‘Songs for Swingin’ Lovers!’ Spot Light on Carefree Sinatra

Posted on January 24, 2012 by kennamc Leave a comment

1956

“Songs for Swingin’ Lovers!” was produced by one of Frank Sinatra’s long-time collaborators Voyle Gilmore. The fourth studio album was recorded in 1956 by Sinatra for Capitol Records.

Once again, Sinatra teams up with Nelson Riddle, who arranges and conducts a powerful yet subtle swinging album that is upbeat, jazzy and brash. As you listen to the album, you can’t help but notice Sinatra bounces off the hard-hitting horns while at the same time floats romantically along the breezy sounds of the woodwinds.

Comparing this album with Sinatra’s earlier albums about tragic love gone wrong, “Songs for Swingin’ Lovers!” puts the spot light on Sinatra’s carefree and easy-going side. He is hip, bubbly, energetic and bold with standards like “You Make Me Feel Young,” “Love is Here to Stay” and “I’ve Got You Under My Skin.”

Even with light and cheery songs such as “Makin Whoopee” and “Anything Goes” Sinatra delivers a deep romantic ballad. One can’t help but feel the vibration of Sinatra’s expansive and fluid voice with the ultimate precision of clarity – Sinatra knew how to accentuate the vowels between the consonants.

1957

For the first time ever, “Songs for Swingin’ Lovers!” scored as the number one album in the U.K. for three weeks. The popular album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2000. The success of the album continued in 2003 when Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the “500 greatest albums of all time” ranked the album number 306.

An interesting note for collectors, the 1956 album cover showed Sinatra turned away from the young couple and in 1957 the album cover was altered with Sinatra facing them. The final album cover stayed the same and is used even today with every CD released.

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Sinatra and Riddle’s Greatest Collaboration

Posted on January 17, 2012 by kennamc Leave a comment

“The Concert” started as a promising renewal of Frank Sinatra and Nelson Riddle collaboration. The production turned out to be the finest of the era.

Sinatra is at his very best singing performances at the same time he displays jubilant sentiment. Riddle offers one of his finest arrangements most noticeable in the ballad “I Have a Dream” from the Broadway hit “The King and I”.

Reprise Records released the album in 1963 with the title referring to the grand orchestra. Undoubtedly, a Sinatra fan can agree, this was the largest ever collaboration that Sinatra and Riddle brought together, particularly, for this recording.

With that said, the title should not confuse you into thinking that it is a recording of a true live performance, even though the premise was simple. Clearly above all other early albums this Reprise album is purely enjoyable and may be hard to beat as the overall best. I can see Sinatra and Riddle proudly listening to the final rendition; thinking, “We did a dam good job.”

Reportedly, “The Concert Sinatra” is Riddle’s favorite of all Reprise albums. Interestingly too, is that it was initially recorded with 35mm tape.

With the composition of Richard Rogers the album’s cream of Broadway show tunes stand out brilliantly as Sinatra sings light and subtle. In spite of the rather large number of musicians, the orchestration is not domineering or arrogant. It’s more like grand and far-reaching with epic scenery for the best-loved songs such as “Lost in the Stars”, “Soliloquy” and “You’ll Never Walk Alone”.

All stunning songs demonstrate Sinatra’s extensive emotional reach with melodramas like “Ol’ Man River” to tender, warm and romantic “Bewitched”. Without a doubt this is a very fulfilling album that outshines all other Sinatra albums of this era. Some fans my say that he put his heart and soul into this album, and every bit of it is worth a listen over and over again.

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My One and Only Sinatra

Posted on January 10, 2012 by kennamc Leave a comment

Nelson and Sinatra

Frank Sinatra fans can’t help but take a look and listen to 1956 Capitol Records release of “This is Sinatra!” because the album contains both Frank Sinatra B-sides and singles.

Sinatra joined up with arranger and conductor Nelson Riddle. Riddle is known for being a long-time collaborator, and he orchestrated some of Sinatra’s greatest tracks, but never won a Grammy with him.

This album marks the first ever collection of his singles and unfortunately the album has not been reissued as a compact disc. You can find the album in The Capitol Years Twenty-One Compact Disc Set.

Another interesting note about the tracks is that they are within the box set The Complete Capitol Singles Collection and different Capitol re-releases. So, a true Sinatra fan can easily pick up the album and listen to some Sinatra highlights of his former hits.

Such highlights focus on former hits with such artists as June Christy, Nat “King” Cole, and Dean Martin and of course we get to hear Sinatra by himself. When the album was release, it became very popular and a “must own” for any true fan at the time.

