Frank Sinatra - Live From Las Vegas
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Free Music Notes for Live From Las Vegas
Free Music Review: Sinatra in High Spirits
Hit: 4 Stars
The Voice may be past his prime, but the previously unreleased "Live From Las Vegas" emerges as one of Frank Sinatra's better concert discs. Recorded in 1986 at the Golden Nugget, the song selection is surprisingly strong for late-period Sinatra, with a few rarities such as Leiber and Stoller's "The Girls I've Never Kissed." The intimacy of the Nugget showroom makes the CD sound as though Frank was singing in your living room - adding dramatic power to the classic standards. A memorable document of Sinatra's twilight years.Free Music Review: I'd buy it for one song
Hit: 4 Stars
Sinatra was over 70 when this was recorded, and his best work was years behind him, but I've never heard him swing as he does on "Mack the Knife". Literally- the album is worth buying for one song.Free Music Review: The Chairman is enjoyable, but the sonics are not
Hit: 3 Stars
I must confess I was pretty excited to hear about a new live Sinatra disc from the 80's recorded in Las Vegas, as well as the whole idea of a Vegas CD series featuring artists like him, Dino, Bobby Darin and other male and female performers known for their legendary Vegas shows. I am a huge fan of FAS and love his studio recordings during the 50's and 60's. Let me first say that on this live recording Frank's voice holds up exceedingly well to the demands of the repertoire he chose for these concerts- and I say 'these concerts' because it can't be ignored that there has been some editing done here to make it sound like it was one concert.
Although it is always a treat to hear Frank sing no matter the period in his artistic life, what spoils this particular disc is the strange sonics. Yes, some tracks are without problems. But I've listened to this disc on headphones as well as in my car, and Frank's voice often inexplicably travels all around the spectrum from track to track (and sometimes during a song, like during "I've Got A Crush On You"- it begins center right, then suddenly goes to the left). It makes for an odd presentation. Sometimes it feels like you are up on stage in the middle of the orchestra with the Chairman right next to you, and other times you feel like you are in the furthest back seat at the rear of the showroom. Intros and vocals occasionally have reverb added and other times sound dry, almost giving one the impression the recordings took place in different venues and not just at the Golden Nugget. Orchestral mixing varies from track to track. You will notice the screaming french horns in "Luck Be A Lady", "For Once In My Life" and most notably during "I've Got You Under My Skin", where their long notes obliterate the power volume builds that make this Riddle arrangement such a classic. (Actually, I don't hear the horn parts in the original studio recording or on subsequent live recordings, so the parts must've been added in by another hand. Whether or not you like the added french horns, I doubt both Riddle and Sinatra would've wanted the song mixed to sound like a horn concerto with Sinatra obbligato.)
This disc is best for collectors. New listeners who want to hear Sinatra live would be better served by seeking out more representative examples of the master in his heyday, such as Sinatra At The Sands or Sinatra '57. Yet I couldn't bear to give this disc two stars, because there are still some beautiful moments to be enjoyed here ("My Heart Stood Still" and "I Have Dreamed" are both mixed to gorgeous heights). As others have said, a Sinatra release always contains treasures to be mined.
Free Music Review: For Sinatra Archivists Only
Hit: 3 Stars
Just looking at the cover and seeing a graying, nearly 71 year old Frank Sinatra, kind of hints at what you can expect from this one. He's still a fantastic showman, who loves to entertain.. but who's time.. has started to pass.. although not as dramatically as in the "Duets" albums of the early 90's. But like the Duets sessions.. I would say this is more a document of what he was like at a certain point in his life.. as well as how he sounded live in the mid 1980's. From my viewpoint, this is not one to throw in the car on that long road trip. Save that for the Sinatra @ the Sands CD from 66, or Sinatra 57.. two STEREO examples of what the Chairman sounded like at his peak.
Also I'm curious as to the origin of these recordings.. (this is one of a set commemorating the 100th anniversary of Las Vegas). I know the Bobby Darin @ the Flamingo is actually a concert taped in Vegas in 1963 by Capitol Records, but never released.. so the sound quality should be superior. The Dean Martin at the Sands CD on the other hand, sounds like it was recorded by someone with a reel to reel tape recorder in MONO, and *this* concert.. is a blending of Mono and Stereo. Was this a home-made recording made by a casino audio technician? Or perhaps a promotional taping distributed by Steve Wynn to clients of the Golden Nugget? Whatever the case.. it doesn't appear to be a recording that was orginally intended for public distribution, but rather for archival purposes only.. Sinatra was a chronic archivist.. and we are the better for it... But I feel even *he* would question how much of the material is suitable for public release as a representation of his rich legacy.
Free Music Review: Not Sinatra's Best, But We'll Take It.
Hit: 3 Stars
"Live From The Golden Nugget", recorded in 1986, is a welcome additon to the very small number of live Sinatra performances released to date. Many bootleg recordings of live Sinatra performances do exist such as his very last engagement Feb 25, 1995 in Palm Springs, California. This last date, a charity event, includes only six songs but it is THE definitive end to Sinatra's career. Perhaps someday the Sinatra family and estate will relent and make this "Last Performance" commercially available along with some others out there. Until then we have this CD.
The problem with it is that like all Sinatra concerts from about '86 on, FS sings the same old same ole. We've heard nearly all these songs too many times before. Yet a couple are new: "One To A Customer" which is weak; and "The Girls I Never Kissed" which is a sweet tune well designed for Sinatra, the old man.
As a matter of fact, at this time in his life, going into his 70s, Sinatra would have been well advised to put together a collection of wistful, "looking back" tunes, including songs like "Girls". There was some good stuff still being written in the 80's and FS recorded some of these but did not release them. An album of a very old Sinatra singing new songs of long ago backed only by solo piano or guitar would have been interesting. Kind of like the "Wee Small Hours" genre but from an old guy's perspective.
As for this latest "live" CD, Sinatra is as he was at the time: still a commanding presence despite a voice under duress. Too many smokes, too much Jack Daniels, not enough sleep.