REVIEW:  Sinatra's first collaboration with Count Basie is a very loose affair, with Frank weaving in and out of the tempo with a practiced ease that belies the artistry infusing each song.  Although some listeners might wish that these two pros had upped the tempos a bit more - as it is, Sinatra-Basie sounds like a comfortable get-together on a summer's day.  The arrangements are all mid-tempo, right in the pocket, with the occasional bluesy throwaway solo that the trademark of Count Basie's style.  I was surprised to learn that Neal Hefti was brought back a second time to arrange these numbers, but he does a fine job - a complete 180-degree turn around from the bright and brassy Sinatra and Swingin' Brass album.  The songs are all A-list, from the lazy sway of "I Won't Dance" to the torchy advice of "Learnin' The Blues."  The Basie sound is all brass and woodwinds, with the light touch of Basie's piano occasionally peeking in, which allows Sinatra's voice to really punch through.  His voice is a little rough in spots, apparently from a raucous ball game he attended the night before (good planning, Frank) but it all just adds to the whisky-sour sound that pervades the set list.  Personal favorites: the frenetic jolt of "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down (And Write Myself A Letter) with it's jazzy saxaphone solo and brief bursts of trumpet thrown out like a cannonshot, later leaning into a tribal percussion undercurrent that Sinatra skips over like a smooth stone; and the cool, cool mood and meaty woodwinds on "I Only Have Eyes For You."  I'm one of the ones who wish the tempo would jump a bit more, but this CD is many fans' favorite, and a great collaboration which would really catch fire.

The Concert Sinatra
Warner Brothers 47244 [CD];
Released February, 1963

REVIEW:  This confusingly titles CD refers to the fact that these are the kinds of art songs that would be performed in a concert arena, like Carnege Hall, and it's NOT a live album of any kind.  It is though one of Sinatra's best albums, with a grand stateliness that isn't found on any of his previous discs.  Concert also marked the return of Nelson Riddle to the stable of arrangers that Sinatra had been working with since his jump to Reprise in 1960.  Riddle clearly hasn't forgotten how to write for Sinatra, even on a project as different as this one, where the songs demand a sensitivity and emotional heft not found in more mundane numbers.  Each song is taken from a Broadway show, with half of the eight tracks being a Rodgers & Hammerstein composition.  No surprise there: R&H had redefined musical theater back in 1943 with their landmark production of Oklahoma! and had been the kings of Broadway for two decades.  Sinatra clearly relishes tackling the plums of their repetoire with a new reading of the tour-de-force "Soliloquy" and the epic "You'll Never Walk Alone" from Carousel; the wistful "I Have Dreamed" lifted from The King And I, and the tragic "This Nearly Was Mine" from South Pacific.  Sinatra tears into each one, giving definitive readings with a nearly Shakespearean intensity - far surpassing his earlier attempt at "Soliloquy" from his Columbia days.  He also has fun with Rodgers and Hart's "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" from Pal Joey, and is suitably grave for Hammerstein & Kern's "Old Man River" from Showboat.  An unusual outing for Sinatra, but an epoch in his Reprise output.

Sinatra's Sinatra
Warner Brothers 1010 [CD];
Released April, 1963

REVIEW:  Sinatra was always aware that his biggest hits were owned by Capitol Records, who was making money by constantly repackaging his albums over and over again.  With the critical success of his reunion with Nelson Riddle on The Concert Sinatra it seemed like an easy call to simply re-record his classic hits with Riddle on his new label, and beat Capitol at their own rap.  Sinatra's Sinatra serves as a canny representation of Sinatra's oeuvre, even if it's not as successful as he hoped.  Sinatra's in good voice, Riddle's in top form, but the numbers don't have the crackle they did in their original versions, and some of the charts, as on "Pocketful of Miracles" have the added trick of a children's chorus, which frankly seems out of place on a Sinatra album.  But there are many high points here, (how can there not be given the material and artists involved?): "Call Me Irresponsible" is serene and authoritative, "The Second Time Around" is given a lacquer of pure irony with its inclusion, and "Nancy With The Laughing Face" is buffed up with the addition of new lyrics: ("Keep Audrey Hepburn and keep Liz Taylor/Nancy's the feature, they're just the trailer") - but fans will probably just find themselves comparing these versions to the originals, with some preferring the new arrangements, but most, I suspect, knowing that this is just Sinatra retread, and there is little point in this exercise except for the bottom line.  And when is that ever the spark for really great music?  But it's still Sinatra and Riddle, and together they don't make bad records.

