The Authoritative Edition

Look hard for this. There are no better songs in the American Songbook than those by R&H and there is no better interpreter. Although a compilation, this album is of a whole. The orchestrations, mostly very spare, become entirely secondary to the focus on song and performer. There isn't a false, or even questionable, note on the entire album, which leaves no doubt about what were Sinatra's very best years.

Sadly, the short life of this collection is not a hopeful commentary on public tastes (even most Sinatra fans will probably gravitate to the "swagger" of the Chairman's later recordings). But the promoters and packagers of this collection are equally suspect. Some idiot saw fit to include 5 largely duplicative photos of Sinatra in addition to the commentary and song credits. Consequently, Pete Welding's generous notes on the songs and performances are too minuscule to be read by the human eye, and the song credits and dates on the back cover are too microscopic to be picked up even by a voice scanner.

One might argue that the music itself is what counts. But then R&H fans, unlike followers of C&W, are not exactly illiterate.

OUR PAL JOEY

The five songs from PAL JOEY(THERE'S A SMALL HOTEL,I COULD WRITE A BOOK,THE LADY IS A TRAMP,BEWITCHED and I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TIME IT WAS) are now included in the collection SINATRA IN HOLLYWOOD.The others were all in the CAPITOL albums 1953-1961.Many of these songs were recorded by FRANK back in the COLUMBIA days(WHEN OR WHEN,I COULD WRITE A BOOK etc.)but SINATRA's voice had deepened since then,and those versions are better.Strangely,the singer rarely sang MY FUNNY VALENTINE live and in PAL JOEY the song was lipsing by KIM NOVAK.The recording here from the CAPITOL's first album is a prime example of the way FRANK and NELSON RIDDLE made magic together( a great spare arrangement)Anyway,if you can find this cd in a used music store, because it is no longer available,grab it...The same thing can be said about the select JOHNNY MERCER,SAMMY CAHN and COLE PORTER.These are superior kind of packaging.

Another Great Hard To Find Frank Gem!!

This is a great mix of Rogers and Hart tunes from some late 50's Capitol albums, plus some rare diamomds originally from the 1957 movie PAL JOEY. These rarities are THERES A SMALL HOTEL,and I COULD WRITE A BOOK, perhaps not found anywhere else, both with terrific arrangements. LADYS A TRAMP is a nice extra, and the ballads are a fine mix too. I was lucky to buy this a few years back, but it may be tough unless you can get it thru ......Another hidden gem in the massive Frank oevre!!!