Customer Reviews

Main Event Live

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is one of the better albums from Sinatra's post-retirement period -- his voice is in fine form, and the set list includes enough of the great standards (Autumn in New York, Lady is a Tramp, I've Got You Under My Skin) to make some of the 1970s music (Sunshine of My Life, Bad Bad Leroy Brown) more palatable. 'My Way' is wonderful live, and even the lesser songs benefit from the deliberately larger-than-life feel to this media event.

As one of several hundred million Americans who finds Howard Cosell irritating, the introduction seems a bit long, but somehow it belongs here on a live Sinatra album in 1974. The Woody Herman Band provides an exciting backing for FS, playing the arrangements -- by Nelson Riddle, Don Costa and others -- with a lot of punch.

This may not be one of the classic Sinatra albums, but it is very enjoyable, upbeat and nostalgic. When you think about what else was happening in the '70s, The Main Event may be one of the better records of its era.

Recommended.

Frank Sinatra gives a powerful performance on this soundtrack CD for the TV special of the same name. Sinatra's voice is in very good form even though he was older when this was recorded. Sinatra sings with the usual sensitivity and electricity that we expect from a legendary performer; and this CD proves it.

The introduction by Howard Cosell is too long; this should have been shortened--less is more, right? However, when Frank takes the stage the audience forgets Cosell. Frank Sinatra starts off with a modern rendition of "The Lady Is A Tramp" and the crowd roars and cheers him on. Sinatra then move into "I Get A Kick Out Of You;" this is very well done. Other classic ballads on this CD include "I've Got You Under My Skin;" "My Kind of Town" and the closing number "My Way."

Frank also respects the talents of younger musicians. For example, he performs "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" by Jim Croce and "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life" by Stevie Wonder.

Sinatra's rapport with his audience is excellent. He jokes with them throughout the concert and he tells a brief story about how he got his start singing in New York City. The audience loves every minute of it.

The Woody Herman band performs flawless musical arrangements to accompany Frank as he sings. The band plays arrangements by the likes of Nelson Riddle and Don Costa. Excellent!

The sound quality is very good; and the liner notes offer two wonderful black and white photos of Sinatra including the cover art. There is a brief essay about Frank Sinatra. You get the song credits, too.

Overall, this CD is a must-have for Sinatra fans. I highly recommend this CD for fans of classic pop vocals, too. Get this CD--and may you enjoy it as much as I did!

This is one of the best live performance albums, not by just Sinatra, but of any singer. Since `blue eyes" is at his best performing and connecting to his audience, it is no wonder that the CD version elicits this feeling despite not being able to actually see it. The only negative I have with the recording is the long laborious introduction provided by Howard Cosell. I listened to it the first couple of times, however, thanks to magic of track skipping I can get right into the "The Lady Is A Tramp".

Frank's bar room style of singing really hits the high point with "Angel Eyes", a song that quite frankly I was not really enamored with when it first came out. The live version provides a great way of presenting this song, with Frank convincing you that HE is the down and out man speaking to "anyone who would listen."

The highlight of this CD is "I've Got You Under My Skin", simply one of the greatest live recording of any one song, ever. If I listen to this same song in another forum, even if it is Sinatra singing it, I am left incomplete because it doesn't have the soul that this performance provided. Of course, it was not all Sinatra. The orchestra and the arrangements used in this performance were SUPERB, especially with "Let Me Try Again" and "You Are the Sunshine of My Life".

Highly recommended!!!

This concert is one of the most exciting, high energy recordings ever put out by Sinatra. Although in the '70s his voice was worn a bit, when you consider that this man had recently come out of retirement, many interpretations here are GRAND! Included is probably the "gassiest" version EVER of "I've Got You Under My Skin." The orchestra just ROCKS with Sinatra's hard hitting vocals, delivering all his trademark POW, and then some! His "one more time" reprise doesn't hurt either. "Angel Eyes" is given a haunting treatment, as is "My Way." The sound is tremendous, the mixdown topnotch, and this performance deserves a lot more attention than it gets.