Reprise Musical Repertory Theater (Finian's Rainbow, Kiss Me Kate, South Pacific, Guys And Dolls)
Warner Brothers 47775 [CD];
Released 1963; Reissued September 26, 2000

REVIEW:  Released almost eleven months after his previous album, you'd think that Frank & Nelson would've come up with something a little more ground-breaking, but what they served up instead was a pleasant album, tailor-made for cocktail parties as background music, but with little that really grabs the listener and shakes them.  It's a good concept: take award winning songs, from 1934's "The Continental" to 1964's "The Days Of Wine And Roses" and have them "Sinatra-ized."  But Frank, while doing his best, especially on a swinging "The Way You Look Tonight" and "All The Way," but he also misses the spark of the original versions on a cover of Bing Crosby's "Swinging On A Star" and sounds positively dried up on "Secret Love."  The overall problem with this concept is that the songs chosen are all fine songs, but none of them suit Sinatra's style particularly well.  They're catchy crowd-pleasers which is what made them palatable to Academy Award audiences, but few of them have the emotional depth that Sinatra and Riddle could really sink their teeth into.  Little is transformed by Frank's interpretation, and even fewer of these covers make you forget the original versions.  Even Andy Williams holds onto "Moon River", and that's a little embarrassing; since Frank could sing circles around Andy.  A good album - just not the kind of punch in the gut we expect from a Frank Sinatra album.

America, I Hear You Singing
Reprise FS-2020 [LP];
Released April, 1964

1. Fred Waring: America I Hear You Singing - arr Tom Scott 2. Bing Crosby & Fred Waring: This Is A Great Country - arr. Dick Reynolds / Jack Halloran 3. Frank Sinatra & Fred Waring: The House I Live In - arr. Nelson Riddle 4. Fred Waring: The Hills Of Home - arr. Roy Ringwald 5. Bing Crosby & Fred Waring: This Land Is Your Land - arr. Dick Reynolds/ Jack Halloran 6. Fred Waring: Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor - arr. Roy Ringwald 7 . Frank Sinatra & Fred Waring: You're A Lucky Fellow Mr. Smith - arr. Dick Reynolds/ Jack Halloran 8. Bing Crosby & Fred Waring: A Home In The Meadow - arr. Hawley Ades 9. Frank Sinatra & Fred Waring:  Early American - arr. Nelson Riddle 10. Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby & Fred Waring: You Never Had It So Good -  arr. Dick Reynolds/ Jack Halloran 11. Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby & Fred Waring: Let Us Break Bread Together - arr. Roy Ringwald 12. Fred Waring: The Stars and Stripes Forever - arr. Harry Simeone

REVIEW:  I give Frank & Co. an extra half-star for good intentions, but as most folks have heard, good intentions are what paves the road to Hell.  Whatever inspired Frank to join forces with old buddy Bing and schlock-meister Fred Waring (the impetus was reportedly the assassination of President John F. Kennedy) unfortunately resulted into a gooey, overly-sentimental platter.  This may have played well in halcyon days a decade earlier, but by 1964, the country's sentiments were decidedly more jaded, and this album only managed to scrape in on the pop charts at #116 before sinking into oblivion.  I can't blame the public for turning its back on this embarrassment - the pairing of Frank and Bing was a no-brainer, but the what-were-they-thinking addition of Fred Waring and the cheery, mideastern pop chorus talents of The Pennsylvanians is a huge misstep.  Waring's and Sinatra's styles clash on every number.  Frank sounds tired and strident on his straightforward reprise of "The House I Live In," and sounds positively out of his element singing the hackneyed lyrics of "Early American" with the earnest choir extolling the odd juxtaposition of house architecture and the first Thanksgiving.  The chipper duet "You Never Had It So Good" seems to have been pulled straight out of a Rankin/Bass holiday special, with Frank straight-faced singing "Yum-yum!" while declaring the virtues of Baseball, Mom, and (yum-yum!) Apple Pie.  Honestly, it sounds like a 1950s commercial for Hertz Rent-a-Car.  It's even worse on the preachy, uneven "Let Us Break Bread Together" which sounds piously Amish in Frank's and Bing's hands - although Frank tries to sing it as if it's the second coming of "Old Man River" the song is undone by the morose, treacly sentiment.  The only reason that Sinatra fans have for seeking out this platter is the swinging, joyous cover of the Andrews Sisters staple "You're A Lucky Fellow, Mr. Smith," and with the tight brass backing him up, Frank finally comes alive and sounds as if he's having fun, which the rest of this album is unfortunately lacking.  As for the rest, Bing is singing even more basso profundo than ever, but with his usual unflappable demeanor; The Pennsylvanians are overpowering on everything they lay their tonsils to; and the arrangements (by a variety of talents) are ham-fisted and thickly sentimental.  An earnest, preachy, and overbearing attempt at patriotism in what should have been a somber expression of mourning.  All of Frank's numbers can now be found on the Complete Reprise Sessions box.

