Dinah Washington, Mercury #SR 60232 -STEREO-

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Posted on November 3, 2009 at 00:41:30

AlbumAddictED
Audiophile

Posts: 1764
Location: Northern California
Joined: January 3, 2008

Every so often, on a whim, I'll spin an album that makes me stop reading, ect. slowly close the book or car magazine I might be reading at the moment (Hemmings Muscle Machines, NASCAR Scene, Motor Trend ect.) and simply listen closely to the album I am playing.

This happened tonight, and I can't even say I am a longtime fan of this artist. However, the clarity, the full, rich warm stereo sound of this original Mercury album ... truly made me hear just what the voice of Ms. Dinah Washington sounded like.

Most of all, I appreciated the great enjoyment this Mercury LP gave to me, a common album listener who appreciates talent when I hear it. The album is:

*DINAH WASHINGTON - "Unforgettable" c. 1959 Mercury Records, Inc.
#SR 60232. Hi-STEREO-Fi

Pick this LP up if you see it, her vocals are something else. Mercury Records makes it nearly life-like, I can hear her taking a breath as she begins to sing the next lyric. Great stuff, and why this vinyl hobby is a lot of fun. Just F.Y.I.

Ed
"Some Folks Need An Education ... Don't Give Up Or We'll Lose The Nation" C. 1970 MARK FARNER of Grand Funk Railroad from "Sin's A Good Man's Brother"

Mercury Records #SR 60232

RE: Dinah Washington, Mercury #SR 60232 -STEREO-

kentaja

15:39:13 11/03/09

RE: Dinah Washington, Mercury #SR 60232 -STEREO-

gary.m

13:52:25 11/03/09

RE: Dinah Washington, Mercury #SR 60232 -STEREO-

AlbumAddictED

16:57:52 11/03/09

RE: Dinah Washington, Mercury #SR 60232 -STEREO-

Marantzguy

11:38:11 11/03/09

RE: Dinah Washington, Mercury #SR 60232 -STEREO-

AlbumAddictED

01:07:05 11/05/09

RE: Dinah Washington, Mercury #SR 60232 -STEREO-, posted on November 3, 2009 at 15:39:13
kentaja Manufacturer Posts: 3116 Joined: March 26, 2001	Love DW and Mercury recordings are outstanding. Almost. The stereos are dreadful IMO simply because they slam the vocals to the left channel. This drives me crazy! Fortunately the mono switch on the preamp solves this problem. Early Mercury jazz albums are much better in mono IMO.

RE: Dinah Washington, Mercury #SR 60232 -STEREO-, posted on November 3, 2009 at 13:52:25
gary.m Audiophile Posts: 80 Joined: August 11, 2002	Try the mono. It's amazing!

RE: Dinah Washington, Mercury #SR 60232 -STEREO-, posted on November 3, 2009 at 16:57:52

AlbumAddictED
Audiophile

Posts: 1764
Location: Northern California
Joined: January 3, 2008

Thanks, Gary, I will do just that! I like MONO recordings, but this one just happened to have been a stereo release. I also beleive (but I might be wrong) this Mercury stereo LP was released a year after the original MONO recording was released, making this an actual 1960 LP. The MONO Mercury catalog number is: #MG 20572.

I always like these vintage Mercury albums from the mid 1950s through the early 1960s. Seems Mercury really took pride in their product released to the masses, just my opinion.

Thanks again for your reply, and I will look for a mono version, based on your recommendation.

Ed
"Some Folks Need An Education ... Don't Give Up Or We'll Lose The Nation" C. 1970 MARK FARNER of Grand Funk Railroad from "Sin's A Good Man's Brother"

RE: Dinah Washington, Mercury #SR 60232 -STEREO-, posted on November 3, 2009 at 11:38:11

Marantzguy
Audiophile

Posts: 2413
Joined: June 21, 2002

Hi, A-A ED:

A few reasons why this is such a great recording:

1.) All-tube electronics going to high-speed wide-bandwith tape machine.
2.) Probably using a Telefunken U-47 or perhaps a Neumann M-49 microphone
3.) Minimal amount of limiting and compression?
4.) Little, if any overdubbing?
4.) Great mastering and good pressing quality

Mercury did superb engineering. Any mention of who engineered the recording you are enjoying so much?

