Best Of – FRANK SINATRA*****

Young At Heart/Hey Jealous Lover/All The Way/Witchcraft/Chicago/Come Dance With Me/Only The Lonely/High Hopes/Nice ‘N’ Easy/Put Your Dreams Away (For Another Day)

With only ten tracks on this LP there are many more comprehensive Sinatra compilations available today. Best Of includes some of his best remembered songs from his Capitol years. (UK:17)

"Sinatra's Capitol years were so good that it is hard to give this anything less than five stars. The Sinatra magic works no matter how you sequence it."

"This doesn't really contain 'all the best'. Still, for the money, it's a very good start for fans of Sinatra's music."

"Sinatra's voice was never better. By the 1950s, his voice had deepened and matured, and he had developed a sense of rhythm and timing that sets him apart from all other singers. This is Sinatra at his best, singing the greatest songs from the best songwriters, backed by the best musicians of the era."

"There are a few entertainers who maintain a consistency of excellence. Frank Sinatra was one of those. Everything in this collection is classic. The collaboration of musical talent, combined with the high fidelity recording technology of that era, preserves for us some of the crown jewels of popular music. Trying to describe this music with words is like trying to describe an oil painting. Few vocalists pack the drama, emotion and swagger of Frank Sinatra, and this collection compiles Frankie at his best during the era many consider his artistic peak."

"The Capitol years find Sinatra at his vocal apex. He was in his late 30s/early 40s, and 'The Voice' was at its peak. Gone was the lighter sound of the Dorsey and Columbia years. In the 50s Sinatra possessed a powerful baritone with great elasticity."

"Frank Sinatra was the great American 'popular' singer of the 1940 to 1970 era. And, the best songs and arrangements of his career were those recorded for his Capitol albums during the 1950s. Unlike his 'hit singles', which were chosen to appeal to young radio listeners, his Capitol albums were aimed at adults, especially men in early middle-age who could appreciate Sinatra's viewpoint, a tough look at life from a guy who had been through failed marriages and relationships."