"Un di all'azzurro spazio" is on this CD- or so I thought. When
listening to it I realized that it is exactly the same in every way
EXCEPT on Rense's remastering the final high note is held
significantly longer and the applause at the end is much more
immediate.

The last thing I WANT to do is imply that there is trickery going on
here, and Rense has done some wonderful work on his Lanza
compilations, but this is very strange. And it seems more likely that
a recording would be enhanced rather than detracted from. Lanza's
original performance was very good as are most of his recordings, they
do not need to be dishonestly enhanced, so I would be very
dissappointed if any have been.

So, what do you think?

Unfortunately I cannot attach the 2 recordings to this post so that
you can compare, but If anyone is interested I would be happy to email
them to you, just post a message here.

Thanks!

[Derek McGovern]

Hi Shawn: Sadly, the Rense version of the 1947 Un Di' all'Azzurro
Spazio has indeed been tampered with. In fact, almost all of the high
notes on those discs he put out last year have been extended --
sometimes by just a second; at other times, by as many as three
seconds. If you click here, you'll find a very interesting discussion
on this topic: http://groups.google.com/group/mariolanza/browse_thread/thread/f4cbd97130948b53#

I can't tell you how disappointed I am about this whole business, nor
can I understand how the people responsible for lengthening those high
notes ever thought that anyone would not detect their trickery. Rense,
incidentally, denies all knowledge of this interference.

Fortunately, the *authentic* versions of all of the material on those
discs can be heard elsewhere. Armando Cesari's wonderful biography
(Mario Lanza: An American Tragedy), for example, contains a
magnificent disc of home and live recordings (1945-1958), including
far more of Lanza's operatic work than the paltry offerings found on
the Rense discs. (Armando's a member of this forum, by the way.) I
especially recommend the latest (second) edition of his book, which
has just been released by Baskerville Publishers (and is not yet
available, it seems, at Amazon):http://www.baskervillepublishers.com/
store/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=1-880909-66-9

Cheers
Derek

[ShawDAMAN]

That's all I wanted to know. Such a shame. I have suspected this for
some time but was not sure who to ask, and I didn't want to start
anything potentially inflammatory if I wasn't sure.

So thanks for setting this straight. I will check out the book I've
heard favorable reviews from a bunch of people on that.

Thanks again!

On Dec 9, 9:04 pm, Derek McGovern <derek.mcgov...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Shawn: Sadly, the Rense version of the 1947 Un Di' all'Azzurro
> Spazio has indeed been tampered with. In fact, almost all of the high
> notes on those discs he put out last year have been extended --
> sometimes by just a second; at other times, by as many as three
> seconds. If you click here, you'll find a very interesting discussion

> on this topic:http://groups.google.com/group/mariolanza/browse_thread/thread/f4cbd9...

> > Thanks!- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

[Derek McGovern]

You're welcome, Shawn. And if you do happen to check out Armando's
book, the second edition is definitely the way to go. For one thing,
the sound on the accompanying disc is better on some of the tracks,
and the speeds on a handful of numbers that were previously running
slow have now been corrected. But I should declare my hand here, as it
was I who wrote the liner notes for that CD :-) Let me hasten to add,
though, that I don't have any financial interest in this CD or the
book!

[Derek McGovern]

I thought long and hard before raising this topic again, as the last thing I want to do is to provide ammunition to Lanza's detractors on YouTube (and elsewhere), but I feel it's a crucial issue that's been largely swept under the carpet. I'm referring to the Jeff Rense-produced CDs that Shawn mentioned in his first post on this thread.

Just to sum things up: in 2007, broadcaster Jeff Rense released three CDs of Lanza material, including commercial recordings (released under the auspices of BMG) and one disc of live performances. The sound restoration on these CDs was carried out by Oregon Sound Recording under Rense's supervision. Several prominent Lanza aficionados, including Derek Mannering, who wrote the liner notes, and Lindsay Perigo, subsequently praised the sound quality on these CDs in the highest possible terms.

