New Article: The Problem with Mario Lanza's Legacy on CD---And What Can Be Done About It

[Derek McGovern]

I've just posted a new article on the problem with the current state of Lanza's recorded legacy on CD, as I see it---and what can be done about it. This will hopefully complement our recent poll on what the next Sony Lanza CD should be. The article includes specific CD compilation recommendations organized by genre. No doubt some of my choices will raise a few eyebrows :) 

My thanks to Lee Ann for helping me with the layout.

Happy reading (with apologies for the length of the article!).

http://www.mariolanzatenor.com/fixing-lanzas-recorded-legacy.html

Cheers,

Derek

  

[Armando]

Derek: To say I couldn’t agree more with every aspect of you well thought out and reasoned article is an understatement.

I have been saying exactly the same things for years. One can only hope that someone from Sony will read your article and be both knowledgeable and interested enough to, finally, do something about it.

Armando  

[Derek McGovern]

Thanks, Armando. We can only hope! As I've said many times, it's heartbreaking to consider how differently Lanza's recordings could have been presented to the public had they been better compiled. Of course, it's not a recent problem, but something that has plagued Lanza's discography ever since the release of The Touch of Your Hand in 1955. 

By the way, I've changed the title and url of the article to make it more user-friendly:

http://www.mariolanzatenor.com/fixing-lanzas-recorded-legacy.html 

Cheers

Derek

[Barnabas Nemeth]

Oh Men, what a compilation! I love the single versions but would rather choose the double CDs. This is really the main point: not to mix everything, as generally made, in a bag but compile and release these four main categories separately. Even the sequence of order of categories is correct.

If I were you I would address the Sony or BMG directly, if you have connection to them, raising their attention to our excellent blog and your article.

Congratulation for this work guys!

Cheers, Barnabas

2013/12/7 Armando <acesa...@gmail.com>

Derek: To say I couldn’t agree more with every aspect of you well thought out and reasoned article is an understatement.

I have been saying exactly the same things for years. One can only hope that someone from Sony will read your article and be both knowledgeable and interested enough to, finally, do something about it.

Armando  

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[leeann]

Derek, thank you for taking the time to lay out the arguments and evidence so clearly demonstrating how inaccurately and poorly Lanza's musical legacy has come down to us--and, at the same time, showing how fixable the problem is with such great solutions. It's a fantastic article and so greatly needed. Lee Ann

[Derek McGovern]

Hi Lee Ann: Thanks for your comments. Yes, the problem is eminently fixable; in fact, the solution is blindingly obvious: sort Lanza's recordings into separate genres and release only the best of his singing in each category. What could be simpler? 

We've even made it easy for the prospective compiler by identifying what those superior recordings are. And if it that seems too arrogant, then all I ask is that someone at Sony/RCA who actually knows a thing or two about singing listens to our recommendations---and (ideally) then compares some of them with the offending versions mentioned in the article.         

The bottom line? It's time to think of Lanza's legacy---and its proper representation to the general public---rather than catering to the least discerning members of his fan clubs. After all, who apart from the most undiscriminating fan would have wanted the below-par Coke takes of, say, "Lolita," "'A Vucchella" or "I Love Thee" on the most recent compilation when there are much better versions available of all three songs? And it's not as if the fans who simply have to own these recordings don't already have access to them. As I've pointed out many times, all of the Coke recordings have been around for many years in perfectly good sound via Damon Lanza Productions. There's simply no need to inflict the lesser moments from these shows on a public that cares nothing for inferior versions of this or that, and, quite reasonably, only wants to hear Lanza at his best.

I still haven't forgotten how depressed I was after listening to Disc 2 of the recent Mario Lanza: The Toast of Hollywood. "A Tenor in Love"?  With so many glorious recordings available in that genre, how on earth did the likes of "Among My Souvenirs" or "I'll Never Love You" end up on that disc?!    

On a positive note, I'm encouraged by the recent surge on our poll in support of an outstanding operatic compilation as the next Lanza CD. Nearly 69% of those who have voted want such a CD. We need to start a movement :)

Cheers

Derek

[Derek McGovern]

I was just browsing through Armando's book when I came across this 1956 quote from then-Vice President of RCA, Emanuel ("Manie") Sacks:

"Throw out everything else and stick to this. The man is a musical phenomenon."

 

The enthralled Sacks was referring to the soundtrack recordings from Serenade, which RCA had just received from Warner Bros. This was high praise indeed from a man who had been previously moved to tears by Lanza's MGM recording of The Student Prince.

So there was a time when RCA---or at least one of its most important executives---recognized what constituted Lanza's best singing! It's a fair bet that the remarkable Sacks, who died prematurely just two years later, would not have approved of his company's current representation of Lanza's discography. 

Naturally, I've added Sacks's comment to the article :)

Cheers,

Derek

[Derek McGovern]

Just to clear up a misconception about my article: the issue isn't simply the over-representation of the Coke Shows on BMG/Sony's compilations; it's the poor choices of material full stop. Some of the ill-chosen material on Opera Arias and Duets, for example, is actually taken from RCA and soundtrack recordings---including, ironically enough, two of only three disappointing operatic renditions from the otherwise magnificent Serenade album. (Only in the Lanza world could most of the best tracks from a celebrated album be left off a compilation, while the lesser tracks from the same recording are the ones actually chosen!)

Bad material is bad material regardless of the source!

Cheers

Derek     

[Vincent Di Placido]

Hi, Derek! This article is fantastic! This needed to be said exactly the way you said it! BRAVO!     

[Derek McGovern]

Belated thanks for your comments, Vince.

Now if we could just find someone at Sony who's musically knowledgeable and willing to listen to us, then I'm sure we could make our case. I've often imagined how differently Mario's legacy might have been represented on CD if Armando had been living in New York City---and not Australia. I'm certain that charismatic and persuasive fellow would have found a way to get his foot in the door at RCA/Sony's Head Office :) And that's always been the problem: gaining even the courtesy of a response from Sony. But just imagine the kind of compilations that Armando would have pushed for---and the brilliant liner notes that would have accompanied them!

I also wonder how differently things might have turned out if Ellisa or Damon had been both passionate and knowledgeable about operatic singing. It's so sad to think that, of the four Lanza children, only Colleen inherited her father's great love and knowledge of opera---and she was also the only one who had an aficionado's knowledge of his recordings. As Armando can vouch, Colleen (like her grandfather, Antonio) was ready and able to discuss the flawed renditions in Mario's legacy as well as the gems. She knew when her father was having an off-day and when he was at his best. I'm sure she would cringed at some of the things that have been released in recent years!

Cheers

Derek