Frank Sinatra The Reprise Years 35cd

Christmas probably sounded a lot like this in Hoboken, circa the late 1930s: A skinny kid with a huge voice leading friends through favorite carols like "The Little Drummer Boy" and "Greensleeves." Fast forward and that skinny kid is no longer just another voice in the crowd. All ears are turned his way as he croons through a whole new set of Christmas standards, from "The Christmas Waltz" to "I Wouldn't Trade Christmas." Sinatra is in fine voice on this 13-song set, which boasts some of the better arrangements you'll hear on a seasonal album.

Growing up in the 70s, unless you were a musical aristocrat, Frank Sinatra was simply old. He was a white-haired man, who seemed to spend his days endlessly retiring and singing ''My Way''. There was a vague notion that he had once been young and cool, but that was several lifetimes away. Then, suddenly, in the mid 80s, Sinatra's Capitol recordings were reissued and it slowly dawned on NME readers that he was indeed the man who all the Costellos, McCullochs and Bonos had spent their formative years listening to…

Most of the Sinatra recordings available during the 1950s consisted of his contemporary work for Capitol Records. But every so often his former label, Columbia Records, would get something together on LP from among his '40s and early-'50s sides. The Voice was one of a handful of '50s long-players showcasing the first phase of Sinatra's solo career, and at the time it wowed listeners - the focus is on the ballads, and the dozen represented here constitute a bumper crop of classics, all resplendent in the singer's richest, most overpowering intonation and most delicately nuanced work. The sensibilities, from the lushly seductive "Laura" to the gently self-satisfied "(I Got a Woman Crazy for Me) She's Funny That Way," show off a huge emotional range, and the latter song may be the highlight of the album…

Even 60+ years later, this Christmas album from Ol' Blue Eyes remains one of the finest yuletide platters in Pop history. Nobody can sing and swing like Sinatra, who is going to 'sleigh' you with his fantastic renditions of classics like 'Jingle Bells', 'Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas', 'Silent Night' and the wonderful 'Christmas Waltz'. This is the album that Santa spins when throwing parties at his pad in the North Pole!

Sixteen classic original albums by Frank Sinatra, one of the most influential and popular singers of all time, with album sales in excess of 150 million. These albums from the 1950s and early 60s have all been digitally remastered and are now available in one inexpensive 10 CD box set.