Albums

The Song Is You (Box Set) – CD 1

By |2017-06-10T00:19:37+03:00March 8th, 2012|Categories: Albums|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

The first CD of The Song Is You Box Set has many great songs of Frank Sinatra as expected; and firstly, let us take a look at the song list.

Frank Sinatra The Song Is You Box Set CD 1

Frank Sinatra The Song Is You Box Set CD 1

 

Frank Sinatra The Song Is You Box Set CD 1 Song List

Frank Sinatra The Song Is You Box Set CD 1 Song List

The Song Is You Box Set, CD 1 Song List

1. The Sky Fell Down
2. Too Romantic
3. Shake Down the Stars
4. Moments in the Moonlight
5. I’ll Be Seeing You
6. Say It
7. Polka Dots and Moonbeams
8. Fable of the Rose
9. This Is the Beginning of the End
10. Hear My Song, Violetta
11. Fools Rush in (Where Angels Fear to Tread)
12. Devil May Care
13. April Played the Fiddle
14. I Haven’t Time to Be a Millionaire
15. Imagination
16. Yours Is My Heart Alone
17. You’re Lonely and I’m Lonely
18. East of the Sun (And West of the Moon)
19. Head on My Pillow
20. It’s a Lovely Day Tomorrow
21. I’ll Never Smile Again
22. All This and Heaven Too
23. Where Do You Keep Your Heart

I’ll Be Seeing You, Fools Rush In, Imagination, I’ll Never Smile Again are the songs that draw the attention as they can be considered as the most popular songs of Frank Sinatra’s Tommy Dorsey era, but these are not all. The first CD of The Song Is You box set has many amazing songs. Following comments are on the songs that I find at least “worth” listening, in my humble opinion, for the first CD of The Song Is You Box Set.

 

The Sky Fell Down, a very smooth piece, is sang by Frank Sinatra very well, and always is a great alternative to his popular songs. Well performed and recommended.

Too Romantic, again a great example. Lyrics might not be the best, but performance of the orchestra and Sinatra  make up for it.

Shake Down The Stars can be considered as “different” compared to other songs in the disc due to the arrangement and tempo, which make it great! Hard to realize how fast the song plays, quite enjoyable. The song also includes good saxophone parts, simply beautiful orchestration.

Moments In The Moonlight: I find the trombone parts at the beginning and end too much and loud, but when Frank Sinatra starts to sing, his talent makes it unimportant for me. The way he phrases “Moonlight” and following parts are especially quite nice, unique to Sinatra himself.

I’ll Be Seeing You is no doubt a very important song of Sinatra. Very hard to describe the beauty of this song with words. “I’ll be looking at the moon” part at minute 2:00 is sang a bit fast in my opinion, but the rest is pure perfection. Excellent performance and orchestration. No doubt it is many people’s favorite of Dorsey era.

Say It can be considered as an unpopular song of Sinatra. Nothing interesting with the lyrics, I like the “Say it, ooover and o-ver again” part though. Arrangement of finishing section could be better.

Polka Dots And Moonbeams is definitely one of my favorites, waiting for many people to be discovered. One of the many great songs that shows characteristics of Sinatra’s voice at the beginning of 1940’s. Recommended.

This Is The Beginning Of The End: Too fast. Sinatra loves to put emphasis on lyrics a lot, but when it is this fast, song loses a lot of its meaning, if it has any potential.

Fools Rush In (Where Angels Fear To Tread): Another treasure from 1940’s. Fools rush in, where wise men never go. But wise men never fall in love, so how are they to know? Just amazing, a must.

Devil May Care begins with an ordinary arrangement of big band era songs. Nothing special, but worth a try.

April Played The Fiddle: Good arrangement and orchestration, OK song.

I Haven’t Time to Be a Millionaire: Could be one of the songs of Sinatra that you listen once in a blue moon.

Imagination could use a much better arrangement as it has huge potential. Sinatra later proved that this song can be performed way more beautifully. Still, it is very nice to listen this song from the “early” Sinatra.

East Of The Sun: Here is an interestingly beautiful song. Arrangement is very well for this song, and Sinatra simply shows his amazing singing talent. If there were no vocals except Sinatra, East of The Sun could be a lot better.

I’ll Never Smile Again: Pied Pipers and Frank Sinatra at their best. Simply beautiful and charming song, could not get any better than this version. The more you listen the song, the better you realize how good it is. Perfection.

All This And Heaven Too is an unpopular song of early years of Frank Sinatra, despite its beauty. The song begins with a smooth arrangement, with an excellent combination of instruments, continuing with Sinatra’s charming performance. The song’s lyrics are also very well written by Jimmy Van Heusen.

