Customer Reviews

Sinatra's Swingin Session

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3 star:		(1)
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Sinatra's Swingin' Session! is a hard-swinging collection of remakes from Sinatra's Columbia years, recorded in Capitol's peerless studios. While all of the songs are perfectly realised -- 1960 was a very good year (one of many) for Sinatra's voice, and the band is on fire -- this is not the best collection of songs turned out by the Sinatra/Riddle team.

There are plenty of gems -- Cole Porter's 'I Concentrate on You', 'September in the Rain' and a few others are stunning -- but you can tell Sinatra is not immersed in the songs the way he was on the earlier Capitol sets. Listen to the 'Only the Lonely' album and you are enveloped in the devastation and despair. 'A Swingin' Affair!' is a sophisticated swinging set that shows Sinatra having a ball with great Gershwin and Porter tunes, tongue-in-cheek lyrics and the usual superb band under Nelson Riddle's baton. 'Swingin' Session! ' shares the superior production and voice of the earlier albums, with one important caveat. Sinatra is singing with his incomparable phrasing, timing and distinctive pitch, but he is not overly invested in any of these songs. Because his own Reprise label was about to be launched, FS recorded this album as part of an obligation to Capitol and likely assembled this set from remakes of songs that he already knew in order to create an album expediently.

Among the bonus tracks, 'Hidden Persuasion' is especially nicely performed, although Sinatra fans probably already own this on the 'Sinatra Sings of Love & Things' collection of singles released about the same time as this album.

This might be too much analysis for most music fans. The bottom line is that Sinatra and Riddle albums are always MUST BUY albums. In the lofty sphere of Sinatra's discography, 'Swingin' Session! ' is not in the top 5 or 10, but you will enjoy it so ... enough said!

"Frank Sinatra is the most gifted singer of his generation and, as time has shown, the single greatest interpreter of popular song we ever have had the pleasure of hearing." ~ Pete Welding

When I was about eight years old, a classmate of mine from grade school asked me "What's your favorite song?" And when I replied, "I like all the songs by Frank Sinatra." She said, "Who's Frank Sinatra and what are the songs he sung?" This goes without saying that I was exposed to the music of Mr. Sinatra at an early age. And I have learned to appreciate his music through constantly hearing his LPs from my late father's collection when I was growing up. I have loved his music and him as an artist and interpreter of the Great American Songbook. He was truly a one-of-a-kind Entertainer of the Century. And no other singers can surpass him. He maybe gone and missed but not forgotten.

"Sinatra's Swingin' Session!!! And More" is one of my very favorite CDs from my Sinatra collection. The arrangements by none other than the greatest orchestrator of all-time, Nelson Riddle, are the sprightliest and swingiest from among all the Sinatra and Riddle collaborations.

Listening to "Always," an Irving Berlin composition, brings back nostalgic moments to me. This has been one of my late parents' theme songs (the others are "Love Is Here To Stay," "Embraceable You" and "Let Me Call You Sweetheart"). Harry Warren & Al Dubin's "September In The Rain" is very affecting and one of the most poignant ballads I've ever heard.

"To every word of love I heard you whisper
The raindrops seem to play a a sweet refrain
Though spring is here, to me, it's still September
That September in the rain
That September that brought the pain
That September in the rain."

The rest of the tracks are all fabulous but my highlights are the danceable "My Blue Heaven," "When You're Smiling," "I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me," "It All Depends On You" and "You Do Something To Me." "Sentimental Baby," a composition by Alan and Marilyn Bergman & Lew Spence is a schmaltzy song but a nice one.

Get this CD and be ready to swing with Mr. Sinatra! You'll absolutely enjoy listening to it as much as I do.

Is Sinatra capable of "not" swinging? Does any musician-- instrumentalist or vocalist--have better time, a more unerring sense of the beat? The first track, "When You're Smiling," is all you have to hear to know this is another one for your growing Sinatra library. Sinatra takes this old chestnut and makes it soar, first creating tensions by lagging behind or anticipating the beat, then giving us the satisfying "pay-off" by locking into the time. As musicians are fond of saying, he's "right in the pocket" when he has to be.

In sum, there's nothing hasty, shoddy, second-rate about this session. It kicks from start to finish. But even though Sinatra undeniably grooves "Ole MacDonald," I've still gotta ask, "WHY, Frank?" The same, I'm afraid, goes for "Sentimental Baby" and that immortal classic, "Hidden Persuasion." In any case, 12 out of 15 ain't bad, and the 3 ill-advised selections are conveniently grouped together as the last tracks on an otherwise most worthy outing by Sinatra and Riddle.

This was the shortest of all the full-length LPs Sinatra cut for Capitol, for one simple reason: Sinatra called for faster tempos on most of the numbers than Riddle's original charts. In a couple of cases, this trimmed the running times to under two minutes, but artistically, the results are intoxicating! In contrast to the more urbane and measured approach to swing in their landmark efforts "Songs for Swinging Lovers" and "A Swingin' Affair!" Sinatra goes for (and achieves) results that are pure and unrestrained celebrations of swing. Tracks such as "My Blue Heaven" and "Should I?" tempt one to "cut a rug" on the spot. New life is also breathed into such old standards as the lilting "Always" and "When You're Smiling," both given bracing treatments here. Two of the more relaxed efforts of the album are amongst the best on record: "Blue Moon" is beautifully delivered with just the right combination of romantic warmth and forward thrust, while "September in the Rain" captures the nostalgic air of a stroll down memory lane, a tinge of bitter-sweetness offsets the steady rolling tempo ideally. The three bonus tracks not on the original album (but recorded in the same sessions) add some welcome volume to the package, but aren't vital to the enjoyment of this gem. This is one of the lesser-known issues of the Sinatra catalog with Capitol, but is one of the half-dozen best collections he recorded in this period, and given the uniformly stellar quality of most of his recordings with Capitol, this is saying something indeed.

