Customer Reviews

That's Life

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

That line, from Stan Cornyn's liner notes, was prophetic at this LP's November 1966 release, and serves 35 years later as a succinct review of this tossed-off, too-brief 10-song set.

"That's Life" was constructed as many adult pop LPs of the period were: one huge hit (the title song went to #4 in 1966, sandwiched between two #1 Sinatra hits), covers of recent popular songs, maybe an original or two done in the style of another similar-sounding singer.

Here, "That's Life" is the masterpiece. It's a swilling, swaggering piece of big band martini R&B mixing Joe Williams' sophisticated shout fronting Count Basie with Ray Charles' organ-smoky "Let's Go Get Stoned." Sinatra chews and chomps the words with joyous anger; when he sings, "I've been a puppet, a pauper, a pirate, a poet, a pawn and a king," he - and you - knew where and when he fit and shed those costumes. "I thought of quittin' baby, but my heart won't buy it," was the perfect song statement for one so recently and publicly turned 50; little wonder R&B royalty from Aretha Franklin to James Brown covered it. It's also the LP's only song over three minutes (3:08).

Sinatra delivers a second sip of big-band blues on "You're Gonna Hear From Me," gives a breezy, brassy take on "Sand And Sea," and an upbeat but oddly compelling version of the era's oft-covered "What Now My Love" (later remade with Franklin on "Duets.") But then you get trite Dean Martin impressions on "Give Her Love" and the big-beat "Tell Her" (the LP was produced by Jimmy Bowen and Ernie Freeman, who'd arranged Martin's mid-60s hits), a "Golden Throats"-worthy misread on "Somewhere My Love," and a fun, hard-swinging but goofy take on "Winchester Cathedral" that sounded fresher than the New Vaudeville Band's #1 hit of the time. Freeman and Bowen's arrangement of "Impossible Dream" here is formal, not moving; you wonder how Nelson Riddle might have arranged it on 1963's "Concert Sinatra."

"That's Life" and "Tell Her" are on 1968's "Frank Sinatra's Greatest Hits," which also contains the chart-topping singles "Something Stupid," "Strangers In The Night," and "It Was A Very Good Year." from 1965-7. It remains in print (this is now available only as an import), and is a better value. For now, "That's Life" is for completists only unless Reprise re-releases Sinatra's late-60s LPs as two-fers.

"That's Life" was Frank Sinatra's last Top Ten hit, not counting his #1 hit duet with daughter Nancy. It's a classic song, which is the best thing about this album. The rest of the album is a mixed bag. Some good songs, some not so good songs. "What Now My Love" and "The Impossible Dream" are probably the best. "Winchester Cathedral" is a misguided attempt to be "contemporary", but it's actually fun, in a goofy kind of way. Most of the other songs are rather forgetable. This album will probably only be of interest to serious Sinatra fans.

If you're a fan of Sinatra's Capitol years, of Sinatra the swinger, Sinatra the great saloon singer, the ring-a-ding Sinatra, or Sinatra the brokenhearted loser, just keep off from that record, stay away, BEWARE!

This record is absolutely dreadful. It features Ol' Blue Eyes' worst ever arranger, Ernie Freeman, who was responsible for taking the aging Sinatra into the realm of middle-of-the-road pop. If you dislike "Strangers In The Night" (I know I do), then you'll get just the same kind of garbage with this record.

This is a hardcore fan speaking here... I wouldn't speak evil of that record if there was any redeeming feature to it, only I can see none! So stick to the 1954-1964 Sinatra, and you'll never go wrong. After that, it takes a little listening before you buy the stuff. Albums arranged by Nelson Riddle, Billy May, Gordon Jenkins or Neal Hefti are keepers... As for the ones by Don Costa and Ernie Freeman, well, you can't say you haven't been warned!

I have a tape of the "Winchester Cathedral" recording session for this lp in which Sinatra announces to the control booth "we're gonna put down the world with THIS mother!"

And that pretty much sums up the swagger of the entire album....by the end of 1966 with "That's Life" in the top 10, Sinatra was at the peak of his iconic status--his rumored appearance in a restaurant or on a street corner was enough to cause pandemonium...

After the "Strangers In The Night" LP, producer Jimmy Bowen was determined not to make another album in which Sinatra surrounded a contemporary top 40 hit with a bunch of older standards..........

"That's Life" the lp is made up mostly of freshly minted material---using Ernie Freeman's charts and some hip sidemen like Mike Melvoin and Hal Blaine, Sinatra breezes his way through "Cathedral", remakes the sugary "Somewhere My Love" into a swinger and proudly flag waves "You're Gonna Hear From Me..."

Sinatra should have avoided laziness and recorded one more new song for the album instead of reissuing the perfectly awful "Tell Her" from 1965...and he should have left "Impossible Dream" to Jack Jones (rumor has it he recorded it at Mia's request)

Is the "That's Life" album in the same league with "Only The Lonely" or the Jobim album? Obviously not--but it matters not, it's Sinatra in 1966 at the peak of his powers--what else do we need?

I own all of Sinatra's albums from the 60s on CD and consider some of them (At The Sands, I Remember Tommy and the two Count Basie albums) to be the equal of his legendary 50s Capital output. His voice had gained depth and even more character and he succeeded in gaining several pop hits in the decade he turned 50. That's Life was one of them, but the album of the same name gives the impression of being a hastily cobbled together collection, recorded in too much haste and with little regard for quality song selections. Too many of the songs disappear from the memory (I Will Wait For You, Give Her Love, You're Gonna Hear From Me) while his take on The Impossible Dream is lacklustre - he even ducks out of attempting a grandstand finish, preferring a long-held note to a high one. Sand And Sea is a third-rate Summer Wind, while Winchester Catherdral is another of Sinatra's misguided attempts at covering a 60s hit in a big band style (think of his covers of Downtown and Mrs Robinson). I've enjoyed alot of his 60s recordings and even his lesser albums from the period - Softly As I Leave You, The World We Knew - are of a higher overall standard than this. If you want the title song in your collection, buy a greatest hits instead; if you're curious about Sinatra in the 60s, I'd recommend the Academy Award Winners album and his recordings with Antonio Carlos Jobim, amongst others, before this.

