SINATRA AT THE SANDS  -  FRANK SINATRA

YEAR:  1966
LABEL:  Reprise
TRACK LISTING:  Come Fly With Me,  I've Got a Crush On You,  I've Got You Under My Skin,  The Shadow of Your Smile,  Street of Dreams,  One For My Baby (and One More For the Road),  Fly Me To the Moon,  One O'clock Jump,  The Tea Break,  You Make Me Feel So Young,  All of Me,  The September of My Years,  Luck Be A Lady,  Get Me To the Church On Time,  It Was A Very Good Year,  Don't Worry 'Bout Me,  Makin' Whoopee,  Where or When,  Angel Eyes,  My Kind of Town,  A Few Last Words,  My Kind of Town (Reprise)
IMPRESSIONS:  I can't hear a live Sinatra album without thinking of my friend Paul.  Paul's family was a Sinatra household and on more than one occasion, I can remember a road trip during which a Sinatra concert was played on the car stereo -- particularly this one New Year's Eve in the late 1980s.  However, I don't think it was this one.  So this album doesn't really have anything to do with this story, does it?  Other than I always think of my friend Paul whenever I hear a live Sinatra album and this one is Ol' Blue Eyes' first live album.  It's usually considered to be a quintessential snapshot of this era of Frankie and who am I to argue?  Produced by the very young Quincy Jones and backed by the sublime Count Basie and his orchestra, Sinatra here is celebrating (?!) his recent 50th birthday and is full of mischief; particularly in his decision to do what amounts to almost 12 minutes of standup comedy in the middle of his concert!  While some of the jokes are a little wheezy, Frankie is rather funny with his delivery and brio.  But then it's the music which is the most important part of a live concert album and here we have some of the pinnacle of 60's era ring-a-ding-ding Sinatra on display.  Of particular note is the inclusion of more than a few of the slow, melancholy Sinatra songs I love so much and I appreciate their inclusion in his set quite a lot, actually.  Without them, the whole thing would seem rather flippant but the sad ballads really anchor the performance and give it a surprising depth amongst the clinks of cocktail glasses in the Sands casino.
MY FAVOURITE TRACKS:  Come Fly With Me,  I've Got a Crush On You,  I've Got You Under My Skin,  One For My Baby (and One More For the Road),  Fly Me To the Moon,  The Tea Break,  You Make Me Feel So Young,  The September of My Years,  It Was A Very Good Year,  Don't Worry 'Bout Me,  Where or When,  Angel Eyes
GUEST ARTISTS:  Count Basie (piano),  Quincy Jones (producer/arranger)
FACT SHEET:  SINATRA AT THE SANDS is Frank Sinatra's first live album.  It was recorded live in the Copa Room of the Sands Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.  The album was certified gold.  "Luck Be A Lady" did not appear on the original LP but was only included as a bonus track on the 1998 cd reissue; subsequent cd releases do not feature the track either.         

DUETS  -  FRANK SINATRA

YEAR:  1993
LABEL:  Capitol Records
TRACK LISTING:  The Lady Is A Tramp,  What Now My Love,  I've Got A Crush On You,  Summer Wind,  Come Rain or Come Shine,  New York New York,  They Can't Take That Away From Me,  You Make Me Feel So Young,  Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out To Dry/In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning,  I've Got the World On A String,  Witchcraft,  I've Got You Under My Skin,  All the Way/One For My Baby (And One More For the Road
IMPRESSIONS:  The other duets album of 1993.  The genesis for this album may well have been the similar duet between Frank Sinatra and Cyndi Lauper of "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" which appeared on the benefit cd "A VERY SPECIAL CHRISTMAS VOLUME 2" in 1992.  Regardless, old blue eyes got some flak for not actually being in the room with his duet partners but having them sing to pre-recorded Sinatra vocals.  This frankly never bothered me.  The man was up there in age and only had another 5 years to live so I think a good deal of slack can be cut here.  And despite this fact, Frankie's vocals are surprisingly OK which leads to a rather enjoyable group of songs; the only downside is pairing Sinatra with execrable performers like Anita Baker and Kenny G (kryptonite to my ears).  Ah, the ignominy!  How could they do that to Frankie?!?!?!!!!  Again, this kind of album is bound to be something of a mixed bag.  Some of the performers seem to stiffen up a little when confronted with dueting with Sinatra but some manage to conjure a genuine warmth (Streisand, Minnelli) or good-natured humour (Bono).
MY FAVOURITE TRACKS:  What Now My Love,  I've Got A Crush On You,  Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out To Dry/In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning,  I've Got the World On A String,  I've Got You Under My Skin
GUEST ARTISTS:  Luther Vandross (vocals on "The Lady is a Tramp"),  Aretha Franklin (vocals on "What Now My Love"),  Barbra Streisand (vocals on "I've Got A Crush On You"),  Julio Iglesias (vocals on "Summer Wind"),  Gloria Estefan (vocals on "Come Rain or Come Shine"),  Tony Bennett (vocals on "New York New York),  Natalie Cole (vocals on "They Can't Take That Away From Me"),  Charles Aznavour (vocals on "You Make Me Feel So Young"),  Carly Simon (vocals on "Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out To Dry/In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning"),  Liza Minnelli (vocals on "I've Got the World On A String"),  Anita Baker (vocals on "Witchcraft"),  Bono (vocals on "I've Got You Under My Skin"),  Kenny G (cacophony on "All the Way/One For My Baby (And One More For the Road)")
FACT SHEET:  There's no way I'm gonna try and figure out what number Sinatra album this is!  The album features duets with performers from all different musical genres personally selected by Sinatra himself.  DUETS sold over 3 million copies in the U.S. and is the only Frank Sinatra album to date that has gone triple platinum.  The album was produced by Phil Ramone.  Sinatra's duet partners did not record in the same room with him but instead sang along to pre-recorded Sinatra vocals.  The album cover painting is by LeRoy Neiman specially commissioned by Frank Sinatra. 

