Multitalented Brazilian musician Jobim's talent was revealed to a larger world in 1959 by his and Luis Bonfa's score for the film Orfeu Negro (Black Orpheus) in 1959. Songs such as "A Felicidade" and "Desafinado" generated the bossa nova movement of the early '60s that inspired the likes of Stan Getz, Charlie Byrd, and Miles Davis. This 1967 album features Jobim sharing vocals with Sinatra on "The Girl from Ipanema" and "How Insensitive." Three standards--"Change Partners" by Irving Berlin; "I Concentrate on You" by Cole Porter; and Robert Wright, George Forrest, and Alexander Borodin's "Baubles, Bangles, and Beads"--round out the program of seven Jobim tunes. This is a lovely taste of Latin melody and rhythm from two masters of relaxed swing. --Stanley Booth
Released to coincide with the tenth anniversary of Frank Sinatra's passing (May 14, 1998), Nothing But The Best salutes "The Voice" with an essential single-disc compilation of hits. It features 21 legendary songs from "The Chairman Of The Board," plus a previously unissued version of "Body And Soul." The collection is part of an international initiative between the newly created Frank Sinatra Enterprises (FSE), Warner Home Video, MGM Home Entertainment, Turner Classic Movies, and the United States Postal Service to honor Frank Sinatra, whose music and movies had an everlasting impact on popular culture. For a limited time, Nothing But The Best will contain a collectible, commemorative Sinatra stamp with official USPS first-day issue cancellation.
Mobster Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel may have laid the physical cornerstones of Las Vegas, but it was Francis Albert Sinatra who gave Sin City its swinging musical soul. Spanning a quarter century, this four-CD-plus-bonus-DVD collection of previously unreleased recordings captures spirited Sinatra shows at the Sands, Caesar's, and Golden Nugget--performances that initially underscore the salutary effect the desert playground had on the singer's muse, then warmly chronicle the autumn years of a triumphant career. A pair of '60s gigs at the Sands (of which Sinatra was part owner) capture an artist still building on his musical legacy in the midst of rock's rising fortunes. The 1961 show turns on the riches of his Capitol years, a musically straightforward set that balances the singer's interpretations of reflective material like "Moonlight in Vermont" and "In the Still of the Night" with upbeat, typically playful renditions of such Sinatra signatures as "Young at Heart," "The Lady Is a Tramp," and "Witchcraft." But it's the '66 performance that may be the most intriguing for Sinatraphiles: A live workout with Count Basie and his orchestra that eschews the singer's mid-decade comeback hits--and even material from the recent Sinatra-Basie collaboration--in favor of a sassy set that's less summit meeting than swinging soirée, a freewheeling highlight reel from his back catalog that finds singer and band engaging each other with playful, often dizzy abandon. The anthology's '82 and '87 sets from Caesar's and the Golden Nugget, respectively, aren't nearly as musically challenging, showcasing a vocalist and still-boisterous crowd-pleaser who might have stopped breaking musical ground, yet never ceased reveling in the glories--and laughs--he could still bring to the moment. Rat Pack partner in crime Dean Martin stops by Caesar's for some good-natured razzing, while daughter Nancy guests on the set's lovably ditzy take on "Somethin' Stupid." The bonus DVD captures another unreleased rarity, an entire May 1978 Caesar's gig taped by CBS during a period when the singer had largely retreated from the spotlight. While his voice sometimes betrays the ravages of time on these later performances, Sinatra's mercurial humor and indomitable spirit simply spirit won't be denied. --Jerry McCulley
Frank Sinatra "My Way: The Best of Frank Sinatra"
$16.07
24-track collection that includes many of Sinatra's most famous songs from his Reprise & Capitol repertoire. Highlights include signature songs such as 'My Way', 'New York New York' & 'Strangers In The Night' which are complemented by lesser known, but sought after material such as his cover of Stevie Wonder's 'For Once In My Life'. Warner. 1997.
