Both the original 1963 incarnation and the new remastered version of The Concert Sinatra are distinctive contributions to the Sinatra canon. For listeners familiar with Ol' Blue Eyes' legacy as well as those experiencing these recordings for the first time, odds are you’ll be hearing Sinatra with new appreciation for his vocal range and carefully phrased delivery.
When Sinatra and orchestra leader Nelson Riddle collaborated on the February 1963 project, it was conceived as a concept album with all of the eight songs taken from Broadway musicals, most with lyrics by Richard Rodgers. As a result, Riddle’s strings—on their own—have the power, drama, and sweep of an epic soundtrack album. In this setting, Sinatra is likewise powerful, dramatic, and convincing with songs that begin as gentle commentary with lines from stage characters before he rises to affirming, triumphant refrains and crescendos.
The Concert Sinatra, despite its title, is not a live performance. Instead, it was somewhat experimental in its day in that producers utilized multi-channel tracking, a technique which wouldn't be commonplace for some time. In fact, it was recorded on a motion picture scoring stage with the use of multiple synchronized recording machines that employed 35mm magnetic film. But these masters were not used in vinyl or CD reissues for nearly 50 years. Then, the tapes, which had been left in film canisters, were discovered and, despite some degradation, remastered using digital technology.
The final product was and is on the short side, though it's now supplemented by two bonus tracks. The set appropriately opens with “I Have Dreamed” and “My Heart Stood Still,” which are followed by “Lost in the Stars,” “Bewitched,” and “This Nearly Was Mine.” Perhaps the finest numbers are songs full of intensity no matter who the singer might be such as “You’ll Never Walk Alone” and “Ol’ Man River.” The latter performance has earned considerable praise for Sinatra’s unique interpretation of a song normally sung by vocalists with very different ranges.
Article comments
1 - Stanley Schweiger
Very nice review! One "significant" error --most of the songs have MUSIC by Richard Rodgers. The lyrics are by Lorenz Hart & Oscar Hammerstein II.
2 - Wesley Britton
Ouch--you're dead on! Music, not lyrics by Mr. Rodgers. I stand corrected--big time.
3 - Igor
I've never understood all the hullabaloo about Sinatra, and I've been hearing him for over 60 years. IMO he recorded one good song: "All Or Nothing At All", unaccompanied, in 1942 during the band musicians strike. Otherwise he just seems to croak along, substituting rubato for any real sense of cadence. He's always off key, which is poorly disguised by various blaring atonal blasts from the accompanying band.
Personally he seems to be a little strutting bully who hangs around with mobsters and is not very good to his friends and lovers.
All that cheap Hollywood/Vegas PR about "ol' blue eyes" and "chairman of the board" just seems testimony to some basic insecurity, to me.