Frank Sinatra The Reprise Years 35cd

Frank Sinatra reunited for this album, his last studio effort, with producer Quincy Jones, with whom he'd last worked 20 years earlier for the classic album, It Might as Well Be Swing with Count Basie. Originally released in 1984, L.A. Is My Lady was a high-energy event, hitting the Billboard 200 and Top 10 on the Jazz Albums chart. It featured the title song, which got into MTV rotation, and Sinatra's first recording of "Mack the Knife." Musical guests include George Benson, Lionel Hampton and Bob James. Legendary songwriter Sammy Cahn wrote new lyrics for "Teach Me Tonight" and "Until the Real Thing Comes Along." For this 40th anniversary release, Sinatra engineer Larry Walsh created new mixes for the original album, which will be newly available on CD.

Frank Sinatra reunited for this album, his last studio effort, with producer Quincy Jones, with whom he'd last worked 20 years earlier for the classic album, It Might as Well Be Swing with Count Basie. Originally released in 1984, L.A. Is My Lady was a high-energy event, hitting the Billboard 200 and Top 10 on the Jazz Albums chart. It featured the title song, which got into MTV rotation, and Sinatra's first recording of "Mack the Knife." Musical guests include George Benson, Lionel Hampton and Bob James. Legendary songwriter Sammy Cahn wrote new lyrics for "Teach Me Tonight" and "Until the Real Thing Comes Along." For this 40th anniversary release, Sinatra engineer Larry Walsh created new mixes for the original album, which will be newly available on CD.

Watertown Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Watertown is Frank Sinatra's most ambitious concept album, as well as his most difficult record. Not only does it tell a full-fledged story, it is his most explicit attempt at rock-oriented pop. Since the main composer of Watertown is Bob Gaudio, the author of the Four Seasons' hits "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You," "Walk Like a Man," and "Big Girls Don't Cry," that doesn't come as a surprise. With Jake Holmes, Gaudio created a song cycle concerning a middle-aged, small-town man whose wife left him with the kids. Constructed as a series of brief lyrical snapshots that read like letters or soliloquies, the culminating effect of the songs is an atmosphere of loneliness, but it is a loneliness without much hope or romance – it is the sound of a broken man. Producer Charles Calello arranged musical backdrops that conveyed the despair of the lyrics. Weaving together prominent electric guitars, keyboards, drum kits, and light strings, Calello uses pop/rock instrumentation and production techniques, but that doesn't prevent Sinatra from warming to the material. In fact, he turns in a wonderful performance, drawing out every emotion from the lyrics, giving the album's character depth.

Even now, more than 22 years after his death, Francis Albert Sinatra is still one of the most immediately recognisable names in popular music. His catalogue is as immense as his influence is immeasurable, and there seems little doubt that his music will continue to impact on many future generations of record buyers.There are many different ways that Frank's music can be acquired on CD, but here Jasmine believe they have a new one this month that will delight all fans of 'Frank On 45'.This new Jasmine collection brings together every single 'new' solo 45 that was issued on Frank between January 1960 and December 1962 - the A and B sides of every Capitol and Reprise single assembled from recordings made during that period, for the two labels for whom he recorded most prolifically, and arranged chronologically.

"Watertown" (subtitled "A Love Story") is a studio album by American singer Frank Sinatra, released in March 1970 through Reprise Records. It is a concept album centered on a man from Watertown, New York. In a series of soliloquies, the nameless narrator tells his heartbreaking story of personal loss: his wife has left him and their two boys for the lure of the big city. Watertown was produced and co-written by Bob Gaudio, one of four members of the rock band the Four Seasons, with Jake Holmes also co-writing the songs. It is the only album where Sinatra ever voiced over pre-recorded orchestral tracks. The album was released to mixed critical reviews and poor sales, with it being Sinatra's only major album release not to chart inside the top 100 of the Billboard 200. It has since been reevaluated and many consider it to be among his finest albums.

Frank Sinatra was arguably the most important musical figure of the 20th century, his only real rivals for the title being Elvis Presley and the Beatles. In a professional career lasting 60 years, he demonstrated a remarkable ability to maintain his appeal and pursue his musical goals despite countervailing trends. He came to the fore during the swing era of the 1930s and '40s, helped to define the "sing era" of the '40s and '50s, and continued to attract listeners during the rock era that began in the mid-'50s. He scored his first number one hit in 1940 and was still making million-selling recordings in 1994. This popularity was a mark of his success at singing and promoting the American popular song as it was written, particularly in the 1920s, '30s, and '40s. He was able to take the work of great theater composers of that period, such as Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Cole Porter, and Richard Rodgers, and reinterpret their songs for later audiences in a way that led to their rediscovery and their permanent enshrinement as classics. On records and in live performances, on film, radio, and television, he consistently sang standards in a way that demonstrated their perennial appeal.

Many of Frank Sinatra’s best-loved tracks were recorded in the days of 1-track monaural (which is not a natural ambient sound). Although he re-did some of them over the years, the originals stand alone for their vocal quality. Now, for the first time—thanks to some cutting-edge new audio technology—the mono masters have been transformed into STEREO. The songs now “breathe”, you hear more details in the original music and Sinatra comes alive as never before! It’s like the difference between an old b&w TV set and a new 4k color model.

Frank Sinatra was one of the greatest performers and first musical superstar of the last century. His voice, timing and performance created the standards for vocalists ever since. Even today's performers like Michael Bublé, Jamie Cullum and Robbie Williams are highly inspired by “Ol' Blue Eyes”.
On Frank Sinatra Collected, his career and musical legacy is celebrated on 2 LP's, spanning over 5 decades. In association with Frank Sinatra Enterprises, the 31 recordings on Collected include not just his most famous songs, but also delves into some of his best album tracks and collaborations with Count Basie, Quincy Jones and his daughter Nancy, all showcasing the versatile artist he was.

Strangers in the Night marked Frank Sinatra's return to the top of the pop charts in the mid-'60s, and it consolidated the comeback he started in 1965. Although he later claimed he disliked the title track, the album was an inventive, rich effort from Sinatra, one that established him as a still-viable star to a wide, mainstream audience without losing the core of his sound. Combining pop hits ("Downtown," "On a Clear Day [You Can See Forever]," "Call Me") with show tunes and standards, the album creates a delicate but comfortable balance between big band and pop instrumentation.