Frank Sinatra - Live From Las Vegas
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Free Music Notes for Live From Las Vegas
Free Music Review: Quite Possibly The Best Sinatra Live Recording In Existence.
Hit: 5 Stars
I am not being over the top with the title of my review. I have noticed various negative reviews for this album. I myself have been a Sinatra fan since I was a little kid. I have various live recordings of The Chairman Of The Board in concert on both cd and dvd, and very few of them come close to matching the quality of this cd culled from Frank's December 1986 engagement at The Golden Nugget.
Despite being 71 years old, Sinatra performs with the same vigor and energy he had when he waa 25. Kicking off with a blistering rendition of "I've Got The World On A String", Frank is loose, informal, relaxed and in overall top form throughout the entire show. He converses with the audience, jokes around with the orchetra and pours his heart and soul into every performance. This is most apparent on the uptempo numbers, which among others include old warhorses like "I Get A Kick Out Of You", "Luck Be A Lady" and an utterly fantastic "I've Got You Under My Skin", as well as blistering rendition of the then newly recorded cover of "Mack The Knife". Mellower numbers like "What Now My Love", "My Heart Stood Still", a lovely "I've Got A Crush On You" and "Maybe This Time" g over just as well, and the croaky rasp that settled into Frank's voice as he aged somehow makes their sentiments seem more endearing. "My Way" and "New York, New York" are of course fantastic.
But the undisputed highlight for me is the Rodgers & Hammerstein standard "I Have Dreamed". Not a lot of reviewers have mentioned this one, but it's the best song on here. Sinatra imbues the song with an unprecented amount of warmth and tenderness as he dedicates it to two audience mebers celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. Sinatra was always a crowd pleaser, and this performance provs why. It's the most passionate Sinatra has ever soundend.
Also of note is the magical version of "Someone To Watch Over Me". Sung in a longing whisper, Frank really hits the sot with this one. This tender classic has rarely sounded better, as Frank goes for the heart and wrenches it. At 71, Frank already had more than his hare of women to watch over him, but he sings this song with so much passion and sincerity it makes it completely believable.
A lot of reviewers have complained about the uneven sound quality. I myself haven't noticed a great discrepancy at all, and probably would never notice it if it hadn't been pointed out at all. As long as you have a decent pair of headphones or a good stereo system, you're set.
The packaging and liner notes are attractive and informative. This cd makes a great companion to the 5 dsic "Sinatra: Vegas" boxed set, which along with this cd gives you the most entertaining performances of the greatest entertainer of our time, and of all time.
Free Music Review: Only for connoisseurs of Sinatra, life, and good music
Hit: 5 Stars
No question that there are things to be suspicious, if not to dislike, about this set of 19 previously unreleased performances recorded during a December 1986 engagement at the Golden Nugget. The tie-in with Las Vegas iconography is blatant and exploitive to the point of being insulting to anyone who purchases the CD for (would you believe?) the music. (Open the album's cover, and the print--enlarged and in bold--screams: "Congratulations! You now own a special piece of the Las Vegas Centennial Celebration!") The audio balance is uneven, with the voice occasionally sounding a bit distant or taking on excessive echo. (There's no disguising the fact that the recording is not of a single performance and that equipment changes were made along the way.) Finally, the voice does waver a couple of times (imagine that!), especially early in the program on "What Now My Love."
But this may be Sinatra's most satisfying live performance on record, making up for "The Main Event" (the most disappointing Sinatra album in my entire collection of over fifty albums) and superior to the slightly overrated "Sinatra at the Sands." First of all, listen to the sheer joy and generous good will in the man's voice. No gratuitous rat pack business or Chairman of the Board posturing. He can't contain the love--from the crediting of composers and arrangers (more than usual) who have served him well to gratitude and subservience to his audience to the boyish excitement that simply bubbles to the surface during fresh readings of old and new material ("The Girls I Never Kissed," "Only One to a Customer"). And this would be one of the last times he would perform with his all-time favorite drummer, the irreplaceable Irv Cottler.
Sinatra's live performances were far too electrifying to be adequately represented by any recording, and his "bigger than life" persona never came off well on a TV screen. To be sure, not even Sinatra could create away from the studio the timeless and pure musical art realized on his precious "concept albums" for Capital and Reprise. But as a reminder of his other claim-"Entertainer of the Century"-this album at least comes closer than the other, admittedly few, live recordings.
