Customer Reviews

Sinatra At the Sands

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Sinatra singing superb in Concert at The Sands with Count Basie And THE Orchestra arranged and conducted by no less than Quincy Jones and it really doesn't get better than this! Opening with a hot sounding Basie band, Frank smoothly launches into a superb "Come Fly With Me", then an engaging and fun "I've Got A Crush On You" and onto a killer version of "I've Got You Under My Skin" that finds Frank at his sophisicated and soulful best!!! Torch time is sublime with a richly sung "The Shadow Of Your Smile" then to a riveting "Street Of Dreams" that shows why Sinatra is King!! Four A.M. in a saloon and the master serves a classic "One For My Baby (And One More For The Road) and the audience goes crazy for this masterpiece!!! Sinatra is incredible throughout this legendary event and swings "Fly Me To The Moon (In Other Words) like it was never swung before and you can feel the excitement from the audience and the great time they were having. Mr. Sinatra's fun monologues were thankfully left in and what special moments these are that never grow tired taking us back to another time and space in a very special way...Frank does a routine that is fun and funny about his friends Dean and Sammy that are priceless...Frank had just turned 50 and gives a personal view that is revealing and highly entertaining flowing into the definitive version of "You Make Me Feel So Young" that is so brilliantly sung showing the master at his absolute peak in magnificent voice!!! Basie does a gorgeous "All Of Me" then Frank returns with a hauntingly brilliant "The September Of My Years" that is amazing. A hot cooker "Get Me To The Church On Time" is another amazing vocal as is the stunning "It Was A Very Good Year". Frank Sinatra is so great in this concert making this event the male equilivant of "Judy At Carniege Hall" which is the other legendary concert album from the great musical sixties! "Don't Worry 'Bout Me" is another masterpiece in a remarkable collection which finds Frank so loose and soulful and it is clear that the audience is having a great time and so will you! Basie does a mesmerizing "Makin' Whoopee!" then Sinatra returns and nails classics such as the swinging "Where Or When", a haunting "Angel Eyes", and a soulfully sung "My Kind Of Town" which all show the master at his captivating best! This musical journey is the greatest concert performance released in Frank Sinatra's long and brilliant career..BRAVO Frank and we miss you!!! This masterpiece is highly recommended for anyone who enjoys vocal artistry at its peak in a live concert setting...

"Sinatra at the Sands," recorded in April 1966, was the first Frank Sinatra concert to be released commercially. Sinatra is singing with Count Basie and his Orchestra, which was conducted by Quincy Jones. As you would expect, this is classic Sixties Sinatra, putting on a show for the Las Vegas crowd performing the songs you would expect the man to sing, starting big with "Come Fly With Me" and finishing even bigger with "My Kind of Town." The best of these tracks are "I've Got You Under My Skin" and "Come Fly With Me," where the arrangements for the Basie Orchestra are arguably an actual improvement over the original recordings. However, when Sinatra goes to his repetoire of saloon songs the results are more mixed; after all, he is singing in a really big room. One of my all time Sinatra favorites, "It Was a Very Good Year" is a bit disappointing for me, but this is offset by his performance of "Angel Eyes."

Sinatra's between song banter displays the expected level of charm, although the mavens of political correctness will wince several times while listening to some of the jokes in his rather long monologue. "Sinatra at the Sands" offers up almost an hour of live singing from Ol' Blue Eyes, once you subtract the talking, and shows that there are a few songs (e.g., "Luck Be a Lady Tonight") that you might actually prefer to hear Sinatra sing live. Final Note on Album Notes: The album notes by Stan Cornyn won the 1966 Grammy for Album Notes, his second year in a row for winning that award for a Sinatra album (See: "September of My Years"). Do they still give out that particular Grammy? Anyhow, I was vasilating between 4 and 5 stars for this review, but those album notes tip the scale up for sure.

In baseball terms, Frank Sinatra was a power pitcher. And "Sinatra At the Sands," now remastered, presents a veteran hurler at the very top of his game, surrounded by Gold Glove teammates -- Count Basie and his Orchestra, arranged and conducted by Basie's protege, a young Quincy Jones.

