Sinatra: Nothing But The Best [Original recording remastered, Best of]

I'll be honest. When I first heard about this cd through The Sinatra Family Forums back in February, I was ready to tear it to shreds. I thought to myself, "Frank's gone 10 years now, and they're marking the event with yet another compilation with same songs repackaged for the umpteenth time?" Even when it was announced that the songs were to be digitally remastered and a never before released bonus track was to be included, my anger and resentment towards this compilation still stuck.

However, as the release date grew nearer and I got word from several people who were able to hear it before it officially hit the market told me it was totally worth it, I slowly warmed up to it and by last week was all set on buying it.

When I received the cd this afternoon, I was extremely excited, even though I thought myself, "I heard these songs thousands of time before." The first thing that struck me was how beautiful the packaging was: the cd comes in a cardboard case with one of the best pictures of Frank ever taken. The cd's booklet is made from a elegant, smooth velvet like material and the liner notes by Charles Pignone as well as the various rare photos of Frank at work are excellent. Honestly, the packaging alone is enough to grab your attention.

But enough about the artwork. What about the music?

As stated already, my biggest concern with this collection was that I heard all these songs before. I had already received the mammoth "Complete Reprise Studio Recordings" boxed set, which had all these songs (except one) as well as over 400 additional tracks, all of which featured more than satisfactory sound quality. Still, undaunted, I popped the cd onto my Ipod and went for a listen.

Needless to say, I was blown away.

The sound quality is INCREDIBLE. To hear the opening notes of "Come Fly With Me" bristle with sharpness and clarity is in itself a major thrill, and to hear Frank's voice with such depth and range only adds to the fun.
Seriously, there were parts of certain songs I never noticed before. Listen to how beautiful the harp sounds on "Bewitched" (remastered from the original 35MM tapes) or how sharp and clear Count Basie's classic piano ticklings on the intro to "The Best Is Yet To Come" sound, or how fresh and powerful the horns on "New York, New York" blaze through the speakers. Sonically, the album is as close to flawless as humanly possible.

Furthermore, knowing that many fans would be concerned with the whole "I've heard these songs before" stigma, the producers included several little bonuses on certain songs to surprise faithful listeners:

(WARNING: If you don't me to spoil these surprises, skip this section!)

-The tag on "Come Fly With Me" has been changed from "And don't tell your momma" to another line from an alternate take, "Pack a small bag."
-Though sources say otherwise , "The Best Is Yet To Come" seems to be a different mix (possibly spliced together from another take). Listen to how Frank phrases "Come the day you're mine" on the bridge, it's different from previous releases.
-"Strangers In The Night" is extended, with a few more "Do be do be do's."

But the real surprise, however, is the never before released track. "Body And Soul," an old standad Frank first recored for Columbia in 1947, dates back to the "L.A. Is My Lady" sessions in 1984 with Quincy Jones. For whatever reason, Frank was dissatisfied with the initial take on the song, and left it off the album.

24 years later, however, Frank Sinatra Jr. dusted off Frank's vocal track, removed Jones' arrangement, and instead recorded a new orchestral backing that fits the song beautifully. Listening to this new majestic chart for the song, you'd never guess it was initially planned for the overly produced "L.A. Is My Lady" (a potential masterpiece marred by too many slick, 1980s' style production values). It sounds like it was supposed to be on "Sinatra & Strings."

And if the orchestration isn't enough, what about The Man himself? Here's Frank, in the autumn of his years, still better than anyone around, punching out a timeless stanard with the same passion and fury that permeated through his most beloved recordings. It is a truly tour de force performance that was worth the wait.

For all the pros for "Nothing But The Best," there are, however a few cons. My main gripe, and it might be asking for a bit too much, is that it could've been two discs. There are a lot of Frank's best recordings from the Reprise era missing, such as "In The Still Of The Night," "The Coffee Song," "You're Nobody 'Till Somebody Loes You," "Come Rain Or Come Shine," (or anything from "Sinatra & Strings," which is undeservedly snubbed), "They Can't Take That Away From Me," "Ol' Man River," (arguably his best recording ever), "I Have Dreamed," "Soliloquy," "All Or Nothing At All," (either the 1961 ballad rendition or the thrilling 1966 swing version would have sufficed) and many others could've been included, to give the cd a bit more diversity instead of the typical hits. Also, while they were arguably done better in their initial Capitol incarnations, his redoings of "I Get A Kick Out Of You," "I've Got You Under My Skin," "All The Way," "In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning," "How Little We Know," and others are still excellent renditions and are worth including.