This popular album starts with the unruly “I’ve Got the World on a String” featuring wonderful tracks like “South of the Border,” “Learnin’ the Blues,” “The Gal That Got Away,” and even movie theme songs like “Young at Heart,” “Three Coins in a Fountain,” and “The Tender Trap.” “Don’t Worry ‘Bout Me” and “Rain”. Sure there are gloomier ballads for those days of wine and roses, but you can’t help but appreciate the collaboration between Sinatra and Riddle.

The display of depth in his singles is astounding. The shear, sparkling passionate ballad “My One and Only Love” is an original he sings that instantly becomes a much-coveted standard, yet the song is rarely associated with Sinatra. Although “This Is Sinatra!” has not been in print for several decades. It is a diamond to be found in various Capitol Records compilation and reissues.

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Sinatra’s ‘Nothing But The Best’

Posted on January 3, 2012 by kennamc 1 Comment

Warner Bros. Records released “Nothing But The Best” as a compilation album in 2008 to honor the tenth anniversary of the passing of Frank Sinatra.

The recordings on this album are tracks during the time Sinatra recorded during the time he was recording at his Reprise label. Produced by Charles Pignone, predictably, the album went gold in December 2008.

Pignone is the author of New York Times bestseller “The Sinatra Treasures” and once held the position as president of the Sinatra Society of America. He works as an archivist and producer for the Sinatra family – as well as the vice-president of Frank Sinatra Enterprises.

In an interview with Rhine, Pignone talks openly about Sinatra’s style and banter with other musicians. The interview is definitely worth viewing for any Sinatra fan or newbie to the legend.

“Nothing But The Best” was produced in three versions: The Standard version of 22 recordings and one bonus and some have another one, not all; Christmas version of 22 recordings plus a bonus and 12 Christmas songs; and then the Compact Disc and DVD version with the 22 recordings and a bonus plus a DVD of a concert about Sinatra.

Some say this is one of the best compilations of Sinatra’s work, and I have to agree, because they are all singles. The collection contains predominately 1960s songs with an added bonus rendition of “Body and Soul” recorded in 1984, never issued until now.

All the tracks have been remastered with notable songs like “My Kind of Town” and “Luck Be a Lady.” Then, we hear the melancholy, more mature material such as “Strangers in the Night,” “Summer Wind” and “It Was a Very Good Year.”

Another delight is bossa nova song “The Girl from Ipanema” performed with Antonio Carlos Jobim. “Ipanema” is a must-listen-to-this song, proving Sinatra’s versatility. Then there is the treasure with his daughter Nancy called “Somthin’ Stupid” such a refreshing hit song of 1967. The title of this album says it all – “Nothing but the Best”.

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Sinatra Records with the Best in ‘Duets’

Posted on December 27, 2011 by kennamc Leave a comment

Capitol Records released “Duets” in 1993 with a wonderful marketing strategy. The album was produced by Rhil Ramone and musically directed by Patrick Williams. The album obviously was recorded toward the end of Frank Sinatra’s distinguished career.

The recording contains duets teaming Sinatra with other guest singers who are stars in their own right. Sinatra individually picked the artists of different styles and genre. It was marketed as “The Recording Event of The Decade” – which was not far from the truth.

The album lacked personal association in that guest artists were not physically near Sinatra when they recorded their part. Instead, they were singing together with Sinatra’s pre-recorded vocal tracks over a telecommunications hook up or link. For that reason, the performances seem uneven with Sinatra grandstanding on his end to keep the interest up while the others camp it up on their end to give a sense of being with Sinatra. It could be that, in reality, the critics slanted this viewpoint. Truthfully, the production was and is a great idea. Why not have both Sinatra and other popular singers perform on the same album, together, as if they were in the same studio.

All in all, the recording became a huge commercial success, peaking at #2 with the Billboard Album Chart and hitting #5 with the UK while selling more than 3 million albums in the U.S. The public was buying nostalgia or a sentimental piece of art – I don’t blame them.

The way “Duets” was produced and brought the idea to the forefront without discounting the emotional core Sinatra could deliver in his voice. Sure, one can only wish these great artists were all in the same room together, creating beautiful tunes or on stage in a live performance. In reality, that didn’t even happen when this type of technology wasn’t available. As technology evolves, we are fortunate to have such recordings available long past Sinatra’s illustrious career.

The album’s cover art presents an extraordinary rendition of Frank Sinatra painted by LeRoy Neiman. The top performers on the album are Bono, Liza Minnelli, Barbra Streisand, Aretha Franklin and Carly Simon. The liner notes are by Rolling Stone’s David Wild.

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