Is Bob Fine mentioned?

Anyway, we still use those microphones for vocal recording work today, as they are absolutely spectacular devices.

Why change something that works that well?

Enjoy!
Richard Links
Links Sound, Berkeley, CA

RE: Dinah Washington, Mercury #SR 60232 -STEREO-, posted on November 5, 2009 at 01:07:05

AlbumAddictED
Audiophile

Posts: 1764
Location: Northern California
Joined: January 3, 2008

Hi Richard! Thank you for your reply! Saw it the day you sent it, but I wanted to give it the time and response it deserved. I always enjoy your posts, thoughts and insights onto these artists and this vinyl hobby / music interest we all have here in the Vinyl Asylum.

Richard, you said:
1.) All-tube electronics going to high-speed wide-bandwith tape machine.
2.) Probably using a Telefunken U-47 or perhaps a Neumann M-49 microphone
3.) Minimal amount of limiting and compression?
4.) Little, if any overdubbing?
4.) Great mastering and good pressing quality

Amazingly, you were right on the money with those assumptions! According to liner notes on the back jacket of this Dinah Washington album, the famed Telefunken U-47 microphone was used during the recording process. No mention of Bob Fine (the person) that I saw. Highlighted notes, Richard, from Clyde Otis, Mercury Records' Recording Director ststes;

"This recording session was made stereophonically and monaurally at Fine Recording Studios, New York, NY. George Piros handled the audio engineering controls. The massed strings wre reproduced thru a Telefunken U-47 microphone...The rhythm section provided more of a challenge for it was necessary to record the unit as a cohesive whole, yet the arrangements made it essential that at times, certain instruments be highlighted during the score. As a result, the rhythm section was grouped together with a Telefunken U-47 overall, Steinway piano used the RCA44BX. Bass Guitar used a BK5 mic, Drums and percussion the RCA44BX...Vocalists harmonizing on the recording worked to a Telefunken U-47. Overall session was recorded at 15 IPS on an Ampex 350 tape recorder to RIAA - (Record Industry Association of America) standards... signature: Clyde Otis, Mercury Recording Director.

Here is an interesting blub on the back cover, a note pertaining to Dinah Washington:

"...She has something more: musicianship. She can "act out" a song and, in the acting, infuse in it a quality no other singer ever quite supplies. She literally adds another dimension. This is an accomplishment that marks the work of only the most extraordinary performers...

Listen to Dinah as she sings. She is probably the best "blues" singer of our day, and the definition is employed in it's broadest, possible sense. She brings to a song an earthy, elemental beefiness of attack that is a blend of instinct and exposure. She knows the mood, all right, because that's the way her world is...she has the courage of her knowledge -- she sings it right out so you have to listen!..."

So Richard, based on the great recording technique used by Mercury, Engineer George Piros back in 1959; combined with the talent of Ms. Dinah Washington, this truly has made for an enjoyable album that caught my attention the other night. As I said previous, I'm not even a Dinah Washington fan, per se, but I liked this album, that's for sure.

Anyway, thanks for your post Richard, my NoCal music neighbor! I'll close with the song listing from the album (Mercury #SR 60232) from D. Washington:
SIDE I - "This Bitter Earth" 2:25
"I Understand" 2:35
"This Love Of Mine"
"Alone" 2:20
"Somewhere Along The Line"
"The Song Has Ended (But The Melody Lingers On)" (Irving Berlin)
SIDE II:

"Everybody Loves Somebody"
"Ask A Woman Who Knows"
"A Man Only Does (What A Woman Makes Him Do)"
"A Bad Case Of The Blues"
"When I Fall In Love"
"Unforgettable" (Irving Gordon)
==========================================================
Ed

"Some Folks Need An Education ... Don't Give Up Or We'll Lose The Nation" C. 1970 MARK FARNER of Grand Funk Railroad from "Sin's A Good Man's Brother"

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