Frank Sinatra Conducts Tone Poems of Color [Original recording remastered]

Frank Sinatra | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 8, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Capitol
• ASIN: B00005UMT7
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #113,265 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Something very different, January 16, 2002

By 

Jon Warshawsky "Sinatra Guru" (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Frank Sinatra Conducts Tone Poems of Color (Audio CD)

For a singer known as 'The Voice', the idea of an instrumental album sounds odd, and the title does little to inspire a mad rush to the record store. However, Sinatra loved classical musical and probably enjoyed commissioning this collection of works from the likes of Nelson Riddle, Billy May, Gordon Jenkins, Victor Young and others.

A very different kind of Sinatra. For years this was a difficult album to find (I recall finding one at a used record store for seven dollars, in a cracked case, and it was a great discovery), so the reissue is welcome. If you enjoy classical music, you will find this intriguing. If you cherish the hard swing of Sinatra and Riddle or May, this may not be your cup of tea. To some extent, Sinatra's voice was the most expressive instrument of his era, however, and the attitude and angst that made FS a legend are missed. Sinatra fans will want to add this to their collection, though. It is a thoroughly enjoyable recording -- alternately upbeat and somber (Nelson Riddle's pieces are especially fine) -- that reflects Sinatra's passion for music at a time when commercial considerations had not displaced artistry in the recording industry.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Memories, April 22, 2010

By 

Paul T. Jackson "Information Researcher" (Enumclaw, Wa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Frank Sinatra Conducts Tone Poems of Color (Audio CD)

This was one of my first recordings in my early record collection back in my college days. I remember listening and reading the poems with a friend late at night at a conference in Pittsburgh; Mellon Institute. In later years I was to meet Alec Wilder and work with him on some music from taped improvisations by Bill Evans. Not too much later I was to use one of the poems and compositions at my wife's memorial service.
This is an enduring collection, and it's too bad so few people know about it, and sad too there aren't more of these Lps (1956) or CDs (1996?) available.
Because the poems and the music are each different and separate, it's not like hearing a complete work, but a series held together by sounds of colors. It's a really excellent program and can set one to introspection. Some additional information can be found here (not my information) [...]

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sinatra without Sinatra, October 29, 2008

By 

Stuart Paine (Arlington, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Frank Sinatra Conducts Tone Poems of Color (Audio CD)

TONE POEMS OF COLOR, conducted (ostensibly) by Frank Sinatra, is a collection of lovely short orchestral works. Eight accomplished Hollywood composers, including Sinatra arrangers Alec Wilder, Gordon Jenkins, Nelson Riddle and Billy May, contribute.

Jenkins's "Green", a yearning romantic melody for strings, will immediately please. Riddle's "Gold" is a Ravellian bolero and his "Orange" begins as if it were Les Baxter exotica and finishes like a Broadway show tune. May's "Purple" begins quietly, only halfway through arriving at the big brassy sound one would expect from him - and then doesn't linger there.

Film score fans will appreciate the Victor Young, Elmer Bernstein and Andre Previn compositions. All three of these Hollywood giants deliver signature sounds. Young's "Black", for strings with piano accompaniment, is broad, deep and dark. Previn's "Red" is the album's most melodramatic and "filmy" track. For me, the biggest surprise in this collection is Bernstein's "Silver", which sounds a little like Ravel's "La Valse" conjoined with an edit from THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN ARM! Lesser known is Jeff Alexander. His "Yellow" is especially playful and showy.

Some might quip that an album of music conducted by Sinatra is about as much good as one of Nelson Riddle singing. That would miss the point, wouldn't it? This is appealing music and if we learn of it through Sinatra's involvement that's a good thing.