Well, the sound quality is excellent, all right, but the sonic trickery that has been performed on these CDs is unforgivable. Virtually every track has been manipulated in some way -- different takes spliced together by Rense's engineers, as on the Coke "You'll Never Walk Alone," or endings altered (as on "Roses of Picardy") -- with the worst of the tampering involving the lengthening of many of Lanza's high notes.

Here are some examples: 

On the 1948 Nessun Dorma: the high B on the second syllable of "vincero" has been lengthened by several seconds.

On the 1948 Lamento di Federico: again, the high B has been lengthened -- in this case by at least a couple of seconds.

The 1948 La Donna 'e Mobile: the high B on "pensier" has been lengthened by approximately two seconds.

You Do Something To Me: the second-to-last note has been extended by several seconds.

There are numerous other examples, including the Hollywood Bowl Improvviso, as mentioned by Shawn at the beginning of this thread.

But why drag this sorry matter up again? you might ask. After all, we went into it in some detail three years ago on this thread (from the 11th post onwards).

Well, there are at least two compelling reasons. First, despite the efforts of some valiant souls, including our own Vince di Placido, to raise the matter on Rense's forum, the majority of people who are aware of the issue either didn't care about the tampering, or fail to see why altering Lanza's singing on his recordings to make it more exciting is wrong in itself! "But the sound is so good" has been the usual response. Rense himself has denied any deliberate lengthening of notes, despite some pointed questioning from Vince, though he has acknowledged splicing different takes of You'll Never Walk Alone together -- defending the end result as being "better Lanza."

To my dismay, I discovered today that even the Lanza Institute is actively promoting two of these discs on its website, praising Rense for having given "many of the older archival recordings . . . new life...". When even the admirable Mario Lanza Institute has given its (unwitting?) blessing to doctored recordings, then surely it's time to speak up.

The second issue is that Rense is now working on a new Lanza compilation, this time (as I understand it) focusing on soundtrack recordings. It goes without saying that I'm concerned that, once again, high notes will mysteriously become longer and other audio witchcraft committed. In fact, there was an ominous hint of this a few months back when Rense posted on his forum that the Because You're Mine "Lord's Prayer," as featured on the 1998 Rhino CD, was running exceptionally slow -- and that he was shocked that no one had ever commented on this. Well, as I pointed out to Rense at the time, that's because it's not running slow in the slightest!  Rense didn't agree, and I now have the uncomfortable feeling that this recording, which I gather is planned for the new CD, will be "corrected" in due course.

I certainly hope I'm wrong. By all means, improve the sound quality on Lanza's recordings (and God knows some of the 1959 material is crying out for proper restoration), but tampering with the man's singing is just plain wrong for so many reasons.

[Derek McGovern]

P.S. The link to the earlier thread on these CDs didn't come through in the above post, so here it is again:

https://groups.google.com/d/topic/mariolanza/9MvZcTCUi1M/discussion (11th post onwards)

[gary from NS]

Hi Derek,

 

Many thanks for posting this,and I just finished reading the "older" post on this subject.I recall the excitetment first generated by the release of the cd's by Mr. Rense. (my excitement soon changed to dis-belief)

In a nutshell my opinion is very simple.  "How can anyone, actually alter the performance (knowingly), of an artist, and feel good about such trickery."

I thank you for drawing to our attention that this same travesty may occur with further releases in the future.

 

To take someone's talented performance,and alter such performance,makes one wonder about "what could be a motivator" to do such an act.

 

This is akin to altering a painting by one of the great masters,or changing one of Shakespear's works..

 

Lanza's voice and delivery have always been that of a "Master".

Also, I am not unaware of the many times Lanza sang below his talent, causing me to wince, when hearing something unflattering,to his normal high standards.

 

Shame on anyone who would dare "alter" this artists work.

[leeann]

Gary's post brought images of a preservationist looking at a Caravaggio and saying "you know, we really need to add a bit more chiaroscuro in the upper right hand corner. It would be so much more magnificent." Or a Mondrian and insisting , "Let's make that one horizontal line maybe a couple of millimeters wider."  It wouldn't be more magnificent; it would be ethically and historically wrong, and actually disrespectful, dishonest, and pretentious.  Changing someone else's work is a great deal different from cleaning, restoring, and preserving. Long speeches are possible on the subject.

