★★★☆☆
Here come the old favourites again. Back in 1953, when he signed with Capitol Records, Frank Sinatra’s singing career (not to mention his private life) was not exactly in the best of shape. But by the time he left the label at the dawn of the 1960s to launch his own imprint, Reprise, he had created an extraordinarily consistent body of work, reinventing classic songs by Cole Porter et al for the LP generation. There may have been high points in the Reprise years — especially in the encounter with the bossa nova master Antonio Carlos Jobim — but the Capitol era was the high point.
Not surprisingly, there’s been no shortage of compilations in the quarter of a century since Sinatra’s death. This set, marking the 70th anniversary of the Capitol deal, also coincides with the premiere of Joe DiPietro’s new bio-musical at Birmingham Rep (which hasn’t yet had a press night for national reviewers). As you might expect, it covers a lot of familiar ground. I’ve Got You Under My Skin, You Make Me Feel So Young and The Lady Is a Tramp are all there, while newbies will enjoy the lean, jazzy version of I Get a Kick Out of You from his seventh album Songs for Young Lovers.
What’s the collection’s USP? Well, eight tracks form an assortment of out-takes that provide a glimpse of the behind-the-scenes collaborations with the master arrangers Nelson Riddle, Billy May and the lesser-known Axel Stordahl. Don’t expect too much in the way of studio revelations, although it’s still fascinating to hear Sinatra edge through Lush Life, a ballad whose contours are a test even for him (“Put it aside for about a year,” he jokes at the end.) There’s a bit of off-colour goofing around — not to mention a flash of that famous temper — on I’ve Got a Crush on You, and he calls for “brandy, brandy, brandy” to keep him warm as he works on Memories of You. The most niche item of all finds him working his way through a string of radio ads for Frank Capra’s A Hole in the Head, the film that gave the world the song High Hopes.
Don’t expect much in the way of liner notes. We get a few handsome black-and-white images of May and Co, but if you really want to learn more about the serious business of the making of the music, you’ll need to track down a copy of the New York critic Will Friedwald’s definitive book, Sinatra! The Song Is You.
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