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Reviews: Mel Torme: Velvet & Brass

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Reviews: 2

Review by djcowboy March 7, 2006 (3 of 3 found this review helpful)
Performance:   Sonics:
I think this is one of the better multi-channel recordings I have. The sound is rich, smooth and clear without being bright.

The Orchestra (Really a Big Band:) has been given a vast soundstage with instruments coming from varying angles and sound levels. On the softer ballads the piano is pushed further back in the sound stage giving Mel a more prominent position.This is not the distracting kind of surround you get with Pop Music or DVD movies; It's more of the ambiance enhancing variety.

Listen to "Love Walked In" and you will know what I mean. Just listen to the horn solo and you will hear the performer placed somewhere outside of the left speaker...close to the side wall. Not that phantom image you sometimes get when you have a speaker placed too close to the sidewall but, more of a realistic person performing right there in the corner of my room.

Then there's Mel. Smooth, silky and cool. I don't think his voice was as powerful as it used to be, but sometimes control is more important. I find this Mel more appealing because his voice has a little more charactor in this recording than some of his earlier recordings. Concord captures this richness better than most, on their vocal recordings and they have done a exceptional job again. If you have ever seen Mel perform you will remember how he formed his notes, how he worked the microphone and how he would tilt his head back slightly to get more volume. Close your eyes and you can see it all here in your minds eye. That's how well they've done this recording.

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Review by analogue March 27, 2009 (2 of 2 found this review helpful)
Performance:   Sonics:
It's really to bad that alot of the Record Company's that initially supported sacd have dropped out of that market. It's even more unfortunate that Concord has done so considering tnat their sacd's are really fabulous.

It seems to me that Mel Torme's voice just got better and better with age. Don't know how he did this but it's great for us to hear this compilation of songs with such a great backing archestra behind him. I won;t go into a track by track explanation and description suffice it to say that this sacd is a real winner as far as sound quality is concerned. If you know and like Mel Torme I cant recommend this sacd to you without my highest endorsement. Concord took their sacd transfers very seriously and made their transfers with great care.

This is one of their better ones.

The music on this album is rich, detailed and somewhat thick. It also has a somewhat cool feel to the sound but in a good way. The musicianship is clearly evident and while some songs sound derivative to me the majority are of great quality and artistic merit. Torme's voice is rendered very beautifully and you can follow it's structure and flow easily and the instruments come across with great realism and bounce.

This is simply great big band music with a great singer.

Highly recommended.

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