Saturday 6 June 2015

Sinatra’s Swingin’ Session !!! – FRANK SINATRA****

When You’re Smiling/Blue Moon/S’posin’/It All Depends On You/Its Only A Paper Moon/My Blue Heaven/Should I/September In The Rain/Always/I Can’t Believe That You’re In Love With Me/I Concentrate On You/You Do Something To Me

The material on Swingin’ Session comprises one of Frank Sinatra’s final Capitol recording opportunities where he again raided the vaults to recycle a selection of classic songs that had been released earlier in his career. (US:3 UK:6)

Sinatra's Swingin' Session is a hard-swinging collection of remakes from his Columbia years, recorded in Capitol's peerless studios. While all of the songs are perfectly realised, 1960 was a very good year (one of many) for Sinatra's voice, and the band is on fire, this is not the best collection of songs turned out by the Sinatra/Riddle team. There are plenty of gems, but you can tell Sinatra is not immersed in the songs the way he was on the earlier Capitol sets.”

Sinatra's Swingin' Session is a breezy, toe-tapping album that always goes down smooth. It lacks the suave sophistication and pathos of some of the earlier Capitol releases, but everything on here 'swings', just like the album title promises.”

“Simply the best swingin' Sinatra I've heard. Is Sinatra capable of 'not' swinging? Does any musician have a more unerring sense of the beat? Sinatra sounds so cool on this record, in a groove and effortlessly in charge. The songs are all good, they stick in your head, and I really fell in love with Sinatra's style and voice on this one. A good mixture of upbeat and moderate tempo tunes.”

Sinatra's Swingin' Session finds the Chairman of the Board at the peak of his powers. With a strong assist from Nelson Riddle, he nails one classic after another: This recording was one of Sinatra's last for Capitol and it remains among his best. In terms of vocal mastery, nothing from Reprise comes close.”

“Frank sounds so relaxed and smooth on Swingin' Session because he was quite prepared for these songs and knew exactly what he wanted to do vocally. Sinatra's phrasing musical ideas are brilliant and he sounds as in control of the material as one can be. He turns these songs inside out, and in several instances re-inventing them as he goes. Its exhilarating to listen to what he is doing - and yet he makes it sound so easy.”

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