Most helpful customer reviews
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Good album. Bad Reviews by HORRIBLE REVIEWERS, April 30 2004
That's my take on this. It's not perfect. But it's also a good album by many other standards. Part of the problem is people keep trying to compare Sinatra to Sinatra. Either way it's still the same guy-SINATRA. He moved forward. Why don't some of you? I own the vinyl and now the cd. :)
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Get a life!, Feb 13 2004
In spite of the previous reviewers' well-intended efforts to spare us from sound pollution, "That's Life" is not the world's worst recording. Not even close. It's Sinatra, after all, and he's not in bad voice at all. In fact, after you've collected 30-40 more essential Sinatra CD's (including the practically forgotten "All Alone"), you may as well toss this one in for good measure. The lyrics of the title song could be the script for Old Blue's life and career--"I've been a puppet, a poet, a pauper, a pirate, a pawn and a king; I've been up and down and over and out and I know one thing: Each time I find myself flat on my face I pick myself up and get back in the race." As for the music--the songs and arrangements--it's mostly abominable, leagues beneath the abilities of the Master Storyteller. "Sand and Sea," "Winchester Cathedral," Give Her Love," and "Tell Her" are made up of the reductive, repetitious melodies and empty-headed lyrics that call for a Jerry Vale or Engelbert Humperdinck. The novel (and welcome) swing treatment of "Somewhere My Love" might have worked had the orchestrator (Ernie Freeman) not liberally loaded it up with so much schmaltzy clutter. On the other hand, there are at least four good tunes which, like the others on the album, were frequently played on juke boxes and in juke joints during the mid '60's. And after the adolescent chanting of the Fab 4, the tame tooting of Herb Alpert, the froth of the 5th Dimension, and those screaming mimi's Janis and Jimmy, the identifiably, reassuringly human sound of Sinatra's voice was frequently the only sane and honest thing cutting through the psychedelic miasma. Salt this one away as an improbable, even partially successful, record of Sinatra's return to pop culture during the age of Aquarius--in fact, I suspect the Chairman himself was supplying the salt.
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1.0 out of 5 stars
TERRIBLE record !, Dec 29 2003
If you're a fan of Sinatra's Capitol years, of Sinatra the swinger, Sinatra the great saloon singer, the ring-a-ding Sinatra, or Sinatra the brokenhearted loser, just keep off from that record, stay away, BEWARE!This record is absolutely dreadful. It features Ol' Blue Eyes' worst ever arranger, Ernie Freeman, who was responsible for taking the aging Sinatra into the realm of middle-of-the-road pop. If you dislike "Strangers In The Night" (I know I do), then you'll get just the same kind of garbage with this record. This is a hardcore fan speaking here... I wouldn't speak evil of that record if there was any redeeming feature to it, only I can see none! So stick to the 1954-1964 Sinatra, and you'll never go wrong. After that, it takes a little listening before you buy the stuff. Albums arranged by Nelson Riddle, Billy May, Gordon Jenkins or Neal Hefti are keepers... As for the ones by Don Costa and Ernie Freeman, well, you can't say you haven't been warned!
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