Customer Reviews

Frank Sinatra - Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back

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after viewing this DVD twice, i cannot but say, this is truly a gem. this represents the lost era of american pop music. in this age of rap and hard rock, the gentleness, the elegance, the 40 piece big band. a time when ladies wore night gown and gentlemen wore black tie to show like this.... no more. i encourage young people below 30 to watch this... to learn about a time when there was good manner, elegance.

back to the DVD. sinatra may be a bit older but still sings great. gordon jenkins and don costa's big band (with string) provided superb support. also, to my surprise, i saw a few famous faces in the audience. i saw fred astaire, sammy davis jr. Lucy Ball plus many others i can't recall their names but know that they are movie stars of some sorts......

Yes, it is always difficult for me to resist peformances by Frank Sinatra. I always imagined I would dislike him, personally, but there is no question that he is one of the finest performers of his era.

This television special is a must-have for any Sinatra buff. After all, it's from when he came out of retirement in front of an all-star audience.

There's a very nice balance between what was new material from arguably his finest album (of the same title -- particularly including "You Will Be My Music", "Let Me Try Again", and "Send In The Clowns") and Sinatra standards (who can resist his joy in singing "I Get A Kick Out Of You", "I've Got You Under My Skin", or "I've Got The World On A String"). The saloon segment is typically sentimental Sinatra.

The segment with Gene Kelly is great fun! Their personal pleasure in working together is quite evident, and the blend of flash-back scenes to the MGM years and their ability to still do a few dance steps is charming.

The video quality is good for the era, but too bad it had not been recorded in stereo. However, it's difficult to imagine many people not enjoying this delightful trip into the past, and certainly one of the best television performances by a performer who didn't always shine in that medium.

The highlight of this video is the wonderful routine between Frank and Gene Kelly. It makes you wonder why they didn't do an entire special instead of just the one segment. I strongly disagree with another reviewer who thinks that the Sinatra-Kelly segment is forced and contrived. The rapport between these two mega-stars is easy, relaxed and wonderful! Frank's voice is no longer quite the exquisite instrument it was in his Capitol days, but it has a world-weary, hard edge to it that perfectly complements an older, more reflective Sinatra. The musical highlight of this special is Frank's interpretation of " You Will Be My Music" which opens and closes the video. Not to be missed is "Ol' Blue Eyes" straight-from-the-heart rendition of "Let Me Try Again." It's capable of making you reach for that scotch and saying to yourself, " Yeah, that's exactly MY LIFE too!" And do not miss Frank's no frills version of "Send in the Clowns." I think you can almost make an argument that it's the definitive version of the song. So sit back and relax; have a scotch-on the- rocks (or several) and enjoy the entertainer of the century. And then go out and get the CD which is even better! The video and the CD perfectly complement each other and are essential purchases for any serious Sinatra-phile.

Frank was back. Yes, he's older, a bit heavier and his voice perhaps is now only 75-80% of what it was in his hey day. BUT....his magic and skill of phrasing and interpretation is still intact and perhaps more mature and grand now. It would continue to grow even after 1973 and IMO peak out around 1980.

This program indeed provides you a good cross section of
a) Sinatra, the swaggering swinger
b) Sinatra, the lonely saloon singer
c) Sinatra, the song and dance man with master Gene Kelly.
d) Sinatra, the contemp and still relevant artist addressing contemporary material of the early 70s.

The highlights are the saloon medley arranged and conducted by Gordon Jenkins and SEND IN THE CLOWNS..also arranged by Jenkins. Sinatra sings from deep within the heart, the pain and the sadness...and you can feel it. The arrangements are superb and have the perfect amount of emotion like you would expect from Gordon Jenkins.

I am glad he came back cause in 1990 I got to see him. By that time, his status as legend was cemented for good.

OL'BLUE EYES came back, he left us in 1998 but HE'S with us through his songs.

While it's true that Frank in 1973 didn't have the vocal range or exuberance from the Capitol years, his phrasing, intonation and presence were still wonderfully intact. His ability to convey emotion in a song is unsurpassed. I'm one of the few Sinatra fans who actually prefers his Reprise period and think his voice became more resonant, deeper and expressive as he aged. Certainly he couldn't sing as exquisitely as he had in 1955, but he added a world-weary pathos and life experience to his performances as he entered his sixth decade.