But in the end, this nitpicking adds little. The fact of the matter "Nothing But The Best" is still an excellent compilation with unbeatable sound with 22 songs ung by the greatest singer popular music has ever heard.

I'm really surprised at all the five star reviews posted here and especially taken aback at the raves about the sound quality. I was looking forward to this disc because Sinatra's Reprise catalog has never sounded as good as it should on CD and once I saw the track listing for this disc, and assumed that it would be mastered properly, I knew it was something I wanted to buy the day it hit the shelves. A lot of the tracks do sound better than ever and the most glorious example of sonic improvement is on "Summer Wind". It's obvious that some tweaking was done on this stereo mix to improve the sound and this track really does sound incredible! But some of the remixing (which I'm assuming was done by going back to the original master tapes and making some recording soundboard adjustments) is far from an improvement to my ears. While I'm happy to have the extended fade on "Strangers In The Night", the way the tambourine has been buried in the mix makes it sound like something's missing. And holy Manhattan, what the frank happened to "New York, New York"? It sounds terrible! You can hardly tell that there was a drummer present at the recording session at all! After Frank's "A-number one" line and before the track's tempo slows and he sings, "These little town blues...", there's supposed to be a snare roll. I can't hear it at all. Why would they ruin this song by covering up the entire drum track?? It makes no sense. The power and driving energy of the arrangement has been zapped and it sounds like just another cover of an overplayed showtune (albeit one with an outstanding vocal!) So while overall this disc contains a great song selection and should be a no-brainer 5 star release, I think it's shortcomings barely qualify it for 3 stars.

Nothing But The Best is a Frank Sinatra album of just some of his best; this really can't be called a "best of" album because it has a mere twenty-two songs on it--and The Chairman certainly had more than twenty-two hits on any of his record labels! However, Frank's fans will love this album anyway; it does contain a few extra seconds here and there to capture Frank's comments. There is a very fine USPS commemorative stamp and, just as they say, there's a previously unissued rendition of "Body And Soul."

The CD starts off with Frank Sinatra performing "Come Fly With Me." "Come Fly With Me" is the perfect upbeat start to this album; and Frank's voice is in excellent form. The big band style arrangement works well for this number and it whets your appetite for more--great! Similarly, "The Way You Look Tonight" has Frank again singing at his best with a more mature voice; but yet he uses this opportunity to showcase the magnificent qualities of his voice. Frank's excellent diction and his uncanny sense of timing enhance his singing even more.

Frank gives "The Good Life" a very fine treatment and the music that accompanies him is very pretty but they never drown out Frank as he sings this very well. "The Girl From Ipanema" retains its usually bossa nova treatment but when Frank sings this you'll swear nobody could ever have sung this as well as Frank did! Frank takes ballads and puts his own stamp on them with his sublime interpretations of them; and this impresses me greatly.

"Strangers In The Night" sounds fresh and new when Frank sings this so very well; and the strings are used to great advantage. I love it! "Call Me Irresponsible" shines equally bright when Frank performs this with sensitivity; his voice remains in excellent form and it's truly a pleasure to hear him sing.

"That's Life" is actually one of my personal favorites on this CD (believe it or not); and Frank sings this with passion and all his might. The chorus that backs up Frank enhances the beauty of the number even further. Of course, "My Way" is a classic Sinatra tune; and I always love it when I hear Frank sing this. "My Way" is easily a major highlight of this album and I predict you'll enjoy this version of "My Way," too.

The theme from New York, New York gets the royal treatment from Frank Sinatra--he was born to sing songs like this! WOW! The CD also ends nicely with Frank Sinatra performing "Body And Soul;" this previously unissued interpretation of this ballad is worth the price of admission alone!

Sure, this CD contains just some of Frank's best from his later years; but I have a feeling many of his fans may want this after all. This is also a possible starter CD for newcomers to Frank's artistry and people who enjoy classic pop vocals will enjoy this as well.

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