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A standout late 60s set from ol' blue eyes – and a record that gave him one of the last great songs of his career! The title cut's a well-known gem, but the whole thing's pretty sweet – arranged and conducted by Don Costa, and done in that maturing masculine mode Sinatra was hitting at the end of the 60s – a bit less of the syncopated bounce you'd find in previous Reprise albums, and a relaxed, adult approach to the tunes that has Frank sliding in his own sort of way. Titles include the massive "My Way" – plus "If You Go Away", "For Once In My Life", "Watch What Happens", "Didn't We", "Yesterday", "All My Tomorrows", and "A Day In The Life Of A Fool".

One of Sinatra's greatest records ever – pure genius all the way through! Frank's backed here by the orchestra of Count Basie, with some incredible arrangements by Quincy Jones that really have a jazzy, syncopated kick to them. The move seems to be an unintentional way of covering for Frank's slightly failing pipes – but it also picks up on a seminal beat change in 60s pop, the same sort of gentle snapping groove that you'd find in the best work by Bacharach, a shift that really infuses Frank's vocals with a whole new sound, one that shows that he's ready to keep on growing and growing after being stuck in a Nelson Riddle rut. All tracks are superb – hip 60s pop and showtunes, like "I Believe In You", "Fly Me To the Moon", "More", "The Good Life", "Wives & Lovers", and "I Wanna Be Around".

Titles include "Follow Me"," Sunny", "All I Need Is You Girl", "I Like The Sunrise", and "Yellow Days".

A sad little album that has Frank still in the throes of the emotional loss expressed on The Wee Small Hours album – working here with Gordon Jenkins arrangements that use a fair bit of strings to well up the darkness that lurks in the songs on the set. The album kicks off with the sublime "Where Are You?", one of the greatest songs of loss we could ever recommend – and then moves into some incredible readings of standards like "Where Is The One", "I'm A Fool To Want You", "I Cover the Waterfront", "Laura", and "Lonely Town" – all done in a style that's emotive, yet never overwrought, perfect sad Sinatra all the way!

One of Sinatra's last great ballad albums for Capitol – a sad and dreamy batch of tunes that kicks off with the incredible "Only The Lonely" – one of those Sinatra torch songs that's so great, so sad, nobody else has ever been able to record a better version, nor have they really tried! The rest of the album's great, too – with arrangements by Nelson Riddle that are very much in the Wee Small Hours mode, and a selection of tracks that includes "Only The Lonely", "Angel Eyes", "What's New", "Ebb Tide", "Spring Is Here", "Goodbye", and the sublime "One For My Baby".

This Is Sinatra indeed – a wonderful collection of singles, and a near-lost album to the shifting sands of time! The record wasn't one of Frank's "album concepts" for Capitol, and has since been dismantled in the catalog – but for many in the 50s, this was one of THE Sinatra albums – overflowing with beautiful early singles that marked his initial comeback years for Capitol. Nelson Riddle and Billy May conduct – and titles include "Love & Marriage", "Young at Heart", "Learnin the Blues", "Love is the Tender Trap", "The Gal That Got Away", "South Of The Border", and "Rain".

One of the greatest vocal albums of all time! Sinatra's never sounded better than on this album – one of the first truly cohesive albums of torch and ballad songs ever recorded – done by Frank at a time when his heart was really breaking, and sung with a depth you'd hardly ever find in his other work. The whole thing's sublime – one of the darkest, moodiest selections of material we've ever heard – and the record never fails to send chills down our spine, no matter how many times we hear it! Tracks include "Mood Indigo", "I See Your Face Before Me", "Deep In A Dream", "Ill Wind", "I'll Be Around", "This Love Of Mine", "Dancing On The Ceiling", "Glad To Be Unhappy", and "I Get Along Without You Very Well".

A beautiful little album that shows a whole new side of Sinatra! Frank's a bit late on the bossa game – but the record's a wonderfully gentle batch of bossa nova tunes, performed with musical and occasional vocal accompaniment by Jobim, and larger orchestral backings by Claus Ogerman. Far more than a gimmicky fake bossa album – this is a wonderful set of tracks that show that Sinatra could still hit a gentle ballad without going as over the top as he did on some of his other Reprise work. Jobim's talent is very respected – and the record is a true blending of musical styles, in a way that does justice to both artists equally. Titles include "Change Partners", "Dindi", "Meditation", "How Insensitive", and "I Concentrate On You".

The genius of Basie meets the genius of Quincy Jones – a 60s pairing that's every bit as great as the 50s pairing of Basie and Neal Hefti! Jones and Basie worked together in a number of settings during the 60s – including a very successful album for Frank Sinatra on Reprise – but here, the pair are really going full-on and hard-swinging, in a fresh style that's got all the hipness of Quincy's budding talent in the 60s, played with the deeply soulful manner of the still-great Basie band of the time. Titles include "Rat Race", "For Lena & Lennie", "The Big Walk", "Meet BB", "Jessica's Day", "Muttnik", and "Quince".

Basie hits the hits of the 50s and early 60s – working here with some tight Billy Byers arrangements that really help transform the tunes! The groove is upbeat, bright, and brilliantly soulful – that punctuated Basie groove first formed when Neal Hefti was with the group, still carried off here wonderfully by a lineup that includes Frank Wess and Frank Foster on saxes, Snooky Young and Al Aarons on trumpets, Benny Powell and Henry Coker on trombones, and Freddie Green on guitar. Titles include "The Second Time Around", "Hey Jealous Lover", "All Of Me", "This Love Of Mine", "Saturday Night", "Come Fly With Me", and "South Of The Border" – almost a Sinatra album in spirit, given the choice of tunes like these!

