An overlooked gem from the early Reprise recordings of Frank Sinatra – done with full arrangements by Gordon Jenkins, in the moody late nite vibe of some of his late 50s work for Capitol! Titles include "All Alone", "What'll I Do", "When I Lost You", "Oh How I Miss You Tonight", "Indiscreet", "Remember", "Together", and "The Song Is Ended". LP, Vinyl record album

Some real gems from Sinatra's later years at Capitol – including "All The Way", "French Foreign Legion", "River Stay Way From My Door", "Old MacDonald", "It's Over", "This Was My Love", and "All My Tomorrows" – as well as the novelty single "High Hopes" LP, Vinyl record album

A great batch of wonderful music – a well condensed 3 CD box set that features some of Sinatra's best recorded during his Capitol tenure! As is well known, Sinatra's Capitol years were his finest – a time when he moved past a simple pop singer into a complicated vocalist with a sense of expression so deep that it lent itself perfectly to the emerging form of the long-playing record. Many of the albums this material is drawn from are early "concept" sets by Sinatra, and feature moods and themes that move far beyond simple vocal work – into richly expressive territory that's hardly ever been matched again! Arrangers include Nelson Riddle, Billy May, Gordon Jenkins, and Alex Stordhal and there's a total of 75 numbers in all included here! CD

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A real standout from Frank Sinatra's years at Reprise – an album that shows the singer working at the full height of all his vocal and emotional powers! The set's not the live album you might guess from the title – and instead, the "concert" setting means that Nelson Riddle uses a very full orchestra on the date – giving Sinatra this wonderfully rich sound that provides the perfect showcase for heartfelt, thoughtful readings of tunes from big shows. One of our all-time Sinatra favorites is the album's sublime reading of "Soliloquy" from Carousel – some of Frank's best acting on record – and other tunes include "Lost In The Stars", "My Heart Stood Still", "Bewitched", "This Nearly Was Mine", and "I Have Dreamed". LP, Vinyl record album

Arranged by Don Costa – with tracks that include "Rain In My Heart", "Both Sides Now", "Cycles", "Pretty Colors", "Wandering", "Moody River", and "My Way Of Life". LP, Vinyl record album

Duets with Luther Vandross, Aretha Franklin, Barbra Streisand, Julio Iglesias, Gloria Estefan, Tony Bennett, Natalie Cole, Charles Aznavour, Carly Simon, Liza Minnelli, Anita Baker, Bono, and Kenny G. CD

Features appearances by Stevie Wonder, Willie Nelson, Linda Ronstadt, Lean Horne, Chrissie Hynde, Patti Labelle, Antonio Carlos Jobim, and others! CD

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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". CD

A nice little set from Frank – and similar to the album This Is Sinatra, a record that collects some of his non-LP singles for Capitol from the 50s. Because of this, the album's got a style that varies from track to track – but in a nice way – and titles include "Anytime Anywhere", "Not As A Stranger", "Our Town", "The Impatient Years", "I Could Have Told You", and "Look To Your Heart". LP, Vinyl record album

A very cool package – one that has Frank Sinatra narrating his career in music – as he performs re-recorded versions of classics, with backings by Nelson Riddle, Johnny Mandel, Count Basie, Gordon Jenkins, Don Costa, and Billy May! The spoken bits are wonderful – and the whole thing is one of the best "texts" you could ever find on the Sinatra persona in the 60s! CD

Sinatra at his lonely best – as emphasized by the cover image, which has him sitting alone at a bar, looking sadly into his drink. The album's got backings by Gordon Jenkins, a bit more flowery than some of Nelson Riddle's, but in that sad dreamy mode that Sinatra worked with on the Wee Small Hours album. The selection of tunes includes the Sammy Cahn/Jimmy Van Heusen original "When No One Cares", plus sublime readings of "Where Do You Go", "A Cottage For Sale", "I Can't Get Started", and "None But The Lonely Heart". LP, Vinyl record album

Sinatra at his lonely best – as emphasized by the cover image, which has him sitting alone at a bar, looking sadly into his drink. The album's got backings by Gordon Jenkins, a bit more flowery than some of Nelson Riddle's, but in that sad dreamy mode that Sinatra worked with on the Wee Small Hours album. The selection of tunes includes the Sammy Cahn/Jimmy Van Heusen original "When No One Cares", plus sublime readings of "Where Do You Go", "A Cottage For Sale", "I Can't Get Started", and "None But The Lonely Heart". Plus, the CD features 4 bonus tracks – "You Forgot All The Words", "This Was My Love", "The One I Love Belongs To Somebody Else", and "I Could Have Told You". Great stuff! CD

