Customer Reviews

Romance: Songs From The Heart

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Romance: Songs From the Heart has twenty-one magnificent tracks by the great Frank Sinatra; and the sound quality is excellent. The artwork is thoughtful and you can expect to play--and reply--this album over and over again!

"I've Got You Under My Skin" starts the track set; and Frank sings this with so much class it's stunning. His excellent diction and his natural sense of timing make "I've Got You Under My Skin" a complete masterpiece. "Time After Time" has a great strings arrangement and Frank sings this again with all his heart and soul. Frank never misses a note and I think you'll enjoy this ballad when you hear it. Listen also for "Too Marvelous For Words." "Too Marvelous For Words" is relentlessly happy and Frank sings this brilliantly; he swings brightly as he croons this flawlessly. I really like "Too Marvelous For Words."

"My Funny Valentine" gets the royal treatment when Frank delivers this magnificently; he never sounded better and that horn really makes this number even brighter than it otherwise would have been. "Our Love Is Here To Stay" shines like gold in Frank's capable hands; and I love "Our Love Is Here To Stay."

"Cheek To Cheek," an Irving Berlin tune, places Frank squarely front and center--and he certainly takes advantage of that opportunity! His performance commands your attention and you don't have to try hard to listen because it's all so beautiful. The melody is really very pretty. In addition, "I Wish I Were In Love Again" has Frank singing very well, too.

"In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning" is a classic torch song that Frank performs without a flaw. "In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning" was apparently a reference to Frank's pain after his relationship with Ava Gardner ended; but in any event it's a major highlight of this album. "As Time Goes By" also sounds great when Frank sings this; although on this number I thought the music should have been a little more muted.

"I'll be Seeing You" is a somewhat sad but very sentimental song of love; and Frank performs this with panache. There's also "Embraceable You;" this Gershwin tune sounds as if it were written especially for Frank! Great!

"Where Or When" is yet another stunning love ballad; and the arrangement for the piano is extremely elegant. The album closes with "If You Are But A Dream;" this number gives us Frank singing at his finest again and this is a wonderful ending for this album.

Frank Sinatra fans will probably have many of these numbers in their collections already; but they may still want to buy this album because it has so many classic love songs all on one single CD. Of course, this album is very special and thus it makes a strong starter CD for people just discovering Frank Sinatra's incredible talents.

Instead of sticking to the usual greatest hits (although several are included), this collection includes many overlooked GEMS that casual listeners will not have ever heard the great Frank Sinatra sing. And Sinatra sings ALL of these songs better than any other singer ever sang any of them - and that is the reason to buy this CD, and just about any other Sinatra CD on the Capitol (or Reprise, for that matter) label. This one's perfect for a Valentine's Day gift, a casual Sinatra fan, or even a hardcore Sinatra lover, who probably will want to have the alternate take of "Nice n Easy" and "If You Are But A Dream" (on CD in the USA for the very first time ever!) This CD has something to offer every type of Sinatra fan, and certainly every Romantic...

The black and white photograph of Frank Sinatra is what first caught my eye. I was out browsing the other day when I saw this album in the store and it just captured my attention. The cover alone of Sinatra on a city street just staring back into the camera had magically brought back many fleeting memories. I immediately knew this was another compilation but I just had to pick up the CD and turn it over to see what songs were included. With that alluring cover I just new this was no ordinary compilation of previously released Frank Sinatra songs. This album is much more. Memories can be so endearing. Frank Sinatra transcended the ordinary and reached us with his with his voice and delivery touching us with warmth and passion like no one ever has. I can't pick out one song or one performance from this album. As a collection it is just perfect. And that is the way I knew it would be.

If you're a Sinatra fan and who isn't, no doubt you own every recording on this CD, but not the way this CD is compiled. There's not one cut where you want to hit the 'Skip' button on your player for this is Sinatra at his finest. Some of his latter recordings were released when he voice was beginning to falter...sometimes, almost screaming with little vibrato and a scratchy voice. These recordings are when he was at his peak on Capitol...some up-tempo, some lush ballads, but all are wonderfully performed. This is one of those collections of 'remember when'...where one's deja vu recalls a certain event in one's life, a friend or loved one you were with when you first heard it...in other words hundreds and thousands of good memories created by the master.

I only hope more of Sinatra's classic material will be released with the obvious thought and care that went into "Romance - Songs From the Heart".

Foremost is The Voice. Sinatra was The Man with the Golden Throat. He had the ability to express more emotion through a song lyric than anyone before or since. Assuming you already know and love Sinatra's style, you certainly won't be disappointed with either the material selected for this disk or the quality of the sound.

There are lots of Sinatra compilations available these days, but this one is particularly notable for including songs that aren't readily available from other sources. For example, "If You Are But A Dream" was recorded in 1957, but has been unavailable on CD in the US until now. That in itself is worth the price of the CD. There is also a dramatic version of "Where or When" that begins simply with a single piano and transitions into a stunning payoff with the Nelson Riddle treatment of a full blown string section. My experience with CDs that promote "alternate takes" is that, while they can be amusing novelties, there was a very good reason why the alternate take went unused. However, the version of "Nice 'n' Easy" that's included here is absolutely lovely.

The songs on this CD have been beautifully remastered. Frank Sinatra was a perfectionist in the studio and it shows here on every track. What was state of the art recording fifty years ago cleans up very well. Frank never sounded better!

