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. 

MOOD MUSIC - Paul Weston & His Orchestra

YEAR: 1953

LABEL: Columbia

TRACK LISTING: When Your Lover Has Gone, My Silent Love, I'll Follow My Secret Heart, Moon Song, Yesterdays, One Night of Love, Under A Blanket of Blue, Stardust, All Alone, Then I'll Be Tired of You, What'll I Do, Among My Souvenirs

IMPRESSIONS: There is no better album to put on while mixing up some cocktails in your smoking jacket or lounging in a slinky dress on your zebra-skin sofa while candlelight glints off your diamond tiara. No seriously, I mean it. Paul Weston invented the "mood music" genre with his series of albums starting with "MUSIC FOR DREAMING" in 1945 at Capitol Records and continuing when he and his wife Jo Stafford moved over to Columbia in 1950. These albums sounds similar to the kind of thing Jackie Gleason and his orchestra were releasing; something I call "doctor's office music" or what others commonly call elevator music. Lush lush lush. And I'm referring to how the music sounds NOT the conductor's drinking proclivities. But now that I've mentioned drinks . . . let's head on over to the tiki bar and get us a couple while we listen to Paul Weston's "MOOD MUSIC"!

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: When Your Lover Has Gone, My Silent Love, I'll Follow My Secret Heart, Moon Song, Yesterdays, Under A Blanket of Blue, Stardust, What'll I Do, Among My Souvenirs

FACT SHEET: It's a little difficult to track these things but "MOOD MUSIC" is probably Paul Weston's 13th album. Weston worked as an arranger, songwriter (he co-wrote the standard "I SHOULD CARE" among others) and orchestra leader in films and radio as well as on record. He was tapped by Johnny Mercer to work for his fledgling Capitol Records label where he "invented" the lounge music genre of easy listening entitled "mood music" with his 1945 Capitol album "MUSIC FOR DREAMING". Weston married singer Jo Stafford in 1952. Together the couple secretly recorded and released some musical comedy albums as "Jonathan and Darlene Edwards"; Jonathan was said to have two left hands and played the piano atrociously while Darlene sang even worse. The identity of the pair was rumoured to be someone very famous in the music industry but it was a while before Stafford and Weston revealed their identities.

THE COMPLETE COLLECTION AND THEN SOME... - Barry Manilow

YEAR: 1992

LABEL: Arista

TRACK LISTING: The Best of Me (Intro Only), Sweet Life (Live), I Am Your Child (Live), Could It Be Magic (Featherbed featuring Barry Manilow), Could It Be Magic, Brandy (Original Scott English Single), Mandy (Original First Take), It's A Miracle, Sandra (Live), I Write the Songs, As Sure As I'm Standing Here, New York City Rhythm, Tryin' To Get the Feeling Again (Alternate Take), All the Time, Ready To Take A Chance Again, Somewhere In the Night, The Old Songs, I Don't Want To Walk Without You, If I Should Love Again (Alternate Take), Copacabana (Home cassette of composing the song), Copacabana (At the Copa), Dancin' Fool, I'm Your Man, Hey Mambo, Big Fun, Riders To the Stars (Live), I Wanna Be Somebody's Baby (Live), Daybreak (Live), Even Now (Live), Life Will Go On (Live), Memory (Live), Ships (Live), If I Can Dream (Live), One Voice (Live), This One's For You (Demo), Lay Me Down, Big City Blues, Somewhere Down the Road (Demo), A Little Traveling Music Please, You Could Show Me, Ave Maria, Look To the Rainbow, Joey (Demo), Please Don't Be Scared, Baby It's Cold Outside, When October Goes, Ain't It A Shame, Brooklyn Blues, How Do I Stop Loving You? (Demo), Just Remember (Live), I Can't Teach My Old Heart New Tricks, Weekend In New England, Give My Regards To Broadway (Live), Send In the Clowns/Looks Like We Made It (Live), Can't Smile Without You (Alternate First Take), Beautiful Music, Fugue For Tinhorns, My Girl/No One In This World, Don't Talk To Me of Love, The Last Duet, Wild Places (Demo), Never Met A Man I Didn't Like, Who Needs To Dream, Read 'Em and Weep, Let Freedom Ring, Let Me Be Your Wings, If Tomorrow Never Comes, Another Life, I Made It Through the Rain (Alternate Take), The Best of Me

IMPRESSIONS: Whenever November rolls around, I always seem to grab for this box set. A superb retrospective of Barr's career including well-known hits, unreleased demos and alternate takes and live performances.

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: Sweet Life (Live), I Am Your Child (Live), Could It Be Magic, Sandra (Live), Tryin' To Get the Feeling (Alternate Take), All the Time, Somewhere In the Night, Hey Mambo, Big Fun, Riders To the Stars (Live), I Wanna Be Somebody's Baby (Live), Even Now (Live), Ships (Live), If I Can Dream (Live), One Voice (Live), This One's For You (Demo), Lay Me Down, Somewhere Down the Road (Demo), A Little Travelling Music Please, Ave Maria, Baby It's Cold Outside, When October Goes, Brooklyn Blues, Just Remember (Live), I Can't Teach My Old Heart New Tricks, Weekend In New England, Beautiful Music, Fugue For Tinhorns, Don't Talk To Me of Love, The Last Duet, Never Met A Man I Didn't Like, Read 'Em and Weep, If Tomorrow Never Comes, I Made It Through the Rain (Alternate Take)

GUEST ARTISTS: Scott English (vocal on "Brandy"), Kid Creole & the Cocoanuts (vocal/performance on "Hey Mambo"), Full Swing (vocals on "Big Fun"), Mel Torme (vocal on "Big City Blues"), Gerry Mulligan (baritone sax on "Big City Blues"), Barbara Cook (vocal on "Look To the Rainbow"), K.T. Oslin (vocal on "Baby It's Cold Outside"), Michael Crawford (vocal on "Fugue For Tinhorns"), Hinton Battle (vocal on "Fugue For Tinhorns), Melissa Manchester (vocal on "My Girl/No One In This World"), Mirielle Mathieu (vocal on "Don't Talk To Me of Love"), Lily Tomlin (vocal on "The Last Duet")

FACT SHEET: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION AND THEN SOME... is a career-spanning box set containing 4 cds and 1 videotape (recently remastered and re-released with a DVD). "I Don't Want To Walk Without You" was written by Frank Loesser & Jule Styne. "Memory" was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Trevor Nunn & T.S. Eliot. "Ships" was written by Ian Hunter. "Look To the Rainbow" was written by Burton Lane & E.Y. Harburg. "Baby It's Cold Outside" was written by Frank Loesser (which won an Academy Award for Best Song) and "Fugue For Tinhorns" (from the musical "GUYS AND DOLLS"). Barry Manilow & Johnny Mercer wrote "When October Goes", "Just Remember" and "I Can't Teach My Old Heart New Tricks". George M. Cohan wrote "Give My Regards To Broadway". Stephen Sondheim wrote "Send In the Clowns". "My Girl" was written by Smokey Robinson. "Never Met A Man I Didn't Like" was written by Cy Coleman, Betty Comden & Adolph Green. "Read 'Em and Weep" was written by Jim Steinman. "If Tomorrow Never Comes" was written by Garth Brooks and Kent Blazy. "The Best of Me" was written by Richard Marx, David Foster and Jeremy Lubbock.