The other thing that is sad about such changes to Lanza's recordings is the audience it likely influences the most. It would seem that perhaps badly and misleadingly engineered reproductions would fuel the disbelief and critical comments of people who know music and who criticize Lanza's voice production with skepticism and misinformation about his work. 

It raises a question though--when recordings are billed as remastered, what does that actually mean? Is there a standard or is it arbitrary, and I'd guess that maybe what it means might differ according to when an original recording was made and in what technological era.

This topic creates even greater appreciation for this forum and for Mike McAdams work in sound engineering the right way and so beautifully.  Best, Lee Ann

 Best, Lee Ann

[Derek McGovern]

Hi Gary: What shocked me almost as much as the trickery on those CDs was the deafening silence from those who claim to care about Lanza's legacy. Virtually none of the regulars on the Rense forum stepped forward to express their concern. And where was the outrage from Ellisa? (Or Damon, for that matter.) Derek Mannering, while insisting that he hadn't been aware of any manipulation on the CDs, even brought up the business of the spliced fake ending to Celeste Aida in The Great Caruso -- thus implying that that made what had happened -- if it had happened! -- somehow justifiable. But as Vince pointed out at the time, there's a world of difference between the kind of (mercifully rare) tampering by MGM that occurred during Lanza's lifetime and the posthumous manipulation found on these CDs.

Aside from the injustice to the artist, this kind of tampering is an insult to the listener. Whether it's the applause that's being manipulated, as Shawn detected on the Hollywood Bowl Improvviso, or the singing itself, there's an obvious assumption on the part of the perpetrators that the listener will be fooled by the changes. Rense's triumphant notes to one of the discs -- Make Believe -- even give the impression that a newly discovered outtake (of "You'll Never Walk Alone") has been included, when, as we now know, the exciting "new" version was simply a posthumous welding of two released takes, with an added bit of electronic assistance to extend the climactic note.  

Many thanks for your comments, Gary.

Cheers
Derek

[Derek McGovern]

Gary's post brought images of a preservationist looking at a Caravaggio and saying "you know, we really need to add a bit more chiaroscuro in the upper right hand corner. It would be so much more magnificent."

Hi Lee Ann: Similar thoughts went through my mind too when I read Gary's words! I also couldn't agree more that the very act of changing someone's work is "ethically and historically wrong, and actually disrespectful, dishonest, and pretentious."

What amazes me in the case of these CDs is that (presumably) the perpetrators thought that no one would ever notice their tampering. The climactic B natural on the 1948 Nessun Dorma, for example, is now so ridiculously long on Rense's CD that anyone familiar with the authentic recording (which can readily be heard on the transcription disc of the actual broadcast) would immediately detect the trickery. In fact, even listeners unfamiliar with the real version would probably realize that "enhancements" were at work, as the note simply doesn't sound right. How appropriate, then, that one of the three discs is titled Make Believe.

I don't know whether Rense's CDs have found their way on to YouTube, but given that they're still being offered at his site and promoted by the Mario Lanza Institute, I'd say it's only a matter of time. And yes, you're right, Lee Ann, about this being manna from heaven for the Lanza skeptics! (Just what the Lanza Legacy needs: more question marks over the legitimacy of his recordings!!!)

What is remastering? Well, technical whizzkid Mike's really the person to answer that, but I'll just say for now that my understanding of the term is that it refers to the act of improving the sound quality of a recording. Changing the performance itself? No way!

Cheers
Derek

[Thelma]

I know the reason why I have never posted on the subject of Jeff Rense
manipulating the sound on Mario's CD's is because I don't feel
qualified to make that decision myself. Whether he did or not, I
really don't know, since I have no background in the subject.

