How does it compare to the artist's other releases
Not applicable
Value for Money
Advantages:
Lots of great songs, excellent background music, not a bad track
Disadvantages:
You'll find yourself singing along all the time !
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
I'd never really considered myself a massive Frank Sinatra fan. Sure, I knew who he was and could name a couple of his songs, but I didn't ever think about buying his albums or anything
This all changed at Christmas, when my family made me sit through the cringe-inducing Mel Gibson rom-com, 'What Women Want'. We can argue about the pros and cons of the film another time, but for me the only bright point was the soundtrack
For those that haven't seen the film, fell asleep or walked out halfway through, the soundtrack is pretty much all Sinatra. I was instantly hooked - the foot was tapping, I was humming along, I couldn't help myself!
So the next day I jumped on the web and sought out a CD that would give me a great overview of the man himself...and I'm glad to say that I found it. So in the spirit of sharing great discoveries and introducing people to new music....here's Frank!
The Man Himself ------------------------ I'm sure there's not a person reading this who hasn't heard of Frank Sinatra. But I felt the review could do with a quick biography of Ol' Blue Eyes (one of his nicknames), almost to set the scene:
Frank Sinatra was born to Italian-American parents on December 12th 1915 in New Jersey. His dad was a boxer/fireman and his mum a barmaid. Inspired by seeing his boy-hood hero Bing Crosby sing live, he took up singing - first for fun, and then in competitions
In 1939 he was "discovered" and signed for a band, but in 1942 decided to go solo. Throughout the '50s he starred in a number of film roles, most famously Guys and Dolls, but he actually won an Oscar for his part in "From Here to Eternity"
In 1960 he starred in the original Ocean's Eleven (yes guys, the one with Brad was a REMAKE) along with his infamous "Rat Pack" buddies Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jnr and Joey Bishop
The 60's and 70's saw his vocal career really take off, with most of the hits on the album I'm about to review. He was married four times, including to Ava Gardner and Mia Farrow; and died of a heart attack on May 14th 1998.
The Album ---------------- So that's the man, what about the album? Well there's 24 tracks, and not really one that I don't like. It obviously isn't all of his songs, and I'm sure people will complain that one of their favourites has been omitted. But either as a general introduction to Frank, or for hardcore fans, it more than serves its purpose
As per most CDs, it's available for £8.99 including free delivery from both Play.com and CD-Wow. Why you'd pay anything more is beyond me. The full title is "My Way - the Best of Frank Sinatra"
The Tracks ---------------- I'm not going to attempt to describe what the individual tracks are like in too much detail. If anything, most people will know most songs already, but also it will get too personal and long-winded. Instead I'll try to give a quick summary...
1. My Way -------------- Oh come on, everybody must know this! From the famous "And now, the end is near" this is pure gold. A great song - we travel each and every by-way with Frank and come out the other end grinning from ear to ear
2. Strangers in the Night --------------------------------- A mid more soulful and melodic than some of the songs. A great couple of opening bars, violins aplenty and some great lyrics
3. (Theme From) New York, New York ----------------------------------------------------- Start spreading the news, this is an all-time classic. A true "end of night" song, many is the wedding or family celebration where we've ended up drunk in a circle, kicking the air (and each other) and singing along merrily. For those kiddies reading, the song also appeared in one of the Gremlins films (I think 2?). For the real kiddies, Gremlins was....oh never mind!
4. I Get a Kick out of You ---------------------------------- Upbeat and up tempo, one to put on the compilation tapes that we all make for our loved ones!
5. Something Stupid ---------------------------- Recently covered by Robbie Williams and Nicole Kidman, we all know the feeling of ruining a perfect night by saying something we shouldn't
6. Moon River ------------------- Very slow but a great melody behind it. Does anyone remember the advert that used this in the early 90's? It was a bunch of people all standing on each other's shoulders and I think it was for the Halifax???
7. What now my Love ----------------------------- One of the shortest tracks on the album and not one of Frank's best in my opinion. But still pretty decent...
8. Summer Wind ----------------------- Somehow combines slow and upbeat, a real feel-good track. You can imagine yourself looking back at the good times and remembering what was
9. For Once in my Life ------------------------------ Covered sometime in the 90s and used for a number of TV ads, another great track
10. Love and Marriage ------------------------------ Theme tune to that terrible American "family" sitcom Married with Children, don't let that destroy a great song which gives you that warm fuzzy feeling inside - singing the joys of marriage
11. They Can't Take That Away From Me --------------------------------------------------------- Not one of Sinatra's most famous, nor on of his better tunes. If there are any missing from this album, this is one they could have dropped to get rid of it. Finger quickly moves to <forward>
12. My Kind of Town ---------------------------- This is one of those songs you think 'never heard of it', but as soon as it comes on you'll be 'oh, THAT song'!!
13. Fly Me to the Moon ------------------------------- Not early NASA propaganda but a great love song and one of Ol' Blue Eyes' best song. Not sure what the chances of Jupiter or Mars are though....
14. I've Got You Under my Skin ------------------------------------------- Deep in the heart of me I know this is a great song. Another great love compilation track, it describes how we all feel when we're in lurrrve
15. The Best is Yet to Come ---------------------------------------- That it is Frank, that it is. Not a bad song in itself, but when it's surrounded by pure gold, it's hard to shine brightly
16. It Was a Very Good Year -------------------------------------- Brilliant. Frank looks back and remembers the good times. You will too - there's always one year that stands out for us, for me it was 1999...
17. Come Fly with Me ------------------------------ Another great song. Great beat, great tune, great lyrics. Makes you want to go on holiday straight away!
18. That's Life -------------------- Remember the Smirnoff advert with the piano-playing dog? That's this song. More great lyrics, somehow combing downbeat and upbeat, one of the best on the album
19. The Girl from Ipanema ------------------------------------- Maybe not one a lot of people have heard of, but another great track with a fantastic beat behind it. Reminds me of Cuba (not that I've ever actually been there!!)
20. The Lady is a Tramp ---------------------------------- Definitely NOT one for the love compilation album. Urban legend has it that on Maggie Thatcher's first visit to the Reagan White House, she strode out for the first dance with Ronnie and the band struck up this tune! Not sure how true it is, but awful funny....
21. Bad Bad Leroy Brown ------------------------------------ My second favourite track. Not one I'd ever heard of before, but as soon as you've listened to it once you'll love it. Frank tells us all about shady character Leroy Brown with a real bouncy tune...
22. Mack the Knife -------------------------- ....closely followed by my favourite track on the album. Great lyrics, a fantastic tune, just class all round. Frank takes time to list his friends, bandmates and peers and weaves it majestically into the song. Listen and love it!
23. Love's Been Good to Me --------------------------------------- A slow one, but contains possibly the greatest lyric of the album. "But in all I'm happy, the reason you see. Once in a while, along the way, love's been good to me." How true
24. LA is my Lady -------------------------- As a big fan of Hollywood glamour, I guess Frank was inevitably going to write a song about the place he loved. Not a fantastic song, you wouldn't miss much if you turned off the hi-fi one track early...
So there we have it. Having promised that I'd keep the track listing brief, I realise that I've gone and done the complete opposite so SORRY - and I hoped you've managed to bear with me thus far
As you can tell, I really love this album. Even the tracks that I've undersold or criticised are still pretty darn good in their own right. It's harsh, but you've got to compare them against some absolute stormers on the rest of the CD.
I couldn't recommend this CD more. It's great for relaxing to, as background to a romantic meal, long drives, working, even writing Ciao reviews!
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Outstanding
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Good
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