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.