Great work from Johnny Coppola – a member of America's famous first family of film, and a hell of a crooner in his own right! Johnny lives in a world where the Rat Pack never ended – and he sings here with a style we haven't heard this well since the days of Frank Sinatra at Reprise – a tremendous old school approach to masculine jazz singing – served up with a hell of a lot more personality than just about any other Sinatra copycat in recent years! Johnny's definitely his own man on the set – partly because the tunes are almost all originals, with very cool lyrics by Coppola – and music penned by Bill Cunliffe, who handled all the instrumentation for the record – at a level that really keeps things top-shelf. Make no mistake, Johnny's vocals don't have the purity of Sinatra – but he does really evoke this world of second-string male singers of the 60s – guys like Bobby Cole, Frankie Randall, David Allen, and others – all equally swinging, and able to put a sense of male personality into a tune that other singers of the type could never touch. Titles include "Night Of Our Dreams", "A Long Love Affair", "Sandra", "Time To Run Son", "I'm Through With All Of These Dreams", "I'll Sleep Alone", and "Somebody's Got To Be That Guy".

A great one from Sammy Davis Jr – one of his most upbeat, bouncy albums for Reprise – and definitely done with the sort of energy that earns the set the "show" in the title! The album was released in conjunction with Sammy's TV show on NBC in the mid 60s – and it's filled with the kind of catchy, super-swinging tunes that made Davis a real standout of his generation – not just one hell of a singer from a technical perspective, but one who could also transform any sort of material into a very groovy tune! Not all the tracks are fresh for the recording – as a few seem to echo other Reprise projects – but together, the songs make the album one of Sammy's best from the label – and include some Rat Pack guest appearances from Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. Titles include "More Than One Way", "We Open In Venice", "Sam's Song", "This Dream", and "Feeling Good" – plus new recordings of "Hey There" and "What Kind Of Fool Am I".

A pair of Mercury Records albums from Johnny Mathis – on CD for the first time ever! Tender Is The Night is tremendous work from Johnny's short years on Mercury – a set that has the singer hitting a new level of maturity in his music – thanks in part to arrangements from Don Costa! Costa's scored plenty of singers before this set – but with Johnny, he hits a level of sophistication that's really amazing – the depth of tones and colors that Frank Sinatra was getting on his late 60s years at Reprise – perfect for the new level of expression that Mathis was hitting in his vocals. There's loads of numbers here that go way beyond what you might expect from the usual hits from Johnny – and titles include "Laura", "No Strings", "A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes", "Forget Me Not", and "Tomorrow Song". Wonderful World Of Make Believe features Mathis working with arranger Allyn Ferguson – who often gives Johnny the same sort of shimmering charts he might get from Glenn Osser, but who takes a bit more liberties here with the "make believe" modes promised in the title! Lots of the tunes are numbers from shows – but those of a whimsical, wistful variety – postwar tunes with a fantasy vibe that's perfect for the inherent sense of longing in Mathis' vocals. Titles include "Shangri La", "House Of Flowers", "Beyond The Sea", "Camelot", "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows", "Sands Of Time", and "When You Wish Upon A Star".

One of the most beautiful albums ever from the great Mel Torme – and a set that's a bit different than his other work for the Bethlehem label too! The set features Mel singing to lush backings from arranger Al Pellegrini – who brings in a mode that definitely lives up to the blue tones promised in the title – with enough melancholy moments in the mix to rival the sound of Frank Sinatra's classic Wee Small Hours album. The voice of the Velvet Fog is perfect in such a setting – and Torme's all serious, all classic, all the way through – no gimmicks or tricks or goofy moments at all. Titles include "How Long Has This Been Going On", "It's A Blue World", "Polka Dots & Moonbeams", "I Got It Bad & That Ain't Good", "All This & Heaven Too", "Wonderful One", and "Stay As Sweet As You Are".

One of the most beautiful albums ever from the great Mel Torme – and a set that's a bit different than his other work for the Bethlehem label too! The set features Mel singing to lush backings from arranger Al Pellegrini – who brings in a mode that definitely lives up to the blue tones promised in the title – with enough melancholy moments in the mix to rival the sound of Frank Sinatra's classic Wee Small Hours album. The voice of the Velvet Fog is perfect in such a setting – and Torme's all serious, all classic, all the way through – no gimmicks or tricks or goofy moments at all. Titles include "How Long Has This Been Going On", "It's A Blue World", "Polka Dots & Moonbeams", "I Got It Bad & That Ain't Good", "All This & Heaven Too", "Wonderful One", and "Stay As Sweet As You Are".

Soundtracks for two great 60s Frank Sinatra films – both back to back on a single CD, both scored by maestro Jerry Goldsmith! First up is The Detective – a soundtrack we've been trying to find for years – given the way the music works perfectly in the surprisingly dark film! Goldsmith uses lots of jazzy tones in his scoring – especially trumpet lines – which works wonderfully not just for the urban location of the narrative, but to underscore the really melancholy mood of the whole movie – one of those Bullit-era cop stories that shows the overwhelming effect of crime upon the outlook of a detective. There's a few weird touches in the mix – some swirling, almost watery moments – and titles include "A New Love", "A Family Affair", "Beach Scene", "Joe", "Night Talk", "The Safe Cracker", and "The Ball Game". Von Ryan's Express is a lot more driving and dramatic – Goldsmith serving up a rich score to a wartime action thriller with Sinatra in the lead – but also bringing in some moodier elements of the type he used in some of his more cerebral scores of the 60s. Titles include "Fire Sale", "Meet Von Ryan", "The Love Birds", "A New Crew", "Dead End", "German Control Center", and "Mission Accomplished" – plus a few rare bonus tracks too!