COLLECTIONS & GREATEST
HITS I
THE
TOMMY DORSEY YEARS
NOTE: Over
the years there have been countless collections released of
Sinatra's recordings. Some labels have been very careful
about how they repackage these collections, while others have shovelled
them out like so much waste product. Sinatra's earliest
recordings have passed into public domain, so that many independent
labels have been able to put out poorly-remastered, cheap product onto
the market. Here is a guide to the best collections available
for those who are wanting a taste of Sinatra in their collections.
Frank
Sinatra/Tommy Dorsey: Platinum
& Gold Collection
RCA [CD];
Released August 19, 2003
1.
Stardust
2. Night And Day
3. This Love Of Mine
4. There Are Such Things
5. The Song Is You
6. Oh! Look At Me
Now
7. Fools Rush In (Where Angels Fear To
Tread)
8. I'll Never Smile
Again
9. Violets For Your
Furs
10. Everything Happens To
Me
11. Blue
Skies
12. I'll Be Seeing You
REVIEW:
RCA has been one of the biggest
culprits of
flooding the market with literally scores of Sinatra product from his
Dorsey years. I'm not sure what the rationale for their
decision is, on my part, it appears as if the sheer variety of product
would overwhelm the buyer - how do you know which one to buy?
If you want it all, the choice is easy - the five-CD box of The Song Is
You - but if you're just investigating, it can be a maddening
choice. My general rule is: for the Dorsey years, stick with
RCA - they own the master tapes and generally you're going to get good
sound (especially on the more recent collections) and at least a
modicum of documentation. Unfortunately, there are lots of
hucksters out there who've put out their own "budget" collection of
these recordings, so buyer beware. If you're not fond of the
Dorsey years in Sinatra's repetoire, yet feel like you need a little,
this mid-priced collection is for you. It contains all the biggest hits
that Dorsey and Sinatra had together, including the singles "Night And
Day," "The Song Is You," "I'll Never Smile Again," and more, all in
clear remastered sound. It's just a taste of their massive
output, but for many it will be plenty. Sinatra was never
smoother, and Dorsey's orchestra is like butter.
Bluebird's
Best: Voice Of The
Century
RCA
63928 [CD];
Released May 21, 2002
1.
Star Dust
2. Night And Day
3. The One I Love (Belongs To Somebody Else)
4. This Love Of Mine
5. There Are Such Things
6. The Song Is You
7. Oh! Look At Me Now
8. Fools Rush In (Where Angels Fear To Tread)
9. Say It
10. I'll Never Smile Again
11. Violets For Your Furs
12. Everything Happens To Me
13. Blue Skies
14. I'll Be Seeing You
REVIEW:
Released just a year before the disc
above,
and nearly identical in both track selection and sound, RCA has no good
reason to keep shovelling discs out like this except for the sole
purpose of filling America's landfills. Not that it's a bad
disc, but as you can see by comparing the two - what's the
point? A couple of more tracks ("The One I Love...," "Say
It") but otherwise identical (with the exception of the uglier cover
illustration - it looks like it was painted by a high-school
student.) I really can't recommend one above the other -
although this one is on the Bluebird label - it's just a subsidiary of
RCA, so apparently one of the smaller companies is wanting a piece of
the action. Still, that being said, it's another fine
single-disc collection of the Sinatra/Dorsey years, boiled down into a
nice, bite-size portion for the masses. Mid-priced, and
certainly a worthwhile purchase for those who want a little bit of the
Dorsey years in their Sinatra collection.
Falling
In Love With Frank
Sinatra & Tommy Dorsey
RCA 63621 [CD];
Released January 11, 2000
1.
This Love of Mine
2. Street of Dreams
3. Too Romantic
4. I Could Make You Care
5. Stardust
6. Night and Day
7. It's Always You
8. I'll Never Smile Again
9. Two in Love
10. Fable of the Rose
11. You're Breaking My Heart All over Again
12. Say It
13. It Started All over Again
14. I'll Never Let a Day Pass By
15. Violets for Your Furs
16. Polka Dots and Moonbeams
REVIEW:
I like this collection, because unlike
the
others which just throw together tracks and call it the "best," this
one has a theme that's perfect for setting a mood. And
although many of Sinatra & Dorsey's biggest hit singles are
here, ("Stardust," "Night And Day," "I'll Never Smile Again," "Violets
For Your Furs," and "Polka Dots And Moonbeams") there is also a
generous selection of less well-known tracks, all selected to enhance
the theme of romance and love. So you'll find tracks from the
lushly sentimental ("This Love Of Mine," It's Always You," "Say It") to
the somewhat overwrought ("Fable Of The Rose") to the slightly goofy
("Polka Dots And Moonbeams") but none of which will jolt lovers out of
a reverie of gazing deeply into each other's eyes. Sure it's
a gimmick - I mean most of Sinatra's songs during this period were
romantically themed - it's what he was hired to do: push the love songs
and make the girls swoon, but the CD sets up a fine, smooth atmosphere
and doesn't let up for a second, making this an idea gift for
sweethearts or a mood-setter on Valentine's Day.
The Popular Frank Sinatra Volumes
1-3 (January 27, 1998 - June 15, 1999) RCA 63285 [Box], 68711 [Vol.1], 68712
[Vol.2], 63286 [Vol.3] [CD]
1.