Frank Sinatra "Classic Sinatra: His Greatest Performances 1953-1960"
$6.98
Few would dispute that Frank Sinatra was one of the greatest popular singers of the 20th century. His voice had distinct power and majesty, whether he was belting out a swinging dance number or softly crooning a tender ballad. When he was at his height, no one could touch him, and the songs collected on Classic Sinatra showcase the range of his talent. Recorded during his memorable run for Capitol Records in the 1950s, the songs here are more than just his best, they're often the definitive recordings: "I Get a Kick out of You," "Young at Heart," "Witchcraft," "The Lady Is a Tramp," "In the Wee Small Hours," and "I've Got You Under My Skin." Like almost everything Sinatra recorded during this period, there isn't a dud to be found, which makes Classic Sinatra a perfect introduction to the work of this truly great talent. --Robert Burrow
The first of many artistic milestones in the long and illustrious collaboration of Frank Sinatra and arranger Nelson Riddle that began at Capitol Records, In the Wee Small Hours is a first in other notable ways, as well: it was the pair's first 12-inch LP; their first album devoted entirely to ballads; the first "concept album," a program of songs designed to be heard in a particular sequence that sustains a mood and suggests a story; the introduction of Sinatra's definitive "saloon singer" persona; and the first flowering of Sinatra's mature artistic sensibility. Oh, and it's a masterpiece, too. The cover portrait suggests the mood of late-night desolation almost as effectively as the music, with Sinatra in the corner, smoking a solitary cigarette on deserted street illuminated only by the a foggy, blue-green glow of lamplight. Loneliness, thy name is Frank! They say that memories of Ava Gardner caused him to break down after finishing this aching version of "When Your Lover Has Gone." Riddle's clarinet theme for "What Is this Thing Called Love?" is as haunting as Cole Porter's melody itself. And if there's a more devastating evocation of solitude than "It Never Entered My Mind"... well it must be on Only the Lonely. With songs like "I'll Be Around" and "Dancing on the Ceiling" to suggest at least the hope of hope, Wee Small Hours may flirt with despair, but never succumbs to it. It's the kind of comforting company that misery likes best. --Jim Emerson
Frank Sinatra "Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely"
$9.00
Look past the tacky, sad-clown velvet painting on the cover (a Grammy-winner for album design in 1959!), there's nothing cheap or sentimental about this record--the bleakest and blackest album of popular songs ever recorded, so quietly powerful it can leave you slumped in your chair with the ice cubes still rattling in your glass. Every single "suicide song" (as Sinatra liked to call 'em) on Only the Lonely is a stunner that will take your breath away. Nelson Riddle's arrangements are like shadows, almost colorless and motionless, so that all you hear is the ache in the singer's voice. "Angel Eyes" and "One for My Baby" each deserve an album to themselves-- so exquisitely moving that at the end of three minutes you feel like you've just heard a lifetime of loneliness. My only regret--and it's a big one--is that this flawless masterpiece doesn't include Billy Strayhorn's "Lush Life," which truly belongs here; Sinatra put it into an already overcrowded recording schedule and, when fatigue and the difficulty of the song defeated him after a couple takes, he gave up and never attempted it again. We got the chillingly lovely "Willow Weep For Me" instead, so I'm really not complaining--but that just adds to the pang of loss that this album expresses so vividly. Drink up! --Jim Emerson
Frank Sinatra "The Very Best of Frank Sinatra"
$23.74
A great, comprehensive collection of Sinatra's most popular Reprise tracks, and worth having for any number of reasons, Very Best Of features tons of familiar hits--but requires a caveat for casual Sinatra fans. When Sinatra formed Reprise, he began to re-record many of the sides he'd released on Capitol, in an attempt to transfer his catalog to the new label. It was a smooth move, but his re-recorded versions seldom replaced the originals in the way he'd hoped. And many of the familiar songs here are Capitol remakes. It'd be a task to compare the track listing here with that of the Capitol Years set, but if you want to get serious about your Sinatra, that's the way to go. If you're just a music fan, this is a gem. --Gavin McNett
Frank Sinatra "Sinatra Reprise: The Very Good Years"
$11.77
A 20-track collection from the Reprise years that tries to cover too much ground. Very Good Years sweeps from the early 1960s to 1979's "New York New York," focusing on the most obvious Sinatra standards. The watchword here isn't art but populism. That's not a problem, really--but it means that serious fans (or those aspiring to be) will be better served elsewhere. It would be a fine introduction for the casual music lover, but so would any decent collection. For a compact Reprise-era sampler, try either this one or something from the Greatest Hits series. --Gavin McNett
Including Sinatra's finest recordings from the most consistently accomplished era of his career, The Capitol Years includes three discs and 75 songs worth of swinging standards and bittersweet saloon pop, the music Sinatra made after his career and personal life had crashed and singing was all he had left. His masterful baritone and remarkable phrasing here work in perfect combination with arrangements that swing and swell to the heartbeat of loves lost and found. It is these performances for which Sinatra will be forever remembered, for surely, no one has ever created music more beautiful than this. --David Cantwell