ELLA FITZGERALD SINGS THE COLE PORTER SONGBOOK - Ella Fitzgerald

YEAR: 1956

LABEL: Verve

TRACK LISTING: All Through the Night, Anything Goes, Miss Otis Regrets (She's Unable To Lunch Today), Too Darn Hot, In the Still of the Night, I Get A Kick Out of You, Do I Love You?, Always True To You In My Fashion, Let's Do It (Let's Fall In Love), Just One of Those Things, Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye, All of You, Begin the Beguine, Get Out of Town, I Am In Love, From This Moment On, I Love Paris, You Do Something To Me, Ridin' High, Easy To Love, It's All Right With Me, Why Can't You Behave?, What Is This Thing Called Love?, You're the Top, Love For Sale, It's De-Lovely, Night and Day, Ace In the Hole, So In Love, I've Got You Under My Skin, I Concentrate On You, Don't Fence Me In

BONUS TRACKS: You're the Top (Alternate Take), I Concentrate On You (Alternate Take), Let's Do It (Let's Fall In Love) (Alternate Take)

IMPRESSIONS: This is one of those albums which can safely be called indispensable. It can also be safely said that Ella Fitzgerald had one of the most perfect voices on the face of the earth in a technical perspective. Here we have one of the greatest voices interpreting one of the greatest, deftest songwriters. Here also we find Ella connecting with the music in a very solid way so that there can be no criticism of her singing in a "detached" or "not emotion enough" way; her singing is particularly warm on this album. What's not to love in all this? And here we also have one of the most ridiculously awful album covers for one of the greatest jazz albums of all time. Just goes to show you can't have everything.

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: All Through the Night, Anything Goes, Miss Otis Regrets (She's Unable To Lunch Today), Too Darn Hot, In the Still of the Night, I Get A Kick Out of You, Do I Love You?, Let's Do It (Let's Fall In Love), Just One of Those Things, Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye, All of You, Begin the Beguine, Get Out of Town, From This Moment On, You Do Something To Me, Easy To Love, It's All Right With Me, What Is This Thing Called Love?, You're the Top, It's De-Lovely, Night and Day, Ace In the Hole, So In Love, I've Got You Under My Skin, I Concentrate On You, Don't Fence Me In

GUEST ARTISTS: Maynard Ferguson

FACT SHEET: THE COLE PORTER SONGBOOK is Ella Fitzgerald's first album for the newly created Verve Records. Norman Granz built the label mainly in order to showcase Fitzgerald after being unsatisfied with her handling by her former label Decca Records. This album launched Ella's epoch-making series of single-composer "songbook" albums which found the singer interpreting many of the greatest songs in the great American songbook as well as presenting some of Ella's most elegant and accomplished recordings of her entire career. Buddy Bregman arranged the songs and conducted the studio orchestra. Granz played the entire album for Cole Porter at the Waldorf-Astoria after which the composer merely remarked "My, what marvelous diction that girl has." The album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2000; this award honors recordings of "qualitative or historical significance" which are at least 25 years old. In 2003, it was one of only 50 albums chosen by the Library of Congress to add to the National Recording Registry.

RED HOT + BLUE - Various Artists

YEAR: 1990

LABEL: Chrysalis

TRACK LISTING: I've Got You Under My Skin - Neneh Cherry, In the Still of the Night - The Neville Brothers, You Do Something To Me - Sinead O'Connor, Begin the Beguine - Salif Keita, Love For Sale - Fine Young Cannibals, Well Did You Evah! - Deborah Harry & Iggy Pop, Miss Otis Regrets/Just One of Those Things - The Pogues & Kirsty MacColl, Don't Fence Me In - David Byrne, It's All Right With Me - Tom Waits, Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye - Annie Lennox, Night and Day - U2, I Love Paris - Les Negresses Vertes, So In Love - k.d. lang, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? - Thompson Twins, Too Darn Hot - Erasure, I Get A Kick Out of You - The Jungle Brothers, Down In the Depths - Lisa Stansfield, From This Moment On - Jimmy Somerville, After You Who? - Jody Watley, Do I Love You? - Aztec Camera

IMPRESSIONS: This is one of the first compact discs of new material (that is, not replacing a vinyl or cassette copy) I ever bought after getting a cd player for Christmas of 1990. I bought it at the Sam Goody in the Cherry Hill Mall and first played it in the cd player in the back room of Ritz Camera where my friend Paul worked at the time. Up until this time, k.d. lang was known solely as a country artist and I'm absolutely convinced it was her spectacular performance on "So In Love" which led her to take the plunge and drop country in favour of a mainstream career -- that and the fact her country band was called "the reclines" (after Patsy Cline) and she had already cut an album of Patsy songs with Cline's producer Owen Bradley.

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: In the Still of the Night - The Neville Brothers, Well Did You Evah! - Deborah Harry & Iggy Pop, Miss Otis Regrets/Just One of Those Things - The Pogues & Kirsty MacColl, Don't Fence Me In - David Byrne, So In Love - k.d. lang, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? - Thompson Twins, Too Darn Hot - Erasure, From This Moment On - Jimmy Somerville, After You Who? - Jody Watley

FACT SHEET: RED HOT + BLUE is the first AIDS benefit album in a series put out by the Red Hot Organization. All the songs are written by Cole Porter and performed by contemporary artists. The title of the album is from the Cole Porter musical of the same name. The album was produced by Steve Lillywhite and Afrika Bambaataa.