Steve Lawrence - Sings of Love / Sad Young Men/Portrait of Steve

Sings of Love / Sad Young Men/Portrait of Steve  (Two Albums On One CD)

By Steve Lawrence

Very Good Condition

Steve Lawrence fans count the Patrick Williams-arranged 1967 release Sings of Love and Sad Young Men as one of his very best albums, while 1972's Portrait of Steve is the only album he recorded with arranger Nelson Riddle…'nuff said!

A Review:

I'm glad that six other people gave this five stars, which, to me, means they know nothing about recording or quality. So, let's get down to brass tacks. These are two wonderful albums, classics - Mr. Lawrence is in great voice and the Pat Williams and Nelson Riddle charts are tops, which is why I'm giving it two rather than one star. Now, apparently at some point Mr. Lawrence and Ms. Gorme ended up owning their masters. I'm not sure how that happens, since Columbia paid for the recordings, but if that's the kind of stupid deal Columbia made so be it. I have no way of knowing what the actual source for this CD is, but let's start with Steve Lawrence sings of Love and Sad Young Men. The one thing we know is that whatever the source (LP or tape) it ain't stereo. Yep, you heard that right, it's MONO. This was a seriously brilliant stereo recording - Columbia did incredible work back then. Here we get frequently distorted mono that does no favors to singer or band. Shameful, really. The Portrait of Steve is thankfully stereo, although I don't think Mr. Lawrence has a clue about sound or recordings because nothing has been even been given a perfunctory remastering. Mr. Lawrence, have a little respect for the artistry of both you as singer and for the great band and the amazing charts of Mr. Williams - these should sound amazing, but when the only interest is money, this is what you get. Give these to someone who will get the first generation masters and do them properly. What a disappointment.

Tracklist