Customer Reviews

Sinatra At the Movies

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20 songs recorded by Frank Sinatra during his peak '50s years, which he performed in his movies. How could you go wrong? Well, for starters, these aren't the same recordings that you'll hear in his films. To find the original film versions, check out the "Sinatra In Hollywood" box set that came out a few years ago. These are simply the same studio recordings that have turned up on many a reissue over the years (including one CD from the early '90s that was also called "Sinatra At The Movies!").

This collection isn't really for newbies who are just getting into Frank, because a lot of these tracks ("Johnny Concho Theme," "From Here To Eternity"), while beautifully sung, simply aren't great songs. But if you're already a fan and you've got even one or two Sinatra CDs in your collection, then you probably already own at least half the material here.

So, in the end, this CD won't really satisfy anyone except those die-hard collectors who have to have everything.

Sinatra At The Movies has some great movie songs performed by Frank Sinatra. Sure, they may not be the exact songs sung in the movies--but since when has Frank let us down? The quality of the sound is excellent and the artwork is beautifully done as well.

"(Love Is) The Tender Trap" starts the CD as Frank sings this so very well; his voice is strong, confident and very vibrant. Frank never sounded better and that's fantastic! The musical arrangement uses the brass very well and that's great. "From Here To Eternity" features Frank Sinatra front and center--and how wonderful it is! Frank massages the lyrics to this tune and it makes for a sublime performance--awesome! In addition, Frank Sinatra does a brilliant job on "I Love Paris." "I Love Paris" is a number I have always loved and I truly believe that Frank Sinatra's delivery of this ballad is THE definitive rendition of "I Love Paris."

"How Deep Is The Ocean" is a classic love song that so many artists have sung; but when Frank Sinatra sings this he really makes it shine so brightly! Frank handles the complicated tempo and key changes like the pro he was and still remains; and the music gets a very sensitive arrangement. "All The Way" has another wonderful treatment from The Chairman Of The Board as he delivers this with panache; and this impresses me greatly. I'm sure you'll like Frank singing "All The Way" if you haven't heard this before.

"Young At Heart" is a beautiful tune with a catchy melody and the strings sound beautiful on this number. Frank Sinatra's delivery is totally flawless--and how many artists could sing "Young At Heart" as well as Frank?

"High Hopes" is a cute number that Frank sings with a darling children's chorus; Frank sings this without a superfluous note and the children's choir was chosen with care so that they could harmonize to perfection--and beyond! In addition, "The Lady Is A Tramp" amazes me as Frank Sinatra sings this like a champ; "The Lady Is A Tramp" is clearly another timeless tune and this is also a major highlight of this album. "Chicago" gets a wonderful upbeat arrangement that fits in so well with Frank's vocals; and listen for "Three Coins In The Fountain;" this song from the movie of the same name really sparkles when Frank performs this with feeling, heart and soul. Great!

"C'est Magnifique" again puts Frank in the spotlight and this love song is truly another highlight of this album. "Just One Of Those Things" features Frank swinging brightly to make this number a wonderful treat with a big band style arrangement; and the CD ends so well with Frank Sinatra singing "To Love And Be Loved." "To Love And Be Loved" is a very pretty ballad which makes this a fitting end for this exceptional album.

Frank Sinatra could sing just about any song; and this album proves it. This is a must-have for Sinatra fans and people who enjoy songs from Hollywood movies will want this album, too.

Alright now!...The first two Amazon reviewers have pretty much panned this collection, as tired old filler that's been covered numerous times before. You've got the mega box-set, Sinatra In Hollywood and the single disc collection Academy Award Winners. So why bother with or revisit yet another collection of movie hits by Ole' Blue Eyes?... Why? Because Sinatra is the undisputed heavey weight champion of Hollywood songs, bar none. True not Elvis nor even Judy Garland can boast the sheer output of top notch material Sinatra produced over his four decade run in Tinsle-Town.

Who else but The Chairman of The Board can lay claim to the likes of (Love Is) The Tender Trap, Young At Heart, All The Way, The Lady Is A Tramp or Just One Of Those Things. Of Course other great singers have recorded these gems. Ella Fitzgerald more than did justice to Rogers and Heart's The Lady Is A Tramp. But if you've ever watched Sinatra sing it to Rita Heyworth in Pal Joey, you know no one else could own it the way Frank does. And the same goes for Jimmy Durante's oh so sentimental reading of Young At Heart....Nice but no cuppy-doll. Once you've heard Frank pour his heart out to Doris Day in the movie Young At Heart, you know you've heard the difinitive version. Just One Of Those Things by the inimitable Cole Porter has been covered by everyone from Tony Bennett to Rosemary Clooney. But no one gives it that zing, that special uuummph the way Frank does. And not even Maurice Chevalier can add the charm the warmth and the humor Frank brings to C'est Magnifique from the wonderful screen version of Can Can.