On Jul 17, 10:51 pm, Derek McGovern <derek.mcgov...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Gary: What shocked me almost as much as the trickery on those CDs was the
> deafening silence from those who claim to care about Lanza's legacy.
> Virtually none of the regulars on the Rense forum stepped forward to express
> their concern. And where was the outrage from Ellisa? (Or Damon, for that
> matter.) Derek Mannering, while insisting that he hadn't been aware of any
> manipulation on the CDs, even brought up the business of the spliced fake

> ending to Celeste Aida in *The Great Caruso -- *thus implying that *that*made what had happened --
> *if* it had happened! -- somehow justifiable. But as Vince pointed out at

> the time, there's a world of difference between the kind of (mercifully
> rare) tampering by MGM that occurred during Lanza's lifetime and the
> posthumous manipulation found on these CDs.
>
> Aside from the injustice to the artist, this kind of tampering is an insult
> to the listener. Whether it's the applause that's being manipulated, as

> Shawn detected on the Hollywood Bowl *Improvviso*, or the singing itself,

> there's an obvious assumption on the part of the perpetrators that the
> listener will be fooled by the changes. Rense's triumphant notes to one of

> the discs -- *Make Believe* -- even give the impression that a newly

[Thelma]

Also, I just wanted to say that the three CD's Jeff Rense first had
redone: Jeff was the executive producer, Chick Crumpacker of RCA was
the producer and Clyde Smith was consultant. Crumpacker's name is on
just about every CD Elvis Presley and many other well known stars
recorded. Is he still alive? Perhaps he could illuminate what
happened with these CD's since he is an expert in this field.

On Jul 18, 2:50 pm, Thelma <tfpri...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I know the reason why I have never posted on the subject of JeffRense
> manipulating the sound on Mario's CD's is because I don't feel
> qualified to make that decision myself.  Whether he did or not, I
> really don't know, since I have no background in the subject.
>
> On Jul 17, 10:51 pm, Derek McGovern <derek.mcgov...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > Hi Gary: What shocked me almost as much as the trickery on those CDs was the
> > deafening silence from those who claim to care about Lanza's legacy.

> > Virtually none of the regulars on theRenseforum stepped forward to express

> > their concern. And where was the outrage from Ellisa? (Or Damon, for that
> > matter.) Derek Mannering, while insisting that he hadn't been aware of any
> > manipulation on the CDs, even brought up the business of the spliced fake
> > ending to Celeste Aida in *The Great Caruso -- *thus implying that *that*made what had happened --
> > *if* it had happened! -- somehow justifiable. But as Vince pointed out at
> > the time, there's a world of difference between the kind of (mercifully
> > rare) tampering by MGM that occurred during Lanza's lifetime and the
> > posthumous manipulation found on these CDs.
>
> > Aside from the injustice to the artist, this kind of tampering is an insult
> > to the listener. Whether it's the applause that's being manipulated, as
> > Shawn detected on the Hollywood Bowl *Improvviso*, or the singing itself,
> > there's an obvious assumption on the part of the perpetrators that the

> > listener will be fooled by the changes.Rense'striumphant notes to one of

[Derek McGovern]

Hi Thelma: To the best of my knowledge, Chick Crumpacker was only involved with Rense's first CD (also called I'll See You in My Dreams), which was released some years before the batch of three CDs that we're discussing here. Mr. Crumpacker certainly wasn't involved with the disc of live performances -- Live Concert and Radio Performances 1945-50 -- as none of the material featured on it was owned by RCA/BMG.  And it's that disc that I'm the most concerned about, since the manipulation of Mario's live performances strikes at the very credibility of his artistry.

Jeff Rense insists that neither he nor his engineers altered the recordings. (He simply used the best available source in each instance, he wrote on his forum in 2008.) But supposing for a moment that that's true, it still doesn't change the fact that all three discs contain audio trickery committed by someone that does Lanza's legacy a huge disservice. And the moment that trickery became apparent should have been the same moment in which these discs were withdrawn from the market, irrespective of the amount of money lavished on them. Fake is fake. You only have to listen to the ending of "You Do Something To Me," for example (on the 2007 version of Rense's disc I'll See You in My Dreams) to hear the elongation of Mario's climactic note by several seconds (on "can" -- as in the line "that nobody else can do!"). Compare it with every other reproduction of the same recording, and the trickery will be apparent. You certainly won't need any "background" in sound technology to hear what's been done.

