Search - Frank Sinatra :: Sinatra in Hollywood 1940-1964

Strictly for completists

joe mama | marin county, ca | 07/31/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Although I was disappointed with SINATRA IN HOLLYWOOD, I'll still give it three stars because, after all, it is Frank Sinatra. But be warned--this is a collection aimed at the die-hard Sinatra completist and not the mere curiosity seeker.



The packaging is feast for the eyes. Everything is beautifully bound and printed. The 120-page book is outstanding, with essays by Leonard Maltlin, Michael Feinstein, Charles L. Granata, Didier C. Deutsch, Scott Allen Nollen and the perennial Will Freidwald. The photographs are also beautiful.



As for the music, I must start with a disclaimer. I personally am not a fan of Sinatra's Columbia records from the '40s, and three of the six discs in this collection are devoted to this period. If you're a fan of Sinatra's records from the '50s and '60s--which, let's face it, most of his listeners are--this collection may not be what you're looking for.



That said, I'll limit my remaining comments to the last three discs.



Throughout the six discs, the songs are broken up chronologically by film. In my opinion, disc four is the best. It features tunes from the films "From Here to Eternity," "Three Coins in the Fountain," "Young at Heart," "Finian's Rainbow," "Not as a Stranger," "Guys and Dolls" and "The Tender Trap."



The selections from "Young at Heart" are sublime, featuring an intimate Bill Miller piano accompanied version of "Someone to Watch Over Me" (with subtle orchestration later added by Riddle) and a fantastic Bill Miller/jazz quartet version of the Sinatra stalwart "Just one of Those Things." These two cuts alone are almost reason enough to by the whole set. Interestingly enough, "Young at Heart" also features a Bill Miller-accompanied version of "One for my Baby," which is almost identical but recorded four years prior to the legendary version on ONLY THE LONELY.



The "Finian's Rainbow" selections feature a charming duet with Ella Fitzgerald (and the Oscar Peterson Trio!) called "Necessity," as well as a fascinating two-minute scat number with Louis Armstrong called "Ad Lib Blues." The other tunes from "Finian's Rainbow" are also excellent.



Disc five is also good, highlighted by songs from Cole Porter's "High Society" and Rodgers & Hart's "Pal Joey." "Pal Joey" yields the classics "I Didn't Know What Time it Was," "There's a Small Hotel" and "I Could Write a Book" (none of which, if I'm not mistaken, have appeared on Capitol or post-Capitol Sinatra albums). There's also yet another classic version of "The Lady is a Tramp" (my personal favorites being the free-flying, wild knocked-out, koo-koo, groovy version from 1974's THE MAIN EVENT, followed by Sinatra's duet with Ella on the SINATRA + ELLA + JOBIM video) as well as a gorgeous rendition of "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered," one of my all-time favorite tunes by any composer.



Disc six fizzles, featuring lesser tunes from 60s-era films and gin-soaked Rat Pack interpretations.



One problem with this collection is that many of the tunes are duets or collaborations with lesser talents (Shirley McLaine's perfomance of "Let's Do It" is almost unbearably bad). Other tunes are instrumental while others still are unfinished outtakes (After a beautiful beginning, a most promising 1955 version of Rodgers & Hammerstein's epic "Soliloquy" has no vocals after the first few verses. About five minutes later, Frank returns to the mike and handles the last verse or two). These rarities are interesting, but they don't exactly provide the prolonged ecstasy one would experience with a classic concept album.



Finally, the collection does include several entertaining promotional spots, interviews and award presentations. Sinatra always did have a way with words.



Bottom line: There are a whole bunch of Frank Sinatra Boxed sets on the market these days. If you're gonna plunk down this kind of bread, make sure you buy the one you really want."

Frank Sinatra in Hollywood 1940-1964

Joel D. Arndt | University Heights, OH USA | 08/04/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you're a Frank Sinatra fan, a classic movie lover or better yet both, then you're in for a treat. According to the voluminous liner notes in a marvelous book this project was six years in the making and it's worth all the painstaking efforts that were put into it.It's great to hear the fully orchestrated recordings from Higher and Higher as opposed to the commercial releases that only had a vocal chorus due to the musician's strike at the time. It's wonderful to hear the songs from Step Lively as they have never been released commercially before. The House I Live In is very moving.Of course, the songs from Anchors Aweigh, It Happened in Brooklyn, Take Me Out to the Ball Game and On the Town are exceptional. Some reviwers had complaints about O'Brien to Ryan to Goldberg and Pearl of the Persian Sea, but if you understand the plots of these movies the songs make sense within the context of these films. The set is meant to be a comprehensive retrospective of all of Frank's motion picture work, so everything is included. Although not mentioned, Come Up to My Place and On the Town, both from On the Town, are extended versions. What's Wrong With Me? with Kathryn Grayson from The Kissing Bandit, a low point in Frank's movie career, is a nice surprise. You're Awful from On the Town has always been a favorite song of mine and it's nice to hear it remixed to stereo. Also beautiful is The Right Girl for Me which Frank sang to Esther Williams.It goes from great to better. Buy this set just for the Finian's Rainbow set alone. These are killer. Frank has support from Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong and Ella Logan. Need I say more? What a find! Another favorite is You, My Love with Doris Day from Young at Heart. And the soundtrack version of The Tender Trap is far and away better than the commercial version.Hopefully, whoever owns the rights to the Carousel recordings, if they're still around, will get smart and release them because they could make a fortune. The Capitol version of Soliloquy here is great!All in all this is an execellent release and, hopefully, now we'll get complete soundtrack recordings of Anchors Aweigh, It Happened in Brooklyn, Take Me Out to the Ball Game, On the Town among others. Thanks to Didier Deutsch, Charles L. Granata, George Feltenstein and Darcy Proper for putting together an excellent compilation. Run out and buy it immediately."

First Rate

mistermaxxx@yahoo.com | usa | 06/19/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"hearing Frank Sinatra in His Prime between 1940-1958 is a true Treasure.these Discs Capture Rare Outtakes,&different Versions of Material.Sinatra unlike so Many Other Artists was Made for the Big Screen.He is very Underrated for Soundtrack Material but upon hearing this Big Collection you will be updated&listen at Him in a whole new Light.hearing "Night&Day" at a Early Stage is Classic.His timing on Words is Priceless.the way He held a Note or dealt with a Certain Arrangement you can truly feel His Spirit&Heart in what He was doing.I like certain things from the 60's by Him but to truly dig where His Voice was second to none you have to hear His Early Material here onward to the Mid 50's.some times Box-Sets barely offer anything new but this one adds another Chapter to the Legacy that is Frank Sinatra.thus far the Best Box Set Out in the New Year Bar None."