"The Voice That Is Thrilling Millions!"

This disc comes from back when Sinatra was just "The Voice", before he put on the tilted hat and became the "Chairman," then put on the toupee and became "Ol' Blue Eyes." Back in those days at Columbia Records, from 1943 to 1952, Sinatra recorded some of his best material-- and some of his worst. We kick things off with one of the best-- Johnny Mercer's "Dream." It features the wonderful arrangement of Axel Stordahl, who was essential to Frank's early success. "Nancy" is another great song-- the lyric was written by the comic Phil Silvers and the song was first popular among soldiers (in V-Disc form) before it became a timeless classic. "The Coffee Song" shows Sinatra's tongue-in-cheek, upbeat side-- but the 1960 remake with Johnny Mandel captures more of the funny and the hip. "Lost In The Stars" is a unique song that might be about segregation, and-- for all its deep questions-- was one of Frank's best concert pieces. "Ain'tcha Ever Coming Back" is a poor lyric and rather dull piece that tries (unsuccessfully, I'm afraid) to recapture the glory of Frank, Tommy Dorsey and the Pied Pipers in "I'll Never Smile Again." "You're My Girl" is a rare beauty-- it shows the Sinatra of the "Songs for Young Lovers" a few years before that classic Capitol album. His career was in a ditch, and "The Voice"'s voice was supposed to be ruined, but Frank shapes each phrase in such a lovely way, we know now that the record-buying public and critics simply hadn't caught on yet. "I've Got A Crush On You" and "Autumn in New York" are some of the greatest recordings Frank ever made, and even if he'd revisit the Gershwin and Vernon Duke (respectively) compositions many times, these are the best. Once again, Axel Stordahl's arrangements have a lot to do with their success, including a great jazz trumpet on "Crush." "Nature Boy" was recorded during the 1949 musicians' strike-- which means a return to the a capella format. This choir is particularly gloomy and Gothic, crushing all the innocence Nat King Cole explored so well in that eccentric number. "Don't Cry Joe" is a good one-- an up-tempo saloon number he'd record again with Billy May. "The Old Master Painter" is so goofy it just might work. One pictures blue hills and giggling squirrels in this Disney-esque romp-- not Sinatra material by a long shot, but typical of the novelty sounds from the late 1940s. Of the many great songs on Sinatra's 1950 album "Sing And Dance With Frank Sinatra," the song "Lover" is maybe the least successful. Siravo's arrangement is kind of gimmicky and Sinatra's vocals are strained a bit. All in all, this is one weird release. I guess Sony wanted to show the many sides of Sinatra's "Essence" at Columbia, but this compilation would be a terrible introduction for the new fan, and the old fans probably own the 12 CD "Complete Recordings" box set.