In fact, the Basie band doesn't accompany Sinatra as much as propels his songs forward -- especially Sonny Payne's incomporable drum work. These are driving, powerful tunes, even the ballads, and Sinatra's strong, confident delivery is matched perfectly by the powerful, swinging "in-the-pocket" tempo of the arrangements.

Both "Fly Me to the Moon" and "My Kind of Town" manage to be even better than the studio recordings. And in "One For My Baby" and "Angel Eyes" Sinatra shows off something in his voice you rarely associate with the Chairman: Heartache.

Knowing that the album was a product of the macho 60s, not the more "enlightened" 21st Century, I still cringe when I hear Sinatra's jibes at Sammy Davis Jr. during Ol' Blue Eyes' "Tea Break" monologue. And in listening to "I've Got You Under My Skin," I admit I miss the strings that build the anticipation up in the bridge to the powerful trumpet-and-trombone interplay in the middle of the song.

But the places where the album shines fare outnumber those that it doesn't. For pure musical enjoyment, "Sinatra At the Sands" is a gem, from the first pitch to the final play.

Never have I listened to a CD more than this one! You can tell by the opening song, "Come Fly With Me", that this was a night to remember. Sinatra's flirtatious rendition of "I've Got a Crush on You" is priceless. You will know why he's always associated with being a womanizer when you listen to this song. The energy he brings to the CD makes you apart of the crowd he's performing to. You feel right there, along with the wiseguy to your left, and the pretty madame to your right.

Moreover, the first few times I listened to him sing "One for My Baby" gave me chills right down my spine. But to remind you what an exciting and fun night it was, he quickly follows it up with another classic, "Fly Me to the Moon."

Nothing on this CD captures the moment like track 9, Sinatra's monologue. This was one of the best monologues out of the 2 weeks worth of concert monologues he gave at the Sands. He was charming, honest, poignant, and flat-out funny! And the crowd loved it, too!

(From what my memory recalls...)
"You know, people ask me, 'does Dean Martin really drink?' Well, let me tell you right now. He's a flat-out, unqualified drunk! If we had an Olympic drinking team, he would be the coach!"

Other times, he would talk about his upbringing, his life as a kid working as a river catcher at the docks. "This guy couldn't hit a bull's fanny with a bag of rice!"

His monologue reminds you why Sinatra is Sinatra.

If you are a Sinatra fan, and would love to own a gem that gave insight to Sinatra's life, personality and performance on stage, this album is the crown jewel. Not only is this album in my cd changer, it's on the top of the list on my iPod. =)

P.S. For those who think that Sinatra and his music is for one-time Bobbysoxers and the (now) mature, think again. I am 22 years old, and although most of my peers do not share this interest in Sinatra, I wish more would.

For those looking for Sinatra swingin' at his best, pick up "Songs for Swingin Lovers." Every song on this album is a hit.

For those looking for early Sinatra crooning and swooning, start with "Falling in Love With Frank Sinatra & Tommy Dorsey." Then you might want to move on to his Columbia years, "Portrait of Sinatra: Columbia Classics." There are many, many more albums to choose from, but these albums, you can listen to over and over again and appreciate Sinatra in the 20s, 30s thru 70s, 80s.

If you ever saw him in person you must have this album. If you never had the chance, you must have this album. There are so many GREAT arrangements and soaring notes here that I'm completely at a loss as to why this doesn't go down as one of the greats. Basie and Jones are incredible. Sinatra is in "whiskey voice" which means he's not sweet and pliable, rather, strong and deep. The greatest recording he ever made outside of the studio is this rendition of "Where or When". He and the boys just kick the daylights out of it. Skip the monologues.

