Michael Fremer

Way back in 1994 (that's 22 years ago for those of you who forget how quickly time flies by) I was a guest on Gil Gross's radio talk show on the now defunct CBS Radio Network. Gil's show was mostly about politics but he made some room for other topics and on July, 29th, 1994 he had me in the studio for an hour-long show called "CDs vs. LPs: which is better?" Can you guess where I came down here?.

Before you pay $100 for any record you have to ask yourself if you really like the music, right? Then the question becomes is this version that much better than the one you already have, assuming you already have one.

Three years before he passed away in 1983 at age 60 from lung cancer, a somewhat diminished Johnny Hartman entered Ben Rizzi's Master Sound Productions in the small Long Island 'burb of Franklin Square and recorded this album for the small Bee Hive label. It would be his next to final appearance on record, and one that earned him a "Best Male Jazz Vocalist" Grammy Nomination.

By now you know the drill: The Electric Recording Company finds a collectible and music-worthy title to reissue and does its fanatical-attention-to-details thing, both in the mastering from the original tape on a lovingly restored all-tube cutting system to a meticulously produced record sleeve and jacket that are in most ways difficult to distinguish from the original as described in previous ERC reviews.