You give me your love and your love is a melody,
Deep in my heart I will carry this song with me,
You bring a love so divine, all this is mine
And heaven too.

To sum up, the first CD of this 5 CD The Song Is You Box Set is very satisfactory and a very important piece for Frank Sinatra fans with its 23 songs. It helps us to understand Sinatra’s early years, which are quite marvelous, a lot better. In time, I will post information about other CD´s of The Song Is You box set.

L.A. Is My Lady (Album, 1984)

By |2017-06-10T00:19:40+03:00June 3rd, 2011|Categories: Albums|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

L.A. Is My Lady is the album Frank Sinatra recorded in the year 1984. Quincy Jones contributed to the L.A. Is My Lady album as the arranger and producer, and the album is released by Warner Bros. This is the last solo album of Frank Sinatra, since the following albums are the Duet albums.

Frank Sinatra L.A. Is My Lady Album Cover

The songs in L.A. Is My Lady album are as following:

1. L.A. Is My lady
2. The Best Of Everything
3. How Do You Keep The Music Playing
4. Teach Me Tonight
5. It’s All Right With Me
6. Mack The Knife
7. Until The Real Thing Comes Along
8. Stormy Weather
9. If I Should Lose You
10. A Hundred Years From Today
11. After You’ve Gone

Some of the songs are really nice in L.A. Is My Lady album.

LA Is my Lady: Nice performance, definitely worth listening. But i would go for the 1985 Japan concert version to get the most out of the song.
The Best of Everything: Could sound a lot better if it was recorded 15 years ago, but still very nice.
How Do You Keep The Music Playing: In my opinion, the best song in the album, and this is the best version of this song as well. It couldn’t be any better at all, and this song itself is enough to make the album worth listening. Tony Bennett sang this song as well but his version is not as good as Frank’s version, as expected.
Mack The Knife: Good song, but not an album song i think, this is a performance song. The album version is hardly bearable, but the 1985 Japan Concert version is simply fascinating. If you will listen to this song, again go for the Japan performance, like L.A. Is My Lady.
Stormy Weather: Sinatra recorded this song three times in his career, this version being the last one. I can’t decide whether Capitol version or this one is better, all are beautiful. Stormy Weather is a very nice song both music and lyricswise.

I don’t know why but when it comes to studio recordings, some Sinatra performances are really bad. But few years later, in a concert, Frank Sinatra sings the same song much more better. L.A. Is My Lady is a good example of this.

You can listen to the album version of How Do You Keep The Music Playing in the L.A. Is My Lady album from the video below.

Frank Sinatra – Cycles (Album, 1968)

By |2017-06-10T00:19:40+03:00June 3rd, 2011|Categories: Albums|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Cycles is an underrated album of Frank Sinatra, released in 1968, by Reprise Records. The songs are arranged by Don Costa.

Frank Sinatra Cycles Album Cover 1968

The songs in Cycles album are as following:

1. Rain In My Heart
2. Both Sides Now
3. Little Green Apples
4. Pretty Colors
5. Cycles
6. Wandering
7. By The Time I Get To Phoenix
8. Moody River
9. My Way Of Life
10. Gentle On My Mind

And here is a photo of my Cycles LP.

Frank Sinatra Cycles Lp 1968

Among all albums of Frank Sinatra, Cycles is my favorite one. I really love all the songs in the album, except Moody River, which i believe is not a good song and a wrong choice for the album. All the other songs have a unique and beautiful side, and when combined with Frank Sinatra’s amazing voice in late 1960’s, the album simply becomes the best. It is not a concept album, and it can be listened any time of the day. You don’t need to be in the mood for it, just play and enjoy.

The song “cycles” is a masterpiece itself, both lyrics-wise and music-wise.
“Pretty colors” and “rain in my heart” are two of the best songs for a desperate and sad lover, and “Both Sides Wow” is successfully performed. Not better than Bing Crosby’s live performance maybe, but still very nice.

The Both Sides Now performance of Bing Crosby I have just mentioned can be found below.

Other than these, “little green apples” and “gentle on my mind” are not the best songs of their kinds, but Sinatra’s voice is enough to make them worth listening. Both very beautiful songs.
Lastly, “wandering” is a very unique and impressive song of the Cycles album.

Below is the song wandering from Cycles album.

Frank Sinatra´s Cycles album is in the shadow of his career, it is an unlit gem. But we can always reach for it and enjoy it.