Sinatra live, for any fan of music is the ultimate experience.He not only sings, he performs every song as an artist strokes his brush. Starting with Come Fly Me, he gets you in the mood to take a trip to a tropical Isle and elope.With Count Basie's band and the arrangement of Quincy Jones, I believe this is the finest rendition of Fly Me To The Moon.Sinatra again is great as one of the only living saloon singers, to set you in the mood of a small Bistro in the wee small hours, and performing One For My Baby, and later Angel Eyes. However this CD Means so much to me because of the memories it brings to me of my father, and the special bond we shared with Sinatra's music. Please don't let me forget My favorite song on the CD, I've Got You Under My Skin! In my very humble opinion the performance of this song, with the swinging music, is the most wonderful listening experience as well as the most exciting songs ever performed. So if you are 21 or 71 please buy this CD?

This album is the best introduction to Frank Sinatra's music I know of. It's the one to lend to a friend who wants to know why people love Sinatra so much. Sinatra belts out one great song after another, ranging from up-tempo swingers ("Come Fly with Me", "Fly Me to the Moon", "My Kind of Town") to softer, more intimate tunes ("I've Got a Crush on You", "The September of my Years", "The Shadow of Your Smile") and, lest we forget, Sinatra's trademark drowning-my-sorrows-cause-my-baby-left-me anthems ("One for my Baby", "Angel Eyes"). As if that isn't enough (and gosh, don't you think it oughtta be?) you also get Sinatra's banter with the audience, including a brave attempt at doing stand-up comedy (from which I gather that Dean Martin was known to drink a bit :-)). Even though the sound may not be as polished as on some of the studio albums, Sinatra at the Sands gives you a feel for the phenomenon that was Frank Sinatra in a way that none of his other recordings can.

This appears to be the favorite album of many who count themselves as members of the Board or rat-pack wannabes. Indeed, I find it a pleasurable album, a taste of Vegas before it deserted genuine cabaret in favor of Disney family fare, white tigers, and sheer synthetic excess. However, the album really isn't that great a representation of Sinatra the artist. He is in only fair voice, some of the arrangements normally given to symphony orchestra are awkwardly transcribed for the Basie band, and much of the recording is taken up with Sinatra's verbal patter and attempts at humor (which is best experienced in person). I heard Sinatra in better voice at concerts he gave in the 70s and 80s than in this 60s night club setting.

There are some fine moments on the album ("Don't Worry About Me," for example), and Sinatra's recognition of composers of songs and acknowledgement of the band members' contributions reveals his sensitivity to purely musical values. But for a better live, concert date, check out the sextet session, "Live in Paris," or the album made with Red Norvo in Australia. Or if you want to hear both Sinatra and Basie at their very best, pick up their first studio session on Reprise, "Sinatra and Basie."

If you remain unconvinced, try to obtain the original album instead of this remastered edition, which includes the previously unreleased "Luck Be a Lady." For some reason, he's struggling with his phrasing and vowel sounds on a song that he normally owns. This version should have been destroyed.

This is the first CD I ever bought and over 200 later it is still the best. The greatest singer of all time at his peak, backed by, in Sinatra's words, "the incomparable Count Basie and his great orchestra." With arrangements by a budding young talent of the time, Quincy Jones.
The quality of the recording is so good that to listen to this CD is to be transported to the Sands in Las Vegas -- and its 1965. The tinkling of the glasses, the applause and the laughter also enhances the wonderful quality of the music. Sinatra is at his best in the opening three numbers, particularly "I've Got You Under My Skin." His voice is at full maturity and has not yet begun its slow decline. He chats with the audience, does a full fledge monologue (even this is one of his better ones) and simply exudes the joy of a master performing his art at peak ability.
No Sinatra collection is complete without this CD. Nor in my mind is any serious jazz or pop compilation.

Early 1966 I Was Standing In Line At The Sands Hotel Los Vegas With My Very Pregnant Wife Of Twins.A Gentleman Came Over
And Asked Us To "Follow Me".He Ushered Us To A Table Close To
The Stage.Frank Had Just Turned 50 And Was At His Best.What Made
This Event Even More Incredible Was The "Count"Basie Of Cause.
What A Team.I Have Been To Maybe 100 Concerts In My Lifetime
And This One Blew Me Away....You Need To Have This In Your Possession
By The Way When You Listen To #16 {Don't Worry About Me}
You Will Hear Me Bellow "Bravo" At The End
You Cannot Go Wrong
R. P. Bailey