Cheers
Derek

[Thelma]

According to the notes included with "Live concert and radio
performances" a man named Sean MCoy at Oregon Sound Recording
was the audio wizard, along with Jeff Rense, executive producer. If
McCoy could be found, perhaps he could explain what exactly they did.
These were radio recordings and not meant to be played more than once
originally, plus they were 78's, and the sound was deteriated after
many years . I guess they used software to enhance the sound, is that
right?

On Jul 18, 8:01 pm, Derek McGovern <derek.mcgov...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Thelma: To the best of my knowledge, Chick Crumpacker was only involved

> with Rense's first CD (also called *I'll See You in My Dreams*), which was

> released some years before the batch of three CDs that we're discussing
> here. Mr. Crumpacker certainly wasn't involved with the disc of live

> performances -- *Live Concert and Radio Performances 1945-50* -- as none of
> the material featured on it was owned by RCA/BMG.  And it's *that* disc that

> I'm the most concerned about, since the manipulation of Mario's live
> performances strikes at the very credibility of his artistry.
>
> Jeff Rense insists that neither he nor his engineers altered the recordings.
> (He simply used the best available source in each instance, he wrote on his
> forum in 2008.) But supposing for a moment that that's true, it still

> doesn't change the fact that all three discs contain audio trickery *committed
> by* *someone* that does Lanza's legacy a huge disservice. *And the moment

> that trickery became apparent should have been the same moment in which
> these discs were withdrawn from the market, irrespective of the amount of

> money lavished on them.* Fake is fake. You only have to listen to the ending

> of "You Do Something To Me," for example (on the 2007 version of Rense's

> disc *I'll See You in My Dreams*) to hear the elongation of Mario's
> climactic note *by several seconds* (on "can" -- as in the line "that nobody

[Derek McGovern]

Hi Thelma: Yes, Oregon Sound Recording undoubtedly improved the sound, and that's one of the most frustrating things about this whole sorry business. Nessun Dorma, for example, has a fuller, richer sound than on the original transcription, but its sonic improvements have been cancelled out by the alterations to Lanza's actual singing. If the recordings on these discs had been simply remastered, then I'd be only too happy to congratulate Jeff Rense on a job well done. But as I'm sure you now realize, remastering the sound and altering the artist's singing (so that it is no longer an authentic representation of his/her performance) are two completely different things.

I know you're anxious to find an innocent explanation for all this, Thelma, but there's simply no getting round the fact that many of the performances on all three discs have been deliberately altered. This has nothing to do with the condition of the master tapes or discs. And, yes, a software program would have been used to artificially extend the high notes, beef up the applause, etc.

Sorry, but I can't see any point in contacting Sean McCoy, as I seriously doubt that he would be willing to discuss the matter.

Cheers
Derek

[Thelma]

What does Mike, the technical sound man on the forum, have to say
about the discs and the manipulation of Mario's voice? Also I would
like to hear Armando's opinion. It might have been discussed here
before, but now I am interested in it.

On Jul 19, 8:04 am, Derek McGovern <derek.mcgov...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Thelma: Yes, Oregon Sound Recording undoubtedly improved the sound, and
> that's one of the most frustrating things about this whole sorry business.
> Nessun Dorma, for example, has a fuller, richer sound than on the original
> transcription, but its sonic improvements have been cancelled out by the
> alterations to Lanza's actual singing. If the recordings on these discs had

> been simply *remastered*, then I'd be only too happy to congratulate Jeff

[Thelma]

I found Sean McCoy on the internet and he is the head of the Oregon
sound studio:
http://filmsouthernoregon.org/crew/sean-mccoy. Please go there and it
will direct you to: http://www.oregonsound.com/. I think it would be
good to ask him directly what they did with Mario's CD's. This way we
fans will have all the information, including what the studio has to
say about it. This man has 40 years worth of experience in the audio
field.

[Derek McGovern]

Hi Thelma: At the risk of repeating myself for the umpteenth time, we already know what was done to these recordings! They were tampered with. The high notes were extended (by up to three seconds in several instances). Applause on the live performances was fiddled with. Sneaky editing was carried out to give the impression of a new take (as in the case of "You'll Never Walk Alone") or to change the endings and/or structure of other performances ("Ay, Ay, Ay;" "Roses of Picardy").

