The Best of the Capitol Years

Frank Sinatra

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 3, 1992)
• Original Release Date: November 3, 1992
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Capitol
• ASIN: B000002V1X
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #46,083 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential recording

This is a flawless single-disc condensation of the three-CD Capitol Years box featuring many of Sinatra's most famous songs of the '50s and early-'60s period he spent making masterpieces for the label. Sinatra displays at least as many emotional shadings here as there are songs on the disc; not only is there the unfettered ebullience of "I've Got the World on a String" or the desolation of "What Is This Thing Called Love?" but a riotously insouciant reading of the ostensibly heartbroken "South of the Border" and a wise interpretation by the middle-aged Sinatra of "You Make Me Feel So Young." --Rickey Wright

Product Description

Franks Sinatra Photos

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Truly the Chairman of the Board, July 8, 2000

By	Candace Scott (Lake Arrowhead, CA, USA) - See all my reviews

When I bought this collection in 1991, I was not a Frank Sinatra fan. I much preferred Bing Crosby in style and substance and just tossed off Sinatra contemptuously. Boy, was I wrong and this collection single-handedly turned me into a Sinatraphile. Now I have over 100 of his CD's. If you don't know him or haven't listened to him seriously, you must buy this record, it will change your life.

Prior to buying this CD, my only listening experience with Frank were a half dozen 45's of "New York, New York," "Strangers in the Night" and a few of his other hits from later years. This CD introduced me into the real Sinatra, not the Top 40 Frank.

No one has ever phrased a lyric like his man. No one. You feel his pain, his pathos, his happiness, his despair and his loneliness. It is a completely joyous experience to listen to this man sing.

Others had greater range or greater voices. None had the inimitable gift that Frank Sinatra possessed and that was allowing you to understand a lyric and feel it deep down in your soul. There is only one Sinatra and this collection epitomizes his glory years. I also highly recommend the more complete three-disc "Capitol Years" collection, for even more great music.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You can't go wrong!, March 12, 2000

By	Holly La Pat (Victorville, California) - See all my reviews

If you're not sure which Sinatra CD to buy first, this is a great place to start. He really did get his style buffed to a high polish in the 50s, with a perfect balance of swing and romance. This collection highlights the best. I love the craft in the lyrics of songs like "Witchcraft," "How Little We Know" and "The Tender Trap"; the sheer enjoyment of "Learning the Blues"; the great build-up in the arrangement and performance of "I've Got You Under My Skin." I can't find a way to say it that isn't cliched: Frank Sinatra was a master. Just listen and see if you're not knocked off your feet. If you get as hooked as I am, you may eventually end up with all these tracks on other albums and collections, but you'll never regret this introduction.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Whatever "Pluperfect" Means, This Sinatra CD Is IT, March 10, 2000

By	Anthony G Pizza "trivialtony" (FL) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

In his liner notes for Frank Sinatra's box set "The Reprise Collection," author William Kennedy mentioned his "pluperfect" Sinatra tapes, where each song "made you climb the wall every time out." He even mentioned the tapes when he visited the singer after a Carnegie Hall concert, aware that Sinatra's labels had done the same compiling throughout his career.

It's hard to imagine a collection more "pluperfect" than "The Best of the Capitol Years." Distilled from the label's 1992 3CD set, it covers a career chapter as musically and culturally important as the artistic periods of any artist or author. Speaking of which...far better writers than I have addressed the musical quality here (among them Will Friedwald, whose essay in the set is essential Sinatra reading). But the sonic clarity, how you hear those precious Billy May, Gordon Jenkins, and Nelson Riddle arrangements, fulfills at least part of the promise the CD revolution was meant to keep. Next to meeting your spouse or best friend, "The Best of the Capitol Years" is one of the finest introductions anyone could make to anyone else. It will begin a deep, rich relationship not only with Sinatra but with, as Friedwald put it, "the three-layer cakes" of classic songcraft from popular music's finest years. HIGHEST recommendation.