We all know how record companies tend to recycle material by artists until they're beat to death. Look at all the posthumously released material in the Jimi Hendrix discography. With only five offical record releases at the time of his death, his catalog looks like his recorded output spanned thirty years or more. Why there must be close to a thousand records in Elvis's discography. Enough to fill at least six of his "fat" jump-suits.

My only point here is this, sure many will feel this new release represents the greedy marketing brain trust of Capitol Records. Some will not be motivated to own it, since they may already have most of the material in various other collections. But I think Capitol Records deserves kudos for selecting twenty great movie songs gathered under one umbrella. Not only am I loving this CD in my car and at home, I'm also revisiting some of Sinatra's classic screen gems like Pal Joey, The Joker's Wild, Can-Can, Meet Danny Wilson, Hole In The Head, Some Came Running and Young At Heart. They say you can never be too rich or too thin....I say you can never have too much Sinatra!

"Throughout my career, if I have done anything, I have paid attention to every note and every word I sing - if I respect the song. If I cannot project this to a listener, I fail." ~ Frank Sinatra ~

Today marks the 10th death anniversary of a legendary musical icon, Francis Albert Sinatra. This review is my very own way of paying respect to his greatness as an artist, not merely a singer but an exceptional artist at that!

Sinatra's unparalleled greatness as an artist had earned him accolades that he truly deserved, to mention a few - awards from Golden Globe, Academy, Oscar, Emmy, Grammy, Hall of Fame, Lifetime Achievement Award, and several other honorary and humanitarian awards. Likewise, he had earned his eternal star at the Hollywood Walk of Fame. And not to mention the most current honor given to him by the US Post Office - a US commemorative postage stamp that was launched just yesterday.

Released only a month ago, "Sinatra At The Movies" is another great collection of 20 theme songs from various unforgettable motion pictures recorded under Capitol Records. I'm the type of a collector who doesn't shy away from compilation CDs especially if the material is impressive and outstanding. And this CD is not an exception for it represents some of the best songs ever recorded and my all-time favorite Sinatra staples.

This collection starts off with "Love Is The Tender Trap" from the movie of the same title, and ends with "To Love And Be Loved" (Some Came Running). Although I have enjoyed listening to all the tracks here from the various CDs each song was taken from, I still find this CD a worthy addition to my Sinatra collection. A special treat and one of the rarities from Sinatra's body of work is an all-time favorite of mine, "C'est Magnifique" (Can Can). For more breathtaking tracks, listen closely to "All The Way" (The Joker Is Wild), "How Deep Is The Ocean" and "All of Me" (Meet Danny Wilson), "I Could Write A Book" (Pal Joey), "From Here To Eternity" (same movie title) and "I Love Paris" (Can Can).

This is a worthy addition to your Sinatra collection. With my heartfelt recommendation for your listening pleasure forever.

"May you live to be 100 and may the last voice you hear be mine." ~ Frank Sinatra ~

Is it me or do we seem to be purchasing the same songs/albums with different covers over and over and over? This is nuts! This title along with "Nothing But The Best" continues the constant reissuing of songs found on dozens of other compilations. All we seem to be doing is buy different artwork. Enough already!

"Sinatra at the Movies" features 20 studio recorded versions of songs that were sung by Frank in various films dating from 1943 through 1960.

Think of Sinatra films and many from the list of tunes you'll conjure up are on this CD. Swinging and familiar choices from the Sinatra songbook like "All Of Me", "Chicago", "The Lady Is a Tramp" and "The Tender Trap".

There are beautiful ballads too. "I Could Write A Book" included in the film "Pal Joey", "How Deep Is The Ocean" from "Meet Danny Wilson" and from the 1943 film "Higher And Higher", there's "I Couldn't Sleep A Wink Last Night". These are all done in a slow enough tempo to prominently display the breath control and impeccable phrasing that are Sinatra trademarks. The arrangements are as flawless as his technique. There's also some clarinet work on "I Couldn't Sleep A Wink" that shouldn't be overlooked.

Another nice feature of this program of songs is the inclusion of some lesser known and heard tunes. You get Frank singing "Not as a Stranger from 1955 film of the same name. There's also "Wait for Me" from his 1956 film "Johnny Concho" and "To Love And Be Loved from "Some Came Running" which would pair him onscreen with buddy Dean Martin for the first time.

While it contains nothing new to collectors, "Sinatra At The Movies" is still a well thought out CD that is a pleasure to listen to.

All of these songs are wonderful, but ... when will Capitol finally reissue Frank's great soundtrack albums from the '50s, namely "High Society," "Pal Joey," and "Can-Can"? We get bits and pieces of them in collections like this, but they deserve to appear in complete form, with 24-bit remastering. "Pal Joey" is especially great. Yet the only CD containing all five FS songs from that album -- the ones recorded with Nelson Riddle in the Capitol studios, not the inferior Columbia sound stage versions heard in the movie -- is the out-of-print "Sinatra Sings the Select Rogers and Hart." C'mon, Capitol. Why keep recycling the same stuff when you've still got some prime cuts sitting in the vaults?