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One of Frank 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 – expressive, but subtle and sophisticated – at that level that set Sinatra so far apart from most other male singers of the 50s. Despite the creepy cover, there's a mature, adult approach to the whole thing – a new level of emotion that most other singers wouldn't find for a decade. Titles include "Only The Lonely", "Angel Eyes", "What's New", "Ebb Tide", "Spring Is Here", "Goodbye", and the sublime "One For My Baby". LP, Vinyl record album

Sinatra's final album for Capitol – a contemplative set of tracks that reunites him with arranger Alex Stordahl, a frequent partner during the Columbia years, and an artist who's matured as much as Frank by this point, making a perfect fit for the sadder tone of the material. Tracks are in that "older man let alone" style of some of the Reprise recordings, and selections include "These Foolish Things", "When The World Was Young", "I'll Remember April", "September Song", "A Million Dreams Ago", and "Somewhere Along The Way". Plus, the CD reissue includes 4 bonus tracks – recorded with Stordahl in 1953, Frank's first years at Capitol, nicely reunited with the later material on this set. Titles include "Lean Baby", "I'm Walking Behind You", "Day In Day Out", and "Don't Make A Beggar Out of Me". CD

Sinatra's final album for Capitol – a contemplative set of tracks that reunites him with arranger Alex Stordahl, a frequent partner during the Columbia years, and an artist who's matured as much as Frank by this point, making a perfect fit for the sadder tone of the material. Tracks are in that "older man let alone" style of some of the Reprise recordings, and selections include "These Foolish Things", "When The World Was Young", "I'll Remember April", "September Song", "A Million Dreams Ago", and "Somewhere Along The Way". LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderfully mature album from Frank Sinatra – a set that has him coming to terms with his time in life, and expressing things with a beautiful quality that almost sets a whole new standard for his work! And in a way, the aesthetic here is almost that which would be picked up by a host of other singers in years to come – the more mature, adult style of singing that came into play at the end of the 60s – a whole new version of masculinity that opened up rich new territory for Sinatra and others. The aging Frank comes off as even more thoughtful, more personal than before – full of wisdom that's brought to play perfectly in the album's classic track "It Was A Very Good Year" – spun out nicely on a host of other gems that include "The September Of My Years", "It Gets Lonely Early", "The Man In The Looking Glass", "Last Night When We Were Young", and "I See It Now". LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent set – one of Sinatra's last great albums! Side one features more bossa material – with arrangements by Deodato, and a guest appearance by Jobim. The tracks have the floating easy groove of Sinatra's album with Jobim from earlier years – and there's some great numbers like "Drinking Water", "Don't Ever Go Away", "One Note Samba", and "This Happy Madness" that feature English language versions of bossa favorites. Side two is less great– with poppish tunes arranged by Don Costa, and titles that include "Leaving On A Jet Plane", "I Will Drink The Wine", "Close to You", and a very odd version of "Bein Green"! LP, Vinyl record album

A live set – recorded before Frank Sinatra's famous appearance with Basie at the Sands! CD

Material recorded before Frank Sinatra's famous appearance at The Sands with The Count! CD

One of the few albums ever cut by singer Frank D'Rone – an excellent vocalist in the Pal Joey mode! Frank hailed from Chicago, and was a second (or third) tier singer – a bargain basement Sinatra, with a rougher style that actually has a great edge, and which recalls the tougher days of barroom gigs for singers who weren't so lucky as those with their name in lights. Billy May handled the arrangements on the set, giving D'Rone a swinging, jazzy kind of feel that pushes the record a bit farther than his other Mercury album from the 50s – and the whole thing's brings a nice punchy kind of feel to tracks that include "It's You Or No One", "Warm All Over", "After The Ball", "Oh Look At Me Now", and "Why Can't This Night Go On Forever". LP, Vinyl record album

Featuring Ella Mae Morse and Frank Sinatra. CD

With Frank Sinatra, Connie Hasines, Jo Stafford, Edythe Wright, Jack Leonard, and Sy Oliver. CD

One of the greatest writers on singers presents his essential collection of albums from the 20th century – all served up with the kind of loving detail that's always made the prose of Will Friedwald so great! Will's written the book on Frank Sinatra – literally – and on Tony Bennett, and a number of other singers too – and you've no doubt stumbled across his words in liner notes for reissues over the years. This time, Friedwald expands that later genre – and offers up full chapters that go in depth to some key vocal jazz classics – including Something Cool by June Christy, My Gentleman Friend by Blossom Dearie, Ella In Berlin by Ella Fitzgerald, John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman, Rain Or Shine by Dick Haymes, Lady In Satin by Billie Holiday, Black Coffee by Peggy Lee, and even Belly Of The Sun by Cassandra Wilson! There's a few dozen more titles covered in the book – which has 51 chapters in all – and the heavy book also features an album cover reproduction for each title, and a discography as well. 402 pages, hardcover. Book

