Customer Reviews

Duets & Duets 2

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Sinatra is the single best voice of American song, and the Duets albums are the absolute worst Sinatra albums available. I own more than 50 Sinatra albums, and I can unequivocally say that the Duets I & II albums are the only ones I NEVER LISTEN TO. The version of "I've Got You Under My Skin" may be the single worst piece of noise that has ever emerged with Frank's voice on it. You absolutely MUST listen to the REAL albums, such as Songs for Swingin' Lovers, Only the Lonely, Come Fly with Me and others. SAVE YOUR MONEY!! There are so many perfect Sinatra albums that I would feel terrible if you bought this mass-market rubbish instead of the others.

The Man..No, the ChairMAN of the Board, has no equal. These albums, both 1 & 2, at his age when they were done, are demonstrations of style, technique, versatility, phrasing and admittedly some technology. No Sinatra fan should be without them.

For rabid completists only...which would include myself. However, of all the Sinatra CDs in the universe to add to your collection, these should be the last. For the same money you can buy 3 or 4 classic Capitol or Reprise albums that are among the finest records ever made. If you already have Duets I or II and are considering buying this for the extra interview tracks, stay away... it's not interesting stuff at all and not worth the extra money. Many of these Sinatra performances would actually be worth hearing without the overdubbed "duets" by this strange cast of characters that only a marketing & PR committee could have ever dreamed up (Jimmy Buffet? Gloria Estefan? Luther Vandross? Bono????). In fact, "One For My Baby" is a beautiful, twilight reading tainted only by the thakfully minimal overdubbed soprano sax noodlings of the nauseating Kenny G. There are a few other near misses here: duets with Lorrie Morgan, Natalie Cole, Lena Horne, and Linda Ronstadt are okay... Still, this set will leave you cold and wanting to hear more of The Man and less of his phoned-in guests. (rumor has it that you can find a "black-market" CD of Sinatra's vocals from these sessions without the overdubbed duets [it's titled "Solos"]. Too bad Capitol Records hasn't released those tracks as a "Limited Edition" instead of this set.)

I am an occupational therapist working with people who have had hip and knee replacements, strokes, cardiac artery bypasses, etc. Every Thursday, me and the movement therapist have what we call a Gross Motor Group for a small group of patients. We use this CD in our therapy session and the older people just love it. We have them get up and dance without holding onto their walkers and also move their arms and legs to the music while seated. It's a great CD and a wonderful addition to anyone's collection, especially a therapists.

I accicentally came across this CD set packaged in a very attractive purple box with gold lettering.

The production of this Duet & Duets with these great artists is an amazing task in itself.

The "One For My Baby (And One More For The Road) duet with Kenny G's saxophone shows us why Sinatra was and still is the greatest saloon singer.

"Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out To Dry/In the Wee Small Hours Of The Morning" duet with Carly Simon was simply marvelous. Carly Simon was initiallly reluctant to participate but I'm glad she did.

"Luck Be A Lady" duet with Chrissie Hynde was too cute to stop playing.

There's a bonus 3rd CD which is the Radio Spcial filled with interviews with some of the singers (i.e. Gloria Estafan, Aretha Franklin, etc.) and more songs.

Sinatra fan or not, you simply gotta get this one.

Anyone familiar with the awesome depth of Mr.Sinatra's song catalogue should hear/buy this only after about 60 other CD's. The general rule to thumb is the more "rock oriented" the performer, the worse the duet. On all of them, the Man is in his late 70's,making a game effort with a voice that sadly has sung thousands and thousands and thousands of professional hours, and cannot be near his peak. In other words, hoarse, course, and almost shot by this time. Give the Man ***** (5-stars) for the effort!! His best numbers are with his own peers (though really no one is Frank's peer): Lena Horne, Steve and Eydie.Tony Bennett..From the younger crowd, Lorrie Morgan is excellent, and Neil Diamond, along with Frank Jr., is reasonable also...The trouble here is that you have Bono, C. Simon, Kenny G.,Jimmy Buffet, and some others who belong in the same ring with the Man like an 8th Grader belongs in the ring with your favorite heavyweight...Ridiculous...This is a study in how far popular "singers" have fallen in about 35 years...Only for the completist with a lot of extra cash...If you're a youngster, this is NOT Frank at his best...Get COME DANCE WITH ME as a starter kit, from 1959!!! Then e mail me, and I'll help you further. Or look at my (and others) Frank reviews here on AMAZON!!

What can I say about Mr.Sinatra? This was my first CD that I bought and I have to say that it is great. I love all the songs and it is a great box set! We'll miss you Frank!

If you're a Sinatra fan, this hurts! It saddens me to think that a young person might but this album and think to himself, "What in the world was so special about this guy?" Please buy "Only the Lonely," "In the Wee Small Hours," "Sinatra and Strings," "A Swingin' Affair," "Come Dance with Me," "Songs for Swingin' Lovers," and get an idea what made this man a cultural icon. "Duets", a project foisted on an elderly Sinatra clouds the greatest of the Voice who, I'm certain, would have never conceived or permitted such a project at this moment of his life.

I have been listening to Frank Sinatra for my whole life and I must say that these two CDs are probably Frank's finest. I have been listening to these CDs almost every day for the last 5 years and when I listen to Frank Sinatra singing solo...I am sad to say that seems boring compared to the DUETS. The DUETS are really just exciting, fun, and have a lot of spirit to them. I recommend these CDs to anyone. 5 STARS WONDERFUL AWESOME MUST HAVE.