Polka Dots and Moonbeams
2. Say It
3. Imagination
4. I'll Never Smile Again
5. All This and Heaven Too
6. Fools Rush In
7. One I Love (Belongs to Somebody Else)
8. Call of the Canyon
9. Love Lies
10. Trade Winds
11. I Could Make You Care
12. Our Love Affair
13. We Three (My Echo, My Shadow and Me)
14. Stardust
15. Look at Me Now
16. You Might Have Belonged to Another
17. Dolores
18. I Tried
19. Do I Worry?
20. Everything Happens to Me
1.
This Love of Mine
2. You and I
3. I Guess I'll Have to Dream the Rest
4. Two in Love
5. Sinner Kissed an Angel
6. How About You?
7. I Think of You
8. Last Call for Love
9. Just as Though You Were Here
10. Street of Dreams
11. Take Me
12. Be Careful, It's My Heart
13. I'll Take Tallulah
14. Light a Candle in the Chapel
15. Daybreak
16. There Are Such Things
17. It Started All over Again
18. Let's Get Away from It All
19. In the Blue of the Evening
20. It's Always You
21. I'll Be Seeing You
1.
Sky Fell Down
2. Too Romantic
3. This Is the Beginning of the End
4. Devil May Care
5. April Played the Fiddle
6. East of the Sun (And West of the Moon)
7. Whispering
8. Looking for Yesterday
9. Tell Me at Midnight
10. Shadows on the Sand
11. You're Breaking My Heart All over Again
12. You Lucky People, You
13. Without a Song
14. Blue Skies
15. Violets for Your Furs
16. Poor You
17. Night We Called It a Day
18. Lamplighter's Serenade
19. Song Is You
20. Night and Day
REVIEW:
A
curious, but worthwhile set for those who are
wanting to dig a little deeper into the Sinatra-Dorsey years, but not
yet ready to spring for the whole box set. Released shortly
after the The Song Is You box, and available both
seperately and as individual discs, The
Popular Frank Sinatra
series boils down the overwhelming amount of material of the box set
into the very best. With a generous helping of tracks on each
CD, and sound that equals that of the box set, it's a great collection
for fans who want more than the skimmings, but less than the full meal
(you know who you are). Arranged chronologically, the discs
hit one highlight after another, with Sinatra growing steadily from
"the boy-singer" to "the main event" with his short solos growing
longer and more prominent, and Dorsey's presence diminishing until at
the end it's clear that Sinatra has to jump to bigger
pastures. All of Dorsey & Sinatra's best cuts are
here, and there's plenty: from the sweetly sentimental "Polka Dots..."
to the larger-than-life "Night And Day," from the moodiness of
"Everything Happens To Me" to the rare piousness of "Light A Candle In
The Chapel." This is probably all of the Dorsey
years a listener will need, and will suffice most fans. The
only thing missing from this set are good notes for each disc, and
that's a problem. Unfortunately, this set is being slowly
phased out, and only volume one is still readily
available. Volumes two and three can still be found
as used items.
Various Compilations
All-Time Greatest
Hits Vol. 1
(October 25, 1990) RCA
8324 [CD] There's no good reason for this
20-track
disc to still be in print (along with the following two) since the
sound is poor compared to the recent remasters, and there's nothing
unique for collectors.
All-Time Greatest
Hits Vol. 2
(October 25, 1990) RCA
8554 [CD] A generous 20-tracks, but again
the
sound is
poor compared with more recent remasters - this album should really be
put out to pasture.
All-Time Greatest
Hits Vol. 3 (October 25, 1990) RCA 9679 [CD] More of the same, with another
20-track collection which should have been deleted from the catalog
once the new remastered editions were released.
Greatest Hits
(April 16, 1996) RCA
68487 [CD] A good overall single
disc collection, with better sound, most of the hit songs you know, but
only 15 tracks - there are better compilations for this era.
The Fabulous
Frank Sinatra &
Tommy Dorsey (October 12, 1999) RCA
63556 [CD] Good sound, classy packaging and
an
unusual
track selection make it a little different that the run-of-the-mill
sets that RCA puts out. Not just the hits in the 15 tracks.
The Legendary
Tracks (November 5,
2002) Collectables
9634 [CD] Budget label Collectables dips
their
foot in
with this (literally) cheap, ten-selection dime-store CD.
Love Songs
(January 28, 1997) RCA
68701 [CD] Slightly different track listing
than
the Falling
In Love... CD above (which begs the question - why have two
CD's of love songs by Sinatra & Dorsey with only slightly
different track listings on the same label?) Just as valid
and enjoyable.
Stardust
(February 11, 1992) RCA
61073 [CD] Poor sound mars this
substandard,
skimpy
collection of 11-tracks with an unimaginative song selection.
RCA ought to be ashamed to still have this on the market.
I'll Be Seeing
You (August 30, 1994) RCA
66427 [CD] This official sampler from the
5-disc
box
set is OK, but for a sampler, it doesn't have much to offer in it's
short running time (only twelve tracks included), but the song
selection is interesting - the most unique for a single disc out there.
There Are Such
Things (March 19,
1996) ASV
Living Era A 23-track collection with very
good
sound
and a varied song selection which should fit the bill for most fans
wanting a single disc collection. Available only as an import
from the UK.
Night And
Day (February 24,
2004) Import
(Sweden) A 3-CD, 42 track box set which
covers
most
of the bases, but nothing in the way of notes or rarities.
Good collection for the price, though.
Together (February 22, 1996) EPM Musique 157142 [CD] A mish-mash of songs both
featuring
Sinatra,
with some tracks just Dorsey solo. Good sound, and a long running time
with 21 tracks. Not essential unless you have to have
everything.