If you're tired of buying "Best Of..." sets that really aren't the best; or weary of compilations where you're distracted because the tracks are so scratchy you'd think they were recorded "live" in front of a convention of potato chip eaters, you'll be delighted with this CD!

"Here is a rejuvenated Sinatra - using his superb interpretative skills augmented by nearly forty years of life experience to convey his sorrow, his joy, his heartbreak in a manner at once uplifting and chilling. If there ever was such a thing as method singing, this was it." ~ James Ritz ~

Here's another treasure for Sinatra buffs - the latest compilation CD just recently released by Capitol Records consisting of twenty-one remarkable Sinatra staples, one of which is a previously unreleased alternate take of a gem of a song "Nice 'N' Easy." I would say that the alternate take is equally marvelous as the original recording. According to James Ritz on Liner Notes: "Fortuitously, the first line of that marvelous song's bridge also neatly sums up the objective of this collection: 'We're on the road to romance' . . . and for sixty years, no one navigated that road better than Frank Sinatra." That's very well said. Amen to that! Sinatra and his music epitomize romance in the real sense of the word. His music is not only songs from the heart, but also songs to the heart. Simply put, his music is from one's heart to another's heart. Heart to heart.

As a huge Sinatra buff, of course I have already listened and enjoyed all the songs here from various CDs from my collection, but it's always very nice to hear a new set of songs from the Entertainer of the Century compiled in one CD. The songs are taken from eleven different albums recorded between 1953 and 1961 and orchestrated by three gifted Sinatra arrangers/conductors namely Nelson Riddle, Billy May and Axel Stordahl.

If I have to single out any favorites from this collection, I would enumerate the complete track listing since all the songs are very impressive and my all-time favorites from the first track "I've Got You Under My Skin" to the last "If You Are But A Dream." This is such a beautiful song and very melodic. I just love this song - it is an adaptation from a classical piece by Anton Rubinstein, "Romance." This version was arranged and conducted by Nelson Riddle and recorded in 1957. The 1944 original recording was arranged and conducted by Axel Stordahl and was available on a CD format in 1995 on a 4-CD-set entitled "The Best of Columbia Years 1943-1952." I love both recordings for their arrangements and orchestrations are equally done in sheer beauty and perfection.

"If You Are But A Dream"

Music by: Anton Rubinstein

Lyrics by: Moe Jaffe / Jack Fulton / Nat Bonx

If you are but a dream

I hope I never waken

It's more than I could bear

To find that I'm forsaken

If you're a fantasy

Then I'm content to be

In love with lovely you

And pray my dream comes true . . .

I long to kiss you

But I would not dare

I'm so afraid that you may vanish in the air

So darling, if our romance would break up

I hope I never wake up

If you are but a dream.

This is a superb collection that you do not have to skip any track but would certainly do a second or third round in one sitting. This is one of the nicest sets ever compiled. Added delights on Liner Notes are some black and white vintage photos of the Entertainer of the Century - I especially like the full-page photo circa 1950s with his hat on.

A pleasurable listening experience.

I never get tired of listening to Frank. To think that some of these recordings are 50 years old and he still makes them sound brand new. A timeless terrific voice singing "The Great American Songbook". Favorites include "As Time Goes By, Embraceable You, and Time after Time. Frank may be a "Cash cow" but this music never grows old, it will still sound wonderful in another 50 years.

Do take note of the many contemporary artists who have lately been creating "new" CDs featuring their recordings of songs released as orignals, or near originals from decades before.Why not listen to the man who made these songs famous in the first place?.

Mr. Sinatra may not have been the only singer to release versions of the songs contained here, but when he recorded a song, he owned it. This collection of "songs from the heart", ranges from songs that Frank was very well known for (I've Got You Under My Skin, Angel Eyes), to other songs that were fan favorites for years (I've Got A Crush on You, All The Way). This entire collection from "Ol Blue Eyes" will certainlly put you and yours in the mood.

Rounding off this collection we have a variant of Nice and Easy, and a rare cover of If You Are But A Dream.

Ken

Frank Sinatra's Capitol period(1953-1961)is too rich in greatness for one or even two discs to carry.But "Romance:Songs From The Heart" is still a fine collection filled with lesser-known but stellar songs like "Try A Little Tenderness","Angel Eyes","Cheek To Cheek" and the unreleased-in-the-U.S "If You Are But A Dream" with familiar standards like "I've Got You Under My Skin","My Funny Valentine","All The Way" and "In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning" all sounding as great as ever with superior remastered sound(by Dave McEowen)and attactive packaging to match.It's the perfect companion to the "Classic Sinatra" set,especially those with a tight budget.And for that it's indispensable.

The above recording may be worth the entire CD, since it is among Frank's all-time ballads, and very rare before this release. Nothing in the contemporary Pop Music world can touch this song! Frank's vocals plus the beautiful and elaborate orchestration! Only an artist like the Chairman could pull this off, and still have the tune be an obscurity. All the rest are fine too, and this version of "Cheek to Cheek" remains among his greatest super-swingers! Since this CD includes many not included in all the "Hits" Collections, this is definitely Top Frank! Every recording here is near perfect, though a few (say "Under My Skin") are available practically anywhere. But where is "Lonely Town", one of the finest and most haunting ballads ever recorded!? (Though the Frank catalogue is so monumental, it could be cherry picked forever, and probably will be!)