Search - Bing Crosby :: El Senor Bing (Deluxe Edition)

From Arne Fogel - like three albums in one!

Arnold L. Fogel | 07/13/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"EL SENOR BING:

Incredible presentation on this new CD re-issue. -

An interesting new addition to the growing number of original Crosby albums on CD, EL SENOR BING was, in it's original form, Bing's 1960 entry in the pop-vocal LP trend of the early 60s showcasing star singers in a latin instrumental setting. Other prominent sets that come immediately to mind as part of this trend were Peggy Lee's classic set "LATIN ALA LEE" and Dean Martin's CHA CHA D'AMOUR. Bing is in wonderfully robust voice here, and his highly syncopated, yet laid-back approach to singing against Billy May's distinctive rhythms ("Down Argentine Way" is a great example) is irresistible.

I'm glad to finally have a stereo version of this album in ANY form by the way; up till now I have never run across a stereo copy of the original LP. From the day I first saw this album, when it was relatively new and still in the record stores, it was always the mono version that I found in the racks. I found this to be curious, as if the stereo version was not well distributed in this country. So it's wonderful to have this bright, clean new crystal-clear stereo presentation. But there's a real revelation in the newly-discovered mono mix of the complete album, heard in it's entirety in this set as bonus tracks : Re-issue producer Robert Bader has unearthed and refurbished a mono mix in which the Billy May backing is brought considerably forward, and the intricacies of the arrangements are heard to much punchier effect. Hearing the entire album's worth of songs in this new way, is a marvelous bonus and makes this CD's presentation truly a "Deluxe" one, living up to the billing. Further bonus tracks include more of the Crosby - Buddy Cole collection: A group of Spanish songs that defy description, as Bing offers some of the most sympathetic and deeply-felt vocalizations of his entire career. Surely, this material must have held special meaning for him.

This new presentation of "El Senor Bing" is truly like three albums in one. Adding to this, the package is wrapped up, as was the original LP, in the most amusingly and imaginatively conceived album cover of Bing's career. I don't know who created this collage of textures and fabric, but it shapes up as one of the greatest Crosby caricatures of the hundreds I've seen over the years, and is the perfect introduction to a splendid and unique Bing Crosby listening experience."

Bing Sounds Great South of the Border!

Jon Oye | IL, US | 06/09/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Truth be told, though I'm a Crosby fan, I'd never found this album enticing enough to pull off of the old record shelf with any level of regularity through the years, and not just because playing a vinyl record became increasingly inconvenient in a world of CD, then MP3, technology. But, after listening to this newly remastered Collector's Choice CD release a couple of times, it has jumped several notches on the Bing-O-meter. The previous problem, which I couldn't quite pinpoint until now, was always with the original stereo mix.



Until the late 1960s, LPs were mixed for their monophonic releases first; their stereophonic counterparts were usually secondary on a producer's list of priorities, and far less studio time was spent on them. Unfortunately, the stereo mix of "El Señor Bing" apparently suffered a bit more than most LPs for that reason. Billy May's backing, relegated to one of the two channels (symptomatic of early stereo mixes), always sounded uncharacteristically tinny and distant, as though it were playing through an antique Victrola. As a result, Bing's voice simply overwhelmed its accompaniment.



Freshly remastered, the stereo mix sounds much better on this first-time CD release, but the real revelation is the bonus MONO mix of each of the tracks. In them, the full, robust Billy May sound comes through loud and clear, and they resonate much more appealingly to these ears than the stereo versions. Curiously, these mono cuts were mixed sans backing vocals, along with other subtle variations, and according to the liner notes were probably used as a kind of working model of the LP-in-progress. They are available here for the first time in any format.



When this album came out in 1960, "singalong" records were all the rage among the over 40 crowd, thanks in equal parts to famed producer-conductor Mitch Miller's success in this niche and to the older musical establishment's willingness to try anything it could to maintain a foothold in a recording industry that was becoming more and more dominated by the youth market. Bing duly recorded a series of singalong LPs during the late Ike and early Camelot years, and "El Señor Bing" fits that format. Each track is sort of a mini-medley, a duo of Spanish and/or South-of-the-border flavored tunes, and Bing performs them in his usual masterful, mellifluous manner, sparked by May's high octane orchestration.



Not quite in the category of such Crosby masterpieces as "Songs I Wish I Had Sung (the First Time Around)," "Bing With a Beat" or "Fancy Meeting You Here," but a very worthwhile and enjoyable collection nonetheless."

Finally on CD!

David Foe | E. Lansing, MI USA | 06/01/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This 1960-ish collaboration between Bing and Billy May has been unavailable for ages and had never been released on CD. As a result this album will be unfamiliar to many. I found "El Senor Bing" to be very listenable, with all the selections as two-song medleys. Bing is in great voice on this album, and the song selections are quite good, with many standards but also some quality tunes that are rarely heard (i.e., "Marta", "Rose in Her Hair," "Again," etc.). The Billy May Orchestra keeps things upbeat. On this CD there is also a separate mono mix of the album as well as some Latin-themed selections with Buddy Cole and his Trio. Very nice!"