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Sweet Smell of Success 60th Anniversary CD


Teasing the Korean

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Verve has released a 60th anniversary CD edition of The Sweet Smell of Success combining both the Elmer Bernstein and Chico Hamilton albums.   This is taken from the master tapes; previous releases were sourced from vinyl.

https://www.amazon.com/Sweet-Smell-Success-Anniversary-Expanded/dp/B071K8Q4LD/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1506782354&sr=8-1&keywords=bernstein+Sweet+Smell

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My copy arrived today.  It includes the original cover art for both albums, reproduced in full on separate panels. 

Also, the Chico Hamilton tracks are integrated into the program, presumably to recreate the film order.  

The suite of themes appearing on side 2 of the Chico Hamilton album appears as the final track.

I will spin this tomorrow and report back on the sound quality. 

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I got mine today too and will be listening tomorrow.  Peter Bernstein's notes mention a a big band record Elmer  made.  Google led me to the name: Blues and Brass but it seems to have never come out on cd.  There's an Lp offered on Amazon for $99.  Has anyone here ever heard this? 

Edited by medjuck
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Wow, my thanks as well for the heads-up on this.  I have the old Cherry Red CD that combined both albums but will definitely get this reissue.  Marc Myers wrote about this movie recently, also prompted by the reissue; here's his blog post, and here's the Night Lights show I did a few years ago that included interviews with James Naremore (film scholar who wrote the British Film Institute volume for Sweet Smell Of Success) and Phil Ford:

Sweet Smell Of Success: Jazz Meets Showbiz Noir

Edited by ghost of miles
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Well, if you have the El/Cherry Red CD, don't unload it yet. 

The new Verve edition inexplicably omits the Chico Hamilton track "Jonalah," which is one of my favorites.  I compared the overall disc times on both discs to make sure that it didn't get indexed with another track, but the El/Cherry Red CD runs two to three minutes longer than the Verve.

That said, the sound on the Verve CD is an improvement.  Also, integrating both albums creates more sonic and textural variety than the individual albums offered.  I like both albums more now that I hear them together. 

Still, I wonder why that one track was left off.  

 
 
Edited by Teasing the Korean
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5 hours ago, Teasing the Korean said:

Well, if you have the El/Cherry Red CD, don't unload it yet. 

The new Verve edition inexplicably omits the Chico Hamilton track "Jonalah," which is one of my favorites.  I compared the overall disc times on both discs to make sure that it didn't get indexed with another track, but the El/Cherry Red CD runs two to three minutes longer than the Verve.

That said, the sound on the Verve CD is an improvement.  Also, integrating both albums creates more sonic and textural variety than the individual albums offered.  I like both albums more now that I hear them together. 

Still, I wonder why that one track was left off.  

 
 

There are  two versions (one listed as "alternate" ) available for download on Amazon and they seem to be from a previous release of a soundtrack album. There's also a version on a non-soundtrack album.

Edited by medjuck
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I was going crazy trying to figure out where I'd heard the  cue "Susan (The Sage)" before.  I eventually discovered that it was on an early (the first?) Chico Hamilton Quintet Lp under the title "The Sage" and credited just to Fred Katz.  Hamilton's name is added as co-composer for the film.   BTW There's also an alternate and longer version of this available for download on Amazon.  I think these downloads are from the EL/Cherry Red cd.

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14 hours ago, medjuck said:

I was going crazy trying to figure out where I'd heard the  cue "Susan (The Sage)" before.  I eventually discovered that it was on an early (the first?) Chico Hamilton Quintet Lp under the title "The Sage" and credited just to Fred Katz.  Hamilton's name is added as co-composer for the film.   BTW There's also an alternate and longer version of this available for download on Amazon.  I think these downloads are from the EL/Cherry Red cd.

Interesting.  "Jonalah" is on Chico Hamilton in Hi-Fi.  My LPs are in storage right now.  I wonder if the Sweet Smell of Success track is the same version?  

 
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They're nearly the same length.  Another anomaly:  The discography in the notes doesn't give any info on tracks 2 and 8.  They both seem to be big bands conducted by Bernstein but written by Katz-Hamilton.  Probably because of the authorship the track line-up  lists them both as being by the Chico Hamilton Quintet. They're obviously not played by a quintet and they both appear on the Lp of just Elmer's music. I would be curious to know who plays on them though track 2 (Hot Dogs and Juice) is a pretty awful attempt at Rock 'n Roll.  

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