The way I see it, there's absolutely no point in contacting Mr. McCoy -- regardless of how many years he's been in the audio business -- because there are only four possible responses he could give (and, for obvious reasons, it's extremely unlikely that he would reply with either #3 or #4):

1. I have no idea what you're talking about.
2. No, we didn't alter the performances. They all came to us that way.
3. Yes, we altered the performances without Jeff Rense's knowledge.
4. Yes, we altered the performances on Jeff Rense's instructions.

Regarding these CDs, Mike has already expressed his opinion -- make that outrage -- on our earlier thread here.

Thelma: I really have nothing more to say on this issue.

Cheers
Derek

[Shawn]

I share the feelings of dread about a new Rense compilation...
If there's one Lanza recording that's probably fine the way it is, it's the "because your mine" lords prayer. *sigh*

As a side note (sorry to be off topic) but Derek (or anyone) how did Lanza come to be a stand in for Jan Peerce on the Celanese hour? I can't remember having read what led up to his being invited to fill in, though I may have. I was just listening to one of his performances from that show and the thought occurred to me.

[Derek McGovern]

Hi Shawn: I'm very happy to reply to your side note :)

Lanza stood in for Peerce (after the latter had gone away on leave from the show) on the recommendation of baritone Robert Weede to Jean Tennyson. Weede had known Lanza since 1942 and was a great admirer of his talent. (This is discussed on pp 45-6 of Armando's book.)

Cheers
Derek

[Armando]

Hi Thelma: My opinion is simply this:  Regardless of the sound quality, what the fans think, or the number of copies sold, it is wrong to tamper with an artist’s recorded legacy.

I also think that in view of possible further compilations being similarly tampered with, anyone who truly cares about Lanza should take a stand in condemning such practice.

 

[Tony Partington]

I echo both Armando's statement (opinion) as well as Derek's.  I am more than overjoyed to see new CDs of Lanza come out and it would be even more wonderful if the "new" CDs contained previously unreleased material - which we know full well exists and aches for an airing and hearing.  The very simple point is this: There is no need to "enhance" Mario's recordings.  Most specifically the good and great ones.  The poor ones (i.e.: LANZA ON BROADWAY) do not need to be remastered, speeded up, re-anythinged.  They are poor and should simplly be accepted as such.  Dozens if not hundreds of classical vocal artists have had bad vocal periods and, unfortunately, have been recorded during those times.  It is unfortunate as I say but it happens.  And, the fact is, it happened with Mario Lanza.  I will not dwell upon those recordings, they are not worth the time or the energy of discussing and/or microscopically examining.

 

Mario Lanza's good, great and brilliant recordings, of which there are so many, should be listened to, shared, discussed and celebrated as the works of art that they are.  Further, as works of art - the art of music, the art of great singing, the art of great vocal interpretation - they should not be tampered with in a way that the artistic intent,  the technical and the artistic actions of the artist and that which was openly and genuinely commited to recording, are in any way compromised.  If that is done, then to my mind, it no longer is what the artist intended, essentially it no longer is Mario Lanza.  It becomes someone else's vision, interpretaion of the artist Mario Lanza.  The artist is no longer allowed to stand upon his own ability and talent and be viewed, or in Lanza's case heard, honestly, truthfully, purely.

 

In this day and age of electronic manipulation, so very much can be done to make a mediocre talent sound stellar.  Does this not make it all the more important for us to hear a brilliant voice like Mario Lanza's in its true and honest state?  Then, and only then, can we stand in awe and marvel at what this very gifted artist genuinely possessed.

 

Ciao ~ Tony 

[Michael McAdam]

Very introspective and heartfelt post, Tony. I imagine singers such as yourself and Armando would, or could, be more incensed than the rest of us fans of great singing. Your thoughts above affirm that. And, rightly so.