I absolutely recommend all Frank Sinatra listeners to listen the whole Cycles album at least once.

Frank Sinatra and Harry James Complete Recordings

By |2017-06-10T00:19:40+03:00June 3rd, 2011|Categories: Albums|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Frank Sinatra and Harry James Complete Recordings is an album of Frank Sinatra songs when he was working with Harry James Orchestra.

Harry James and his Orchestra, featuring Frank Sinatra, by Columbia Records.

Frank Sinatra and Harry James Complete Recordings

Songs in Frank Sinatra and Harry James Complete Recordings:

1. From The Bottom Of My Heart
2. Melancholy Mood
3. My Buddy
4. It’s Funny To Everyone But Me
5. Here Comes The Night
6. All Or Nothing At All
7. On A Little Street In Singapore
8. Who Told You I Cared?
9. Ciribiribin (They’re So In Love)
10. Every Day Of My Life
11. From The Bottom Of My Heart
12. Melancholy Mood
13. It’s Funny To Everyone But Me
14. All Or Nothing At All
15. Stardust
16. Wishing Will Make It So
17. If I Didn’t Care
18. The Lamp Is Low
19. My Love For You
20. Moon Love
21. This Is No Dream

There are several notable songs in Frank Sinatra and Harry James Complete Recordings.

Melancholy Mood: Despite the annoying music at the beginning, very well performed by Frank Sinatra.
All or Nothing At All: Wonderful music and lyrics. His emphasis on some words are weird, but considering that this is one of Sinatra’s first records, it is quite acceptable.
Ciribiribin: One of the best songs in the album for me, and one of the undiscovered songs of Sinatra. His voice in this song is so beautiful that it makes you understand how good his voice in his early years was.
Stardust: This song gets better and better as you listen to it. It captures the absolute spirit of 1939. One one side, there is the big band, and on the other side is Frank Sinatra’s historical performance. Sinatra’s part ends at 1:22 and after that, till the end of the song, that is 4:01, you hear a marvelous work of Harry James’ orchestra. I specifically recommend focusing on between 2:43 and 4:01. If you are into big band music, you will love every second of it. This version of Stardust, with ease, is the best of its kind.
If I Didn’t Care: This is a very nice and also widely known song by Ink Spots. And listening this from Sinatra is nice.
Moon Love: The music and Sinatra’s voice are simply charming. Recommended.
The Lamp Is Low: Beautiful music and lyrics. A song very easy to enjoy despite some faults here and there.

Frank Sinatra and Harry James Complete Recordings is very important since these are the first songs Frank Sinatra recorded. It also gives us the opportunity to listen the young and amateur voice of Sinatra.

In the video below, you can listen to the song “Moon Love”,  1939 version from this Frank Sinatra and Harry James Complete Recordings album. Sinatra also recorded this song later for his Moonlight Sinatra album, in 1966.

And below is the “Stardust”. One of the best performances of those years.

Frank Sinatra – All Alone (Album, 1962)

By |2017-06-10T00:19:40+03:00June 3rd, 2011|Categories: Albums|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

All Alone is a beautiful concept album of Frank Sinatra from Reprise Records in 1962. The album was planned to be named as Come Waltz With Me, but later on the name is changed to All Alone and album is released with that name. Songs are arranged by Gordon Jenkins and many of the songs are by Irving Berlin.

Frank Sinatra All Alone 1962 Album Cover Reprise Records

The songs in the All Alone album are:

1. All Alone
2. The Girl Next Door
3. Are You Lonesome Tonight?
4. Charmaine
5. What’ll I Do?
6. When I Lost You
7. Oh, How I Miss You Tonight
8. Indiscreet
9. Remember
10. Together
11. The Song Is Ended
12. Come Waltz With Me

All Alone is a concept album. The songs are about a man whose girl left him, or unaware of him. Though the album is underrated in the music world, Frank Sinatra fans are aware of the fact that this album is a real masterpiece.

In the album All Alone, all of the songs are very beautiful and worth listening. There is not a single bad song. But of course, All Alone, Charmaine, The Song Is Ended, What’ll I Do? and Indiscreet are really special. They are not only the best songs of the album, but also the notable songs in Frank Sinatra’s career. But he didn’t prefer the songs of this album in his concerts.

In the video below, you can listen to the 2nd take of “Come Waltz With me” by Frank Sinatra in studio.

Last but not least, Are You Lonesome Tonight is a nice song of the All Alone album, always a classic.

The cover of the album was a painting in Sinatra’s home.

Frank Sinatra All Alone Painting Home

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