Duets  (November 2, 1993)  Capitol 89611 [CD]

The shockwave that went through the public when it heard that Frank Sinatra was going to release a new studio album in the early 1990's was tremendous.  Sinatra, then in his eighties, hadn't released an album of new material since 1984, and everyone (myself included) wondered what he would sound like.  Goosed by the immense media scrutiny accorded to the project, as well as the stars that were being paired with the Grand Master, Duets was a commercial smash, hitting number one in the charts and making Sinatra front page news all over the world.  But upon listening to the album, I can only marvel at the callousness of the end product.  Producer Phil Ramone pre-recorded the orchestra, brought in Sinatra to sing along (which he had never done, always preferring to sing live in the studio) when he was well enough to do so, and then later paired other artists to come in seperately and record their tracks over the ones that Frank had already finished.  Frank's singing varies from track to track, from a full-throatedness on some, while other tracks sound as if he's desperately ill; the artists brought in, from Barbra Streisand (who insinuates her voice into every phrase sung, whether it's her line or not) to the whining falsetto of a misplaced Bono, all sound out of their league singing along to the click track.  Nothing connects between the singers and the songs, and the orchestra has the same mindless thrust to it that never allows Frank to explore a song the way that only he can do.  Tony Bennett comes off well, with a classy give and take, and Anita Baker, Kenny G, Julio Iglesias give it their best, which is always polished; but Gloria Estefan, Luther Vandross, Carly Simon, and Aretha Franklin all sound as if they belong on a different album.  Duets is a cold, corporate product, and yet folks snapped it up like it was manna from heaven.

Duets II  (November 15, 1994)  Capitol 28103 [CD]

Less of the same, with an obviously weary Sinatra occasionally rising to the occasion, such as it is, with the orchestra serving as nothing more than a karioke machine, and the duetting partners showing an even dimmer wattage this go around.  From the "where are they now" classification of Luis Miguel and Jon Secada, to the "what-were-they-thinking?" talents of Chrissie Hynde and Jimmy Buffett, Duets II feels like cold leftovers of what was an unappetizing meal to begin with.  Antonio Carlos Jobim makes a welcome appearance on the slowed-down "Fly Me To The Moon," and Lena Horne sings a sympatico "Embraceable You," - but other performances sound patronizing, as on the soul-less arrangment of "For Once In My Life" with an otherwise stellar Gladys Knight, or the ridiculous, overwrought bellowing of Neil Diamond on "The House I Live In."  What's most annoying about the entire project is the need for almost every artist to address Frank by name when their singing, as if he's there in the room with them;  it's a lie, and the consumer is the victim.  I know that it's a curiousity to hear Frank singing these songs one last time, but it's a morbid curiousity, like watching a car wreck, and to have this be the end of Sinatra's studio recordings is a monumental mistake, especially for those tuned-out folks who made this and the previous recordings their first Sinatra purchases.