There are a multitude of great posts on this thread; a subject We hashed this subject out previously as Derek has reminded our newer members. When the three Jeff Rense-produced CD's first became available in 2007 we all eagerly inserted these new "gems" into our CD players then sat with mouths agape at what we heard. Derek spotted some tampering right away, ditto Vince diPlacido.  I subsequently pointed out a couple of tampered-with cuts to Derek that he had missed. Some were subtle but obvious when you know the particular recording intimately ("You Do Something To Me" per e.g.) As we all dug deeper, it turned what should have been a pleasant listening experience into something...well, ugly!

 

I must add that, to me, there's a betrayal in this exercise of Jeff Rense's with shows some real arrogance on his part. How did he coerce/convince a long-time sound engineer with a reputation to protect to go along with him on this? Or, did he get a whiz-kid buddy to manipulate the master tapes, then take them to Oregon sound without saying anything? We'll likely never know.

 

Mike

[Joseph Fagan]

Hi Mike!...I agree wholeheartedly with you and the forum about tampering with anything Lanza recorded. Even if such alteration was meant to well intentioned. It is simply wrong. Would you add a paint stroke to a Picasso?

 

However, I am curious about how the forum would feel about some editing being done on some of Lanza's movies ( not the singing! ). For example, I would like to completely remove the "There is going to be a party tonight" in the too-lengthy 7 Hills. As another example I would like to include the "alternate" Serenade etc. I am sure there are other examples as well.

 

Joe

[gary from NS]

Hi Mike, et al, who have posted on this topic.

Your post sums up my feelings, in particular, "we'll likely never know".

I am amazed ,some so-called Lanza fans, have turned into mush, and will not stand up and be counted, but continue to play dumb, as they exhibit imo a 'wilful blindness' in the matter of these posts.

I suppose, one might say they are lacking a backbone, and continue their charade, rather than see (hear) pretty strong evidence before them.
What motivates people to behave in such a manner?

Cheers
Gary

 

[Michael McAdam]

I thought I would dust off Derek's thread and jump into this comment of approx. 14 months ago just to inform all that I was finally able to "remaster" the original 1948 Hollywood Bowl recording to a state markedly improved (so sez the final judge Derek, who heard the offering first) from the original transcription available on a couple of CD's; most notably the one accompanying Armando's Lanza biography. No Rense-lengthened note here :

 

http://www.4shared.com/mp3/anH68UWr/NessunDorma-1948MacadMod2-MedQ.html

 

You'll note that the timing and tempo are identical to the original transcription. For the 'techie' fans out there........I upped the digital sampling rate, de-noised, de-grungelised, increased dynamic range (somewhat), increased the frequency range and lowered the noise floor. There is some lingering harmonic distortion but you really can't make a silk recording out of a sow's acetate, so to speak :) . Hope you can all hear the difference here?

 

Happy listening,

Mike

On Monday, July 18, 2011 10:12:52 AM UTC-3, Derek McGovern wrote:

 

What amazes me in the case of these CDs is that (presumably) the perpetrators thought that no one would ever notice their tampering. The climactic B natural on the 1948 Nessun Dorma, for example, is now so ridiculously long on Rense's CD that anyone familiar with the authentic recording (which can readily be heard on the transcription disc of the actual broadcast) would immediately detect the trickery. In fact, even listeners unfamiliar with the real version would probably realize that "enhancements" were at work, as the note simply doesn't sound right. How appropriate, then, that one of the three discs is titled Make Believe.I chuckled at this last comment

[Derek McGovern]

Mike has very kindly sent me a high quality version of the MP3 of "Nessun Dorma" that he attached to the post above, and I've just uploaded it here on our main site. Do check it out! Mike's achieved wonders with his remastering, and this is the best I've ever heard the performance. Phrases such as "Dilegua, notte!" ring out more thrillingly than before, and the ending---untainted here by Rensian manipulation---is both real and extraordinary.

Thanks a million, Mike!

Cheers

Derek

[Armando]

Great work Mike! You’ve done wonders considering the extremely low quality of the original acetate recording. Fabulous singing of the aria-superior to the two 1995 soundtrack recordings -and a final B natural to blow you away!  

[Michael McAdam]

Appreciate those kudos, gents. Thank you.

(now, if only I could get a compliment from my wife on my gourmet cooking of "bubble & squeak"  ;-)