The Best You've Ever Heard!

Forget the Sinatra of Las Vegas, the Sinatra of Columbia, and the Rat Pack! This is THE Frank Sinatra! The best he ever sounded. Young, raw, confident! This set would get 50 stars if possible. To hear him sing with Connie Haines and The Pied Pipers - the interaction between them is superlative. Frank would never again capture the beauty of these recordings. This is like comparing the young Elvis and the Old Elvis - the young was the best. To complete your early Sinatra collection get the Frank Sinatra and Harry James recordings that are available on disc; 1939, the first year of his professional career 6 months prior to these recordings. Also of note are the V-Discs collection. GO OUT AND BY THIS BOX! You Won't regret it.

The Dawn of a Great

Frank Sinatra has been the topic of many a comprehensive boxed set,practically all his recorded output is available in some form or other but this superlative set is the best yet for they capture the youthful Sinatra in his first featured recordings;he was not a slowly blossoming artist,Frank was already fully in command of his artistry when he began making his first records here;from 'i'll be seeing you' onward this collection presents a youngster with a marvelous precocity,a true gifted artist,-'east of the sun' will send a chill up your spine at Sinatra's command of his vocal artistry and kudos also to Tommy Dorsey who had always led one of the finer and more tasteful of the Big Bands;the arrangements here are all succicently chosen and there are rarities galore.But dont buy this set just for Sinatra (or Dorsey for that matter),this is pristine and beautiful music for any taste and a Jazz lover like myself swears by this set.Way to go,Amazon!

Remarkable in every way.

Of the many Sinatra box sets released in the 1990s, this is by far the most underrated. First of all, the sound is unbelievable. These tracks were recorded from 1940 to 1942, but they sound better than many of the later mono recordings at Columbia and even Capitol. Even more important, there's not a bad song in the batch. Give credit to Tommy Dorsey, who had impeccable taste and hired the best musicians. Even the not-so-classic numbers like "Two In Love" and "Call Of The Canyon" are tremendously enjoyable, thanks to excellent arrangements by men like Axel Stordahl and Sy Oliver. Of course, the main reason to buy this set is to hear Sinatra's vocals. From the very first notes of "The Sky Fell Down," we know this is one special singer. The big hits like "Without A Song," "Polka Dots and Moonbeams" and "I'll Be Seeing You" are obviously wonderful. But Sinatra works wonders even with lesser material. And the Dorsey formula never tires: he plays the tune on his trombone (better than anyone), Sinatra sings the lyric (better than anyone), and finally his orchestra jumps around with some very jazzy sounds. It's great stuff. I especially enjoy the covers of Bing Crosby's hits from the "Road To" movies, like "Too Romantic" and "It's Always You." Call me crazy, but FS and TD are even better than BC! The fifth disc is a bonus: songs taken from live radio broadcasts, including songs from a contest (sponsored by a laxative company-- go figure) where amateur songwriters send in their tunes and the winner gets the royal treatment-- Sinatra, Dorsey, and often the Pied Pipers with Jo Stafford. This disc also includes the farewell broadcast when Sinatra left the Dorsey band to go it alone. The box and booklet are beautifully presented, with many colorful and rare photos and another knock-out essay by Will Friedwald. If you're a big Sinatra fan, you'll already own this, I'm sure. But even the casual fan should give this immensely enjoyable set a try. You'll love it!