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Tone Poet Sinatra in the wee small hours...is it that good?

I listened to my new Tone Poet Sinatra 'in the wee small hours' today. I was expecting a truly amazing SQ with all of the press and accolades this new release has received. 

While I think it is a nice listen, and Frank's voice is portrayed well, it really is not an album that I see myself playing that much. Mainly because the music is so....tepid. 

Maybe I'm just not that big a fan of crooners, and Frank was the best of them. But, also because the album is a typical mono release, very little in the way of separation of instruments, not much real bottom end punch and a highlighting of Frank's voice, that in some ways seems a little unnatural to me even though it is certainly dead center. Thoughts?

daveyf
bigtwin's avatar
bigtwin
1,625 posts
 

There's  a 3 CD set called The Capitol Years.  IMHO, it's the pinnacle of  his  recordings.  I don't get lost  in the high quality reissue  LP stuff.  These CDs sound great, and for the amount of time I feel like listening to Frank, this collection completely satisfies.   Cheers.

daveyf's avatar
daveyf OP
3,114 posts
 

I’m beginning to see exactly that. 

whart's avatar
whart
3,375 posts
 

I'd have to be in the mood for some Frank. It's really his vocals, his phrasing, the orchestrations are pretty old time- as you say, tepid. I have an OG Capitol of this album and several others- it's been decades since I've put them on a turntable but I kept them for some reason.

Sinatra at the Sands, the first pressing with the white bands on the top and bottom edges of the jacket is pretty good--last time I listened to it, mainly for "It Was a Very Good Year." There's a great piece of video on the Net of Frank in the studio recording that- he muffs the first take, then lays it down perfectly. The video shows him listening to the playback at the end. 

It's Frank's world, we just live in it. :)

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