This recording features Ol' Blue Eyes in all his swaggering glory. The songs are unbelievable. His rapor with the audience is unparalleled. I only wonder why this album is different from the actual live broadcast (I thought it was only one night); this is definitely the better version, though, performance wise. It comes off as so perfect and flawless, when you actually watch the concert you may be let down to see tired and old Frank looks, yet I HIGHLY recomend the DVD, because the NYC audience reaction is indescribeable, not to mention all decked out in 70s wardrobe! (How could you resist seeing it? "Carol Channing -- 'Hello, Dolly!'"). If you want to own only one Frank Sinatra album, or are just starting a Frank collection, this is the one to get!

Frank Sinatra was 59 when he came into Madison Square Garden. In his book "Sinatra", Will Friedwald reports that this event was shot in pieces by a TV crew and patched together for the TV special The Main Event. He quotes saxist Jerry Dodgion "every time Sinatra was ready to go into a song, the director would start and stop endlessly. Sinatra couldn't build up his usual momentum because of the TV crew." With all the these interruptions, Sinatra lost the spontaneity of his live performances. Even though his adoring fans overreact to every gesture and move, he sounds tired and eager to end things. Frank Sinatra had been taking good care of his fans and audiences for 35 years with his masterful and unique take on The Great American Songbook. Who was taking care of him on this one?

There is a reason that Francis Albert Sinatra has been dubbed as "The Entertainer of the Century"--- and this is why. No one delivers like Sinatra. And if Sinatra isn't enough to get worked up about, then the set list is! This album could easlily double as a greatest hits collection. With the trademark songs like "The Lady Is A Tramp", "I Get A Kick Out Of You", and the live set staple, "I've Got You Under My Skin"... you couldn't hope to hear Sinatra sing any better of songs. And he, of course, closes with the biographically-themed hit "My Way". And, as always, Frankie is backed by a brilliant jazz orchestration and some of the best brass you've ever heard in your life. Frank Sinatra at the Garden is one of the better live albums and ranks right up there with Judy Garland's Carnegie Hall performance.

for a singer who is almost 60 years old, it is remarquable to create that excitement. from the first sounds of the disc, you know you're gonna expect something never heard of. screams of women in the arena, then a "bang!" and the orchestra starts with bluesy saxophone sounds to a famous sinatra hymn, "it was a very good year". it evoques the big city atmosphere, and indeed, the place couldn't be more spectacular: madison square garden, right in the heart of new york city. with this concert sinatra proved he is an audience singer and still has a voice that is strong enough to reach all of the 20 000 listeners in that immense building. the songs are classics and new ones, but it is sinatra who gives his own to everything he sings.

It just had to be Madison Square Garden.

Working with Woody Herman and the Young Thundering Herd & conducted by Bill Miller, Frank Sinatra culminated a successful 1974 tour - which included opening the Richfield (OH) Coliseum - with a nationally televised concert from MSG on October 13.

Though the TV special and CD share titles, this is not the complete concert from that performance. But it is a tour collection that finds Sinatra delivering staples from his vast repertoire - I Get A Kick Out Of You, I've Got You Under My Skin - while acknowledging the musical catalog of contemporary artists - Bad, Bad Leroy Brown from Jim Croce and You Are The Sunshine Of My Life by Stevie Wonder.

By the time Sinatra kicks into My Kind of Town and My Way, there is not a chance the judge's scorecards will be deciding the outcome...Ol' Blue Eyes scored a KO.

I have read some negative reviews about the video of this concert, and I`m quite surprised about the difference with the opinions about the CD. Let me tell you I`m a Sinatra fan, and, even recognizing that in this time his voice doesn`t sound the same as before, it still is the master of connecting to people. You can finish convinced that he lived the stories he sings to us.
Two songs in this CD impress me in particular: My way, an eternal song, and Let me try again, where he seems to start cold and at some point, he recharges and gives us an astonishing end. You must listen to this CD.