Most people consider "Songs For Swingin' Lovers" to be the ultimate Sinatra record, but in my opinion, "Swingin' Session" may actually surpass it. Nearly all the songs are classics. Sinatra's voice is just about as perfect as can be, and his signature timing and natural phrasing are here in spades. Nelson Riddle again hits a home run on this one, and the band swings harder on this record than anything else Sinatra had ever done with Riddle, before or since. It makes "Songs For Swingin" Lovers" and even "A Swingin' Affair" sound a little restrained by comparison. The quality of the recording itself is absolutely flawless, particularly on the remastered re-issue of 1998 and thereafter, with rich and detailed sound that makes you feel you are in the room when the songs are being performed. From the deepest acoustic bass notes up through the ticks on the hi-hat cymbals, the whole spectrum of sound is extremely clean, detailed, and pleasing. Also of interest is the fact that this album is in STEREO, unlike the other Capitol big-band Sinatra-Riddle dates. This album's only drawback is that it is so short and leaves you wanting more. But the addition of bonus tracks is a nice touch. You simply cannot go wrong with this record, it is popular music of the highest order.

Some people say that the 1960s began in 1960, while others argue -- legitimately -- that 1960 was just the last year of the '50s. I used to side with the former, but after hearing this album, I'm now inclined to side with the latter. Why? Because Sinatra's recording on this album retain that vigor heard on many of his 'swingy' cuts on Capitol from the '50s. In short, the recordings have just as much energy as any of his stuff throughout his Capitol years. Yes, I know, most of his early '60s stuff was more slow-tempoed, as is evident on his albums "Nice 'N' Easy" and especially "Point of No Return." While those are good albums in their own right, this one has more vigor this is in accordance with the swagger that accompanies the very mentioning of Sinatra's name. Needless to say, it's highly recommended! Furthermore, the picture on the front of the album can't be beat!

This was a fun album but Sinatra rushed through it and you can tell at times. His voice lacks the depth and excitement it has on some other albums. This may be due to the fact that he was rushing himself by speeding up the tempos. The album should be rated somewhere in between 4.5 and 4.75. It is a great one but does not quite stand up to SONGS FOR SWINGIN LOVERS or SWINGING AFFAIR.

However, the songs on here are GREAT as is the STEREO (yeehah) sound. And of course you can't beat Riddle's arrangement.

"Sinatra's Swingin Session," the last up tempo album Sinatra recorded for Capitol is as muscially infectious as it gets.

Sinatra, furious at Capitol, for making him record after he had started his own label, instructed Nelson Riddle at the sessions to speed up the tempos on most of the tunes (Riddle, when asked about it many years later, still sounded annoyed).

The result is an album with many selections short enough to fit on a answering machine message.

No matter, the result is a jazz inflected romp that still holds up beautifully 44 years later.

Riddle's arrangements are brilliant and even an semi-disinterested Sinatra is better than most singers at their energetic best.

The remastered CD sounds sensational and Capitol has added some bonus tracks recorded at the same sessions, "Sentimental Baby".
"Hidden Persuasion" (a shining example of the twin geniuses of Sinatra and Riddle turning an undistingushed song into something memorable)and the ultra hip "Ol' Mac Donald".

Note--if you can get a hold of Sinatra's Australian concert of December 1961, you'll hear Sinatra perform "My Blue Heaven" in the slower tempo in which Riddle orginially devised his arrangement.

Wow! Though the songs here are very short (most average only two minutes in length), Sinatra punches them out with rare style and excitement. Five stars isn't sufficient for an album that is such a fun listening experience, you have to smile throughout. The arrangements are nothing short of electric and infuse Sinatra's voice with a verve and exuerbance rarely heard. This is an album where you can put it on, hit play and never fast forward, all the songs are eminently Sinatraesque and every single arrangement has a touch of genius.

Frank's phrasing is (as always at this stage of his career) letter perfect. Listen to "It All Depends on You" or "September in the Rain," never particular hits for Frank and he rarely sang them live, but who cares? They are immortalized here, forever. One wonders why he didn't incorporate more of these marvelously swinging songs into his live repertoire.

If you love Sinatra, you will already have had this on vinyl and cassette (maybe even eight track). If you're new to Frank, don't hesitate one moment: grab it and listen to it for the rest of your life.

"Sinatra's Swingin' Session" finds the Chairman of the Board at the peak of his powers. With a strong assist from Nelson Riddle, he nails one classic after another: "When You're Smiling," "It All Depends on You," "My Blue Heaven" and "Always." This 1961 recording was one of Sinatra's last for Capitol and it remains among his best. In terms of vocal mastery, nothing from Reprise comes close.