Ignore the title and the gaudy sin city packaging. This is a live recording with genuine life! In place of the old Vegas swagger, this is a Sinatra of tremendous grace, gentility, and vulnerability. It's a Sinatra who is universal and quite frankly irresistible.
Free Music Review: Beyond The Rat Pack
Hit: 5 Stars
This is an essential CD to celebrate Sinatra, the man, singer, the legend. When this show was recorded in the 80's Sinatra's voice may not have been "what it was", but Frank kept performing and in turn paid the ultimate respect to his fans. In fact he kept performing into the ealy 90's when he reached a point where he simply could not continue.
At this show we have Mr. Sinatra well past his "Rat Pack" days, and in lies the beauty of this show. In place of his sometimes arogant posturing, we have an icon, clearly happy and even humbled to still be delighting his legions of fans. Frank is relaxed and clearly he is having as good a time as the adoring crowd,
As always he is backed by first rate musicians, and he gives the crowd many of the songs that they have come to hear. He salutes his friend from the "age of cool" Bobby Darin with Mack The Knife, and does his take on the already by then reworkings of standards with his take on I've Got A Crush On You, a song made popular in again in the 80's, by Linda Rhonstadt.
Fo me, other highlights include; I Have Dreamed, Maybe This Time, and One To A Customer.
A great feature is having New York, New York, live. How many performers are lucky enough to land a new singature song later in their careers. Frank had a hit with this track back in 1981, and it became his "new" it song and he usually closed out his shows with it (as he does here).
We all loved the one and only Frank Sinatra, and at this point we knew he loved us back.
I had the pleasure of seeing him live around this time in Atlantic City, and I'll never forget that evening.
Ken
Free Music Review: Sinatra Past His Prime Is Still Better Than Any Other Singer
Hit: 5 Stars
The best review I ever read of Frank Sinatra went something like this: "Sinatra's voice was like gravel, his singing off key, and he couldn't remember the lyrics. And even so, he is still the best singer alive today." I'm paraphrasing from memory. I wish I knew who wrote that or what publication I read it in. What the reviewer was saying is that Sinatra at his worst is better than anyone else at their best. It's a hell of a compliment, and one I very much agree with, especially when you think about what popular music is like today. It is also what I would respond with to the other, um, "vocal critics" reviewing this cd. So, yes, this CD is Sinatra past his prime, but in very good voice for 71. The sound quality is rough, but who cares? It's Sinatra and I loved it.
I saw Frank in 1986, 1989, and 1993. All were excellent shows, all were good nights for Sinatra. Lucky me. This CD is similar to the show I saw at the Tacoma Dome in 1986, although the room at the Golden Nugget is obviously more intimate. This would have been quite a show to see. I'm glad to see more Sinatra coming out on audio CD. Now, I'd LOVE to see more performances from the 80's and 90's on DVD. That would be awesome.
I would recommend this CD to the Sinatra-phile enthusiast (like me), or anyone who is brand new to this, the greatest American singer that ever lived.
Free Music Review: Sinatra Live: 1986
Hit: 5 Stars
This CD is a reminder that Frank Sinatra was a powerhouse live performer well into his seventies. Not only is he in great voice on this recording--he is clearly in great spirits. He is having the time of his life and it shows.
In a few years, Sinatra would begin forgetting lyrics on a regular basis. He would also soon jettison his monologue, or as he refers to it on this recording as, "Now comes the time to talk." These warm and witty moments were always a highlight of any of his concerts. It certainly is in this one.
The songs chosen for this program are among the best you could find in a Sinatra concert. In the early 1960's, an album titled The Concert Sinatra contained the pieces that weren't neccesarily Sinatra hits, but songs that were concert favorites. He includes three of those in this performance, "Luck Be A Lady," "My Heart Stood Still," and "I Have Dreamed."
The Sinatra staples are included as well: "I've Got You Under My Skin," "I Get A Kick Out of You," "I've Got The World On A String," "My Way," and "The Theme From New York, New York."
Each wonderful arrangement on this album let the songs take flight due to the incredible 40 piece orchestra.