This album from 1960 was one of the highlights of Sinatra’s series with Nelson Riddle and his orchestra. He had experienced a bit of a struggle during the 50s after he was dropped by Columbia Records, but his acting success in From Here to Eternity, and the great series of concept LPs he cut with Riddle, Billy May and Gordon Jenkins put him at the top of his game.
Sinatra revisited many of his past recordings in this dozen-track album, and did them all better than he ever had before. The tunes are mostly in the romantic ballad bag, which he could do better than almost anyone. Plus the fine arrangements of Riddle fit his relaxed and swinging style to a T. Nearly everybody was recording in stereo by 1960, so the sonics of this one are up-to-date and successfully communicated in Mo-Fi’s careful mastering. The jury is still out on whether gold CDs actually sound better because they’re gold instead of aluminum, and I would have preferred this as a two-channel SACD, but not having the vinyl version to compare I would say the sonics are impressive. The only thing preventing me from giving it five stars would be its premium cost.
TrackList:
Nice ‘n Easy, That Old Feeling, How Deep is the Ocean, I’ve Got a Crush on You, You Go to my Head, Fools Rush In, Nevertheless, She’s Funny That Way, Try a Little Tenderness, Embraceable You, Mam’selle, Dream.
– John Henry
