I CAN'T GIVE YOU ANYTHING BUT MONO
RAFAEL | MIAMI | 08/30/2009
(1 out of 5 stars)
"When I first saw this release on Amazon I jumped! My Lord, someone had the same idea I always had: to compile the Dietrich/Bacharach oeuvre! Was I ever disappointed! First off, as all Dietrich fans are well aware, there are no CD debuts here. Everything on this release has been available on CD before in dozens of compilations worldwide. As astute Dietrich fans are also aware, a lot of this material has never been issued in STEREO before. For some diabolical reason, the recordings that Marlene made for French, British, and German EMI in the sixties, have always made it to CD in their mono versions. It was my hope that this particular compilation would correct that problem. It has not. Two of my favorite songs, Cherche La Rose and Dejeuner Du Matin, the main reasons I purchased this CD, are the same tired mono tracks we have been handed since day one. Why? What is the point of issuing recordings in MONO when STEREO versions offer a fuller sonic spectrum? To make matters worse here, all 20 tracks on this release have less than desirable sound. It would seem to me that if a label is going to go to the trouble of licensing material from three separate companies (BMG, Universal, EMI), presumably to issue a for collectors-only-release, that label would take the same pains it obviously did in selecting the material to make sure that sonically they were giving their buyers the very best. This is not the case here. This is a great idea gone awry. The 20 tracks are all Dietrich classics, but the sound is shoddy and not up to modern standards. Why issue previously released material that is readily available elsewhere if you are not going to improve on it in any way? It's a waste of time, and most of all, a waste of money for the unsuspecting fan. As we stand, the STEREO versions of Dietrich's European EMI sixties recordings have yet to be released on CD. Perhaps one day some A&R man at some EMI office somewhere who was not previously a night manager at Burger King, and who actually knows a thing or two about the recording industry, will realize this fact, decide to remedy the situation, and give us beautiful stereo versions of Cherche La Rose, Dejeuner Du Matin, and countless others, plus all the different takes of Just a Gigolo. But I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you. And I wouldn't waste my money on this CD either, which, by the way, comes in no-frills, cardboard packaging. In the meantime, does anyone at EMI know that the bulk of the material The Andrews Sisters recorded for Capitol in the late fifties has never been on CD either? Does anyone at EMI actually care?"
Track Listings (20) - Disc #1