The format of this performance is intimate and interesting; it's not just Frank swinging in front of an orchestra on stage. The camera does many close ups which capture Sinatra's ability to convey the meaning of a lyric not just in phrasing, but in facial expression. It's fascinating because we usually only hear Frank sing, we don't see him when listening to a record. The highlight has to be "Send in the Clowns," which is a bare-bones and nearly definitive interpretation of this song, which in 1973 was still brand new. Who else can bring such remarkable clarity and emotion when singing? No one!

The segment with Gene Kelly is interesting and their chemistry is obvious. It's interesting to contrast how Kelly's dancing ability had radically declined and that Sinatra's vocal majestry hadn't diminished since their initial onscreen pairing in 1945.

If you appreciate the older, more mature Sinatra, then by all means purchase this video. I've watched it several times and enjoy it immensely. It makes us wish there was someone today... anyone... who could sing like this amazing man.

My first introduction to "Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back" was the 1973 LP, not the program recorded that same year that's on this DVD. In both, however, is one of the finest songs that Sinatra ever recorded, Joe Raposo's composition, "You Will Be My Music," which starts and closes the performance on the DVD. Add to that another fine composition, "Let Me Try Again," and then throw in some of the very tasty Sinatra standards, and then top it off with a segment with the great Gene Kelly (their performance of "Nice and Easy" is worth the price of admission by itself), and this is an outstanding near-hour of entertainment.

The Sinatra voice is not what it was in the '50s, but it's still better than most, and, as always, the delivery is impeccable.

The entire dvd has its moments. You Will Be My Music is highly overrated and overdone in this dvd. Everything else, is a gem. The medley of "loser" songs, show that Frank is the master of vulnerability,and sensitivity. He sings these songs as if he has experienced,every poignant moment depicted in the lyrics. Gene Kelly is, as always, a gentleman. The two,together seem to be genuine friends. This dvd is well worth it for any admirer of Frank. He looks and sounds in control and in demand!

I just got into Frank Sinatra this past year, and this was one of the first shows I watched after my father passed in October of last year.

What can I say about this special. Frank Sinatra returns after his 1971 retirement, in great shape, and gives us one of his best Tv-specials ever.

I could go song by song like I do on some of my Sintra reviews, but everything here is what a Frank Sinatra special should be. All the songs from the past are here, a dance number with Gene Kelly, and his songs from his new album from the time.

They setup and shooting of this special was great. They start the special with Sinatra coming out of a spotlight to a bunch of fans and friends who scream, and welcome him back. "My Way" blares in the background. Sinatra then takes the mike and does "You Will Be My Music."

Man or woman. If you have ever lost a love one, but wished you could continue to live for them, then watch the opening of this special. It will drive you to tears and give a new meaning to "You will be my music."

Specials like this one, The Man and His Music, and Concerts for the Americas make me forget of that substandard -- The Main Event. Which I once considered a good special, and still do.

Sinatra can phrase a lyric like no one else.His mature voice along with the well thought out songs makes this a must for music historians.

Despite the excellence of his movie roles and recordings (especially the Sinatra-Riddle Capitol "concept" albums), Sinatra was rarely at his best on television--his was not the "cozy" personality the little tube seemed best suited for--the Perry Como, Andy Williams, even Dean Martin and certainly Fred Rogers comfortable type. So a viewer has to choose from the limited Sinatra TV videography with care. Avoid the compilations (numerous quickly-assembled collections, poorly documented, with inferior production values). Place the Sinatra special with Ella and Jobim ("A Man and His Music") at the very top of the list. The second is probably the newly released "Sinatra at the Sands '78", available only on the five-disc set "Sinatra-Vegas." "Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back" belongs no higher than third. It clearly offers better music than his "official" coming out of retirement at Madison Square Garden in 1974 ("The Main Event"), which was, truth be told, not an artistic triumph. Sinatra was, as happens to all singers, not in good voice on the two nights during which the event was held (especially the second, a "live" Sunday night telecast that was "painful" for some of us to listen to-- twice, when the Monday morning detractors at work began "piling on." Some of us even questioned if he was not overly hasty in his decision to come back).

But Sinatra was truly back, and would soon convincingly validate a fan's belief in his exclusive right to the titles of America's greatest singer and entertainer, the Master Storyteller, American's favorite swinger and saloon singer, the Chairman of the Board, the "Voice" of the century. This DVD can be unreservedly recommended to Sinatra die-hards like me. To those not as yet convinced, start with a collection of his '40s Columbias, then to the '50s Capitols, finally to the '60s Reprises, then to the aforementioned two DVDs, and finally to this DVD. His was a career lasting over 60 years! His musicianship should not be judged based upon a single performance.