All Or Nothing at All
All or Nothing at All concentrates on Sinatra moving from apprenticeship (Harry James,
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1939, Tommy Dorsey, 1940-42) to solo stardom (the Columbia years, 1943-1952), although we are spared the nadir of his Columbia fortunes by the set cutting off in 1950. On the way, we are also treated to a whole CD of radio transcriptions (1943-50), thereby giving a convincing demonstration of just why he made such an impact over the airwaves during the 1940s. Sinatra came out of the swing big bands but his early style owed little to the raucous, often hard-swinging music of the period: he excelled on ballads, and from the first tracks (including the title track, with Harry James, from summer 1939) that's what he's given to deliver. Dorsey, with his self-bestowed moniker "the sentimental gentleman of jazz", was hardly going to disturb that pattern, and by the time Sinatra went solo (the famous a cappella recordings of 1943 designed to circumvent a particularly long-winded and vexing recording strike) was making 'em swoon in every aisle (and on every isle). Thus this proper box shows Sinatra in a showbiz light, the core of the material eked from his Columbia treasures of the 1940s, which were more often than not draped in the lush string arrangements of Axel Stordahl. Many believe Sinatra's voice to have been at its peak during his Columbia years, and if you can live with the lushness of the arrangements you will probably end up agreeing. Sinatra's performances are timeless. All this material has relatively recently been made available on CD in a gigantic and lavish Columbia box (made of wood) containing some 12 CDs and a small book, while the RCA material with Dorsey is similarly available complete in a 5-CD box and selections on many individual CD titles. This is a convenient snapshot of a vast amount of material and, while the transfers do not equal those of RCA and Columbia, they're serviceable enough and considerably cheaper. --Keith Shadwick
1939, Tommy Dorsey, 1940-42) to solo stardom (the Columbia years, 1943-1952), although we are spared the nadir of his Columbia fortunes by the set cutting off in 1950. On the way, we are also treated to a whole CD of radio transcriptions (1943-50), thereby giving a convincing demonstration of just why he made such an impact over the airwaves during the 1940s. Sinatra came out of the swing big bands but his early style owed little to the raucous, often hard-swinging music of the period: he excelled on ballads, and from the first tracks (including the title track, with Harry James, from summer 1939) that's what he's given to deliver. Dorsey, with his self-bestowed moniker "the sentimental gentleman of jazz", was hardly going to disturb that pattern, and by the time Sinatra went solo (the famous a cappella recordings of 1943 designed to circumvent a particularly long-winded and vexing recording strike) was making 'em swoon in every aisle (and on every isle). Thus this proper box shows Sinatra in a showbiz light, the core of the material eked from his Columbia treasures of the 1940s, which were more often than not draped in the lush string arrangements of Axel Stordahl. Many believe Sinatra's voice to have been at its peak during his Columbia years, and if you can live with the lushness of the arrangements you will probably end up agreeing. Sinatra's performances are timeless. All this material has relatively recently been made available on CD in a gigantic and lavish Columbia box (made of wood) containing some 12 CDs and a small book, while the RCA material with Dorsey is similarly available complete in a 5-CD box and selections on many individual CD titles. This is a convenient snapshot of a vast amount of material and, while the transfers do not equal those of RCA and Columbia, they're serviceable enough and considerably cheaper. --Keith Shadwick
were ebbing to premature close. It's a story which has been told, twisted and embellished ad nauseum. Die-hard fans are bemused that her later work, with her voice reflecting the accumulated scars of addiction and misuse, should be so highly regarded. They prefer to listen to the prodigious output of her early recording career which started as early as 1935, and which reveals her talent as a vocal musician in all its youthful glory. But as biographer Donald Clarke's accompanying notes suggest, the decline of her voice actually heightened her ability as an interpreter of lyrics and it's this quality which makes these sessions so compulsive to listen to. In fact, they originally comprised two classic albums, Songs for Distingue Lovers and Body and Soul, made for Norman Granz's pioneering Verve label. True, the material is heavily biased towards the torch song, but there are a number of light pop standards ("Moonlight In Vermont" and "April In Paris") which make it absolutely clear that Holiday was never, even at this late stage, a one-dimensional tragedienne. --Piers Ford
were ebbing to premature close. It's a story which has been told, twisted and embellished ad nauseum. Die-hard fans are bemused that her later work, with her voice reflecting the accumulated scars of addiction and misuse, should be so highly regarded. They prefer to listen to the prodigious output of her early recording career which started as early as 1935, and which reveals her talent as a vocal musician in all its youthful glory. But as biographer Donald Clarke's accompanying notes suggest, the decline of her voice actually heightened her ability as an interpreter of lyrics and it's this quality which makes these sessions so compulsive to listen to. In fact, they originally comprised two classic albums, Songs for Distingue Lovers and Body and Soul, made for Norman Granz's pioneering Verve label. True, the material is heavily biased towards the torch song, but there are a number of light pop standards ("Moonlight In Vermont" and "April In Paris") which make it absolutely clear that Holiday was never, even at this late stage, a one-dimensional tragedienne. --Piers Ford
Advantages: JINGLE BELLS ALL THE WAY Disadvantages: NOT SOMETHING I PLAY IN THE SUMMER
...INTRO
Why is it every Christmas I find myself getting a FrankSinatra craze (am I the only one ?). Is it because FrankSinatra is one of the best singers of all time or is it the fact I love to sing along with his catchy lyrics maybe so, but did you know that FrankSinatra was once called quote: "The Voice" because there's never been a better voice for a microphone than his. As a big fan of FrankSinatra I have more than a few of his CD's but there's only one that will always find its way to the top of the pile in my collection around this time of year,and that's the FrankSinatra Christmas Album.
FRANKSINATRA
Real name Francis Albert Sinatra was born in 1915. He started out as a saloon singer and eventually became a member of a band called The Hoboken. In 1942 his real career started as he became a solo Singer who found fame...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: It isn't another low budget set of reissues by some cheap no mark label Disadvantages: Does there have to be any!?
...This fantastic collection tracks FrankSinatra from 1953 up until 1961. These were the years he spent with Captiol Records, the label that picked Sinatra up after he was unashamedly dumped by his previous label. Capitol played a big role in turning Sinatra into what we all know as one of the biggest and most successful recording artists of the 20th Century. This set shows you the pairings of Frank and the likes of arrangers such as Axel Stordahl and Nelson Riddle as well as Billy May. The men partly responsible for the brilliance of songs such as "I'm Walking Behind You" (originally a hit for Eddie Fisher) and "South Of The Border". These CDs take you on a chronological journey through classic tracks such as Come Fly With Me, I've Got You Under My Skin, The Lady Is A Tramp and Pennies From Heaven. Also includes a 20 page booklet!...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful
Advantages: Contains most of his great hits and covers of other great songs. Disadvantages: Missing Somewhere Beyond the Sea.
...Without a doubt, we all know that everyone enjoys listening to FrankSinatra. He is one of the, if not the most famous and well recognised names in Jazz music.
This CD is brilliant, it has all of his famous hits spread between the 2 CD's including My Way, I get a kick outa you, fly me to the moon, under my skin and mack the knife. It does miss the track somewhere beyond the sea but the rest of the songs make up for it by far.
When some people pay over £10's for an album with 12 tracks on, only because 2 or 3 of their favourite songs are on there and you compare it to this album, there is no comparison. In total you are paying for 46 great tracks including covers of other great songs. eg, Yesterday by The Beatles and Mrs. Robinson by Simon and Garfunkel.
I am a very big fan of Frank and I cannot encourage you enough to buy this CD. I...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful
somewhat helpful 13.07.2007
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