In truth he’d never really been away even back then and almost fifty years later he’s still “the guv’nor”. There’s three distinct periods in Frank Sinatra’s music; his time with the Tommy Dorsey Band in the thirties and early forties, his time with Capitol Records and finally his recordings for his own Reprise label from 1961 onwards.
The four albums on this 2xCD package are firmly in the Capitol era, three of them released in the mid-fifties, the fourth in 1959. All of them made the Top 3 of the American LP chart; they were all big sellers in Britain too and no wonder given so many great songs were included on each LP. There’s no need to list them all, but consider these. Jeepers Creepers and All Of Me on the Swing Easy album, A Foggy Day and My Funny Valentine on Songs For Young Lovers, I’ve Got You Under My Skin and Anything Goes on Songs For Swingin’ Lovers and Dancing in The Dark and I Could Have Danced All Night on Come Dance With Me.
The four bonus tracks, released on an EP in America spell out further quality; Young At Heart, I’ve Got The World On A String, From Here To Eternity and South of The Border. Sinatra is in great voice on every track in this collection, more than ably aided by superb arrangements by Nelson Riddle and Billy May, two legends in their own right.
Ol’ Blue Eyes never fails to please.
Author: AUSTIN POWELL
Austin Powell has spent his entire working life in the music business. From being an agent and manager of ‘beat groups’ in the sixties to working for major record companies in the seventies and eighties, he has also held management positions at radio stations in England, Wales and on the Isle Of Man. He continues to act as a consultant to several record companies and artists and presents a weekly 'oldies' show on Monday evenings on 101.8 WCR FM in Wolverhampton.