It Might As Well Be Swing
Warner Brothers 46972 [CD];
Released August, 1964

REVIEW:  Sinatra & Basie's second album, arranged by Quincy Jones is a sprightlier affair than their first album, which is all to the good: "Fly Me To The Moon" is a real jumper, with a brilliant arrangement that is one of the best things that Frank ever recorded; the otherwise sugary "More" is recast as a big-band swinger; and "The Best Is Yet To Come" is also a perfect reading, with Sinatra in full swagger mode.  Sinatra is more the focus on this album, so that Basie, rather than being an equal partner is simply backup - but for the album, that's good.  The first Basie-Sinatra sessions sounded too flat, as if they were being careful about everyone getting in their shots; here it's just "let's make a good album" - so the mix is better, the sound is brighter, and the singer is in better voice.  But the song selection is less than stellar: "I Can't Stop Loving You" has Sinatra tackling a country crooner, but he doesn't have the chops for it that fellow rat-packer Dino did; "Hello Dolly" is just too trite of a song for Frank to sound convincing on (not a fave song of mine anyway - no matter who's singing it); same goes for "I Believe In You" which was lifted from Frank Loesser's How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying - it's a punchy song, but as a composition it's never worked for me.  So while the album is a step up sonically from Frank & Plank's first platter, and there are some great songs here, a lot of the album is still lacking the true spark of greatness that fans expected from a pairing of these two giants.  That part's still to come at The Sands.

12 Songs Of Christmas
Reprise FS-2022 [LP];
Released August, 1964

1. White Christmas 2. It's Christmas Time Again 3. Go Tell it On the Mountain ++ 4. An Old-Fashioned Christmas + 5. When Angels Sang of Peace 6. The Little Drummer Boy + 7. I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day + 8. Do You Hear What I Hear 9. The Secret of Christmas 10. The Twelve Days of Christmas 11. Christmas Candles 12. We Wish You the Merriest ++ + - Vocal by Frank Sinatra ++ - Vocal duet with Bing Crosby

REVIEW:  After the disastrous showing of their previous collaboration, I was frankly surprised that a second helping of Bing, Frank, and Fred made it out onto the streets.  But unlike the previous disc, the public seemed primed to embrace the rich sentimentality of this holiday outing, and it cracked into the top ten on the pop charts in its initial release.  There's something inherently right about paring these disparate talents onto a Christmas release - The Pennsylvanians had long enjoyed success with their holiday albums, and Bing Crosby still held the record for all-time best-selling single with his rendition of "White Christmas."  Sinatra's own forays into holiday outings are uniformly excellent.  So, where the heavy sentimentality of these combined talents weighed down the uber-patriotic America, I Hear You Singing, here, it sounds snug and cozy and pitch-perfect with the winter season.  Frank in particular, has never sounded quite so comfortable singing holiday favorites; it's as if he's mellowed enough to finally adopt the warm burr that these kinds of homey songs require.  On his Columbia Christmas sides, he sounded too polished and mannered to be completely sincere; on his Capitol Christmas album, he was a a shade too cocky and swinging.  But here he sounds like the Elder Statesman of Christmastime - with deep, comfortable readings of "Old Fashioned Christmas," and an impassioned, sincere "I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day."  He sounds a bit bored on an otherwise competent "Little Drummer Boy" (probably couldn't find a way to emotionally lock into the "rum-pa-pum pum's"), but he has a fine time doing a rocking-chair gospel swing on "Go Tell It On The Mountain" with Bing Crosby, and it's probably the only time you'll hear Frank taking a tenor harmony to Bing's bass!  The best track is also the liveliest - "We Wish You The Merriest" is classic Christmas pop, bright and sprightly, with Frank and Bing easily pulling off the back-and-forth chumminess the song requires.  And the Pennsylvanians give everything a rich choral sheen that sounds perfectly in sync with the traditional holiday sentiments this disc encapsulates.  Unlike the previous platter, I would heartily endorse a CD release of this disc, which has remained out-of-print in the digital era.  But for Fans of Frank, all of his tracks have been made available on both the Complete Reprise Box Set, and more affordably on the single-disc The Sinatra Christmas Album.

Softly, As I Leave You (November, 1964) 
Warner Brothers 1013 [CD];
Released November, 1964

REVIEW:  One of those Sinatra albums that fails to satisfy fans for different reasons.  By this time, the Beatles had invaded the United States bringing with them a new sound that was taking America by storm.  Frank had weathered Elvis, Buddy Holly, and other rock 'n' rollers, but the influence of John, Paul George & Ringo couldn't be denied.  So electric keyboards, drums and backup singers take the place of orchestras or jazz combos on this album, with predictably shallow results.  Softly, As I Leave You was cobbled together to try and answer the new style that was blaring out of stereos and jukeboxes.  Several different arrangers are used, with two - Billy May & Nelson Riddle, coming off the best with "Here's To The Losers" and "Come Blow You Horn" showing that Billy could make a song sound contemporary, while Riddle's setting of the sweet "Emily" is worthwhile.  However, Ernie Freeman's arrangements of "Softly, As I Leave You," "Available" and "Then Suddenly Love" all sink under the superficial trappings of so-called "contemporary" arrangments that sound far more dated now than Sinatra's earlier work.  It's a little sad to hear how lost Frank sounds here - he sings great, with powerful, gruff vocals still swimming in warmth; but the songs aren't up to par, and the album feels stitched together, rather than a cohesive unit.  Out of print and rare - but you won't hear many Sinatra fans screaming for it's re-release.  Available as an mp3 download, or as part of the Complete Reprise Studio Recordings.