This 1967 effort is widely considered by many Frank fans to be one of his worst effort, if not his worst, and to an extent it's not hard to see why. It's blatantly obvious on this record that Frank is trying to keep up with the times, and the result is a very mixed affair.

The problems are many. It's his first album of completely contemporary material, and not much of it is suited for Frank. It doesn't help that Ernie Freeman is the worst arranger Frank ever associated with. His arrangements are bland and inspired and don't fit Frank's style at all. To make matters worse, Frank puts no soul into the tracks like he so often did on previous records. He's definitely phoning it in here, and he makes no connection whatsoever with most of the material, with the exception of the title track, as top-notch a Sinatra recording as any other. There are about two other salvagable numbes on this collection, a swing version of the "Dr. Zhivago" love theme "Somewhere, My Love" and the previously released "Tell Her (You Love He Each Day)."

The rest of the album is a hodge podge of missed opportunities and entirely unsalvagable numbers Frank that should've never recorded. In the former category, there's "What Now My Love," a wonderful ballad that disappoints to great extremes here thanks to Freeman's overdependanc on organ and go-go girl choruses. To prove how disconnected Frank sounds throughout most of the material, he actually sounds happy when he sings it. Listen to any of the live performances of the songs Frank did in the 1980s' and 1990s', and the difference is clear. On the later version, Frank really bares his soul and nails the emotional depth of the song, one of the most powerful ballads ever written. On this studio version, he may well as be singing "My Kind Of Town" or even the title track. He sings it in "Ring-A-Ding Ding" style rather than "Only The Lonely," which is how it should be done.

Similarly, Frank could've made "The Impossible Dream" his own, but the arrangement is far too understated to score any real emotional drama or grandness. Had Nelson Riddle been on the hand to give the song a towering, "Concert Sinatra" type arrangement, the results would've been significantly different.

The remaining tracks are the most abysmal set of the songs ever to grace a Sinatra album. "Sand And Sea," "I Will Wait For You," "Give Her Love," (which would've worked in Dean Martin's hand) and the corny "Don't Rain On My Parade" rip-off "You're Gonna Hear From Me" are the blandest, most uninspired and thus interesting tracks in Frank's catalogue, and the cover of "Winchester Cathedral" is dull and embarassing.

I only give this album three stars becaue of the five star title track and the fact that it's Frank. Other than it's, a pretty dark effort, and by far my least favorite Sinatra record.

The voice is strong, the arrangements are OK but the songs are 3rd rate material for the most part. The one "classic" is WHAT NOW MY LOVE; probably made into a classic because Sinatra used in concerts for years and it also was on DUETS.

That's my take on this. It's not perfect. But it's also a good album by many other standards. Part of the problem is people keep trying to compare Sinatra to Sinatra. Either way it's still the same guy-SINATRA. He moved forward. Why don't some of you? I own the vinyl and now the cd. :)

I got this album and I haven't listened to the whole thing, mostly on account of my laziness. The first song is good but then I had to take a shower or something and I don't know what happened...I never finished it. The first song is ok though. Honestly though I bought it for this girl for winter and I don't know, she liked it I guess but it's a used Frank Sinatra record, ya know?

Frank Sinatra released a wonderful album with That's Life; and the quality of the sound on this CD edition is excellent. Frank sounds great and he sings with his usual flair; he could interpret lyrics better than just about anyone and his audiences loved him for it.

There are ten outstanding songs on this album, all of which get the royal treatment from Sinatra. "That's Life" has Frank squarely in the spotlight--which is right where he belongs! The lush arrangement enhances the number and although Frank never needed backup the backup chorus sounds pretty good anyway. "I Will Wait for You" has a terrific melody and Frank handles complex tempo and key changes like the pro he was and still remains; this romantic tune never sounded better than when Sinatra delivered it with panache. The love theme from "Doctor Zhivago" gets a jazzy, creative arrangement that holds its own very well; it's both creative and catchy. Frank's excellent diction makes "Lara's Theme" even better, too.

"Sand and Sea" is very well done--and how's about that brass? Sinatra swings brightly to make this another special number. "What Now My Love" is a song I could never tire of when Sinatra sings it so faultlessly; it stuns me with its natural beauty combined with that classic Sinatra touch. "Winchester Cathedral" uses the brass and percussion as Frank sings this with all his heart and soul; it's a great song in Frank's capable hands. "Give Her Love" is another most romantic number that Frank bats straight out of the ballpark--this music is all THAT good!

"Tell Her (You Love Her Each Day)" is so poignant while "The Impossible Dream" has Frank Sinatra belting out the lyrics to make "The Impossible Dream" a very major highlight of this album. The CD ends nicely, too, with Frank Sinatra performing "You're Gonna Hear from Me." "You're Gonna Hear from Me" is an fine ballad that shines brighter than silver and gold in Sinatra's more than capable hands.

Frank Sinatra fans would do well to add this CD to their collections; and people who enjoy classic pop vocals will not be disappointed. In fact, even newcomers just discovering Frank's exceptional talent will enjoy this album, too.