The wonderful world of Antonio Carlos Jobim gets a whole lot bigger on this American release from the 60s – thanks to a collaboration with the great Nelson Riddle, the arranger whose work made so many of Frank Sinatra's albums so great! Riddle really understands the jazzy elements at the core of Jobim's tunes – and backs his guitar and vocals with a great 60s California take on the bossa nova – one that's never trying too hard to cross over, and which instead really respects the genius of Jobim at the core! Antonio sings on most tracks – some even with English lyrics that are really great – and titles include "Useless Landscape", "Bonita", "Surfboard", "She's A Carioca", "Aqua De Beber", and "Favela". LP, Vinyl record album

Quite a rare album from Peggy Lee – and a strange one too! The album features backings "conducted" by Frank Sinatra, done in a moody, flowing, dreamy and sad style – similar to his own work of the late 50s Capitol years, especially the more melancholy albums that we love so much. Frank's probably not doing the bulk of the work, though, as the record also credits Nelson Riddle with arrangements – and Riddle's sound here is very strong, again in the mood of his best sad work with Sinatra – territory explored on albums like Wee Small Hours or Only The Lonely. Titles include "That's All", "Please Be Kind", "He's My Guy", "The Folks Who Live On The Hill", and "If I Should Lose You". LP, Vinyl record album

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". LP, Vinyl record album

Featuring Bette Davis, Bill Mauldin, Bing Crosby, Burgess Meredith, Carmen Miranda, Claire Trevor, Claudette Colbert, Danny Kaye), Desi Arnaz, Diana Lewis, Dinah Shore, Don Wilson, Ed Gardner, Edward G Robinson, Ernie "Bubbles" Whitman, Frank Sinatra, GI Jill, George Montgomery, Ginger Rogers, Ginny Simms, Harry Von Zell, Ida Lupino, Jimmy Durante, Jinx Falkenberg, John Conte, Johnny Mercer, Jose Iturbi, Ken Carpenter, Lucille Ball, Marlene Dietrich, Orson Welles, Rita Hayworth, Ronald Colman, Ruth Hussey, and William Powell. CD

Promotional release celebrating the first 100 years of EMI – with tracks dating back to 1898 – including music by the Alhambra Orchestra, Sir Harry Lauder, the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, Arthur Rubinstein, Fritz Kreisler, Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, the Beatles, Beach Boys, Pink Floyd, Duran Duran, Kate Bush, and Blur CD

Featuring selections by Rosemary Clooney, Trini Lopez, Dinah Shore, Keely Smith, Sonny & Cher, Sammy Davis Jr, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, and Nancy Sinatra. LP, Vinyl record album

Really fantastic work from Teddy Randazzo – the man who put the "up" in uptown soul during the 60s – and who went on to a fantastic legacy of really great music in a variety of different styles! Teddy was always a real cut above the usual pop songwriter – as his songs were fuller, richer, and not afraid to bring some lush aspects to the production – yet always with a way that could still groove – clearly a key step on the path towards more sophisticated soul styles that others would pick up on strongly in the 70s! These tunes have a beautiful way of balancing emotion with a need to be catchy and groovy – all while avoiding modes that would sound way too overdone in the hands of other pop talents of the time – moving past the too-emotive or too-weepy styles that dominated the record racks a few years before. Most of the tracks here are soul singles, but there's also a few jazz and rock numbers too – all supported by the usual deep detailed notes that we love from Ace Records. Titles include "You Better Go" by Derek Martin, "I'm On The Outside" by Little Anthony & The Imperials, "Or Not At All" by Jimmy Rice, "Good For A Lifetime" by Al Hibbler, "Better Use Your Head" by Mel Torme, "Rain In My Heart" by Frank Sinatra, "Can't Stop Running Away" by Timi Yuro, "A Million To One" by The Manhattans, "Think Before You Act" by Tony Orlando, "Goin Out Of My Head" by Dionne Warwick, "Hurt So Bad" by The Delfonics, "I Watched You Slowly Slip Away" by Howard Guyton, "Think Twice Before You Walk Away" by Porgy & The Monarchs, "Baby Are You Puttin Me On" by The Royalettes, and "You Don't Need A Heart" by Teddy Randazzo himself. CD

Music from The Hit Paraders, Bea Wain, Andy Russell, Joan Edwards, Snooky Lanson, Doris Day, Lawrence Tibbett, Lanny Ross, Ginny Simms, Buddy Clark, Dick Todd, Dorothy Collins, Barry Wood, and Frank Sinatra. CD

Way before Sinatra first grabbed the "Chairman Of The Board" title for his own musical persona, Basie laid great claim to the tag with this tight little album for Roulette! The album's got the 50s Basie band working at the height of their powers – with original compositions written and arranged by Frank Foster, Ernie Wilkins, Thad Jones, and Frank Wess – all of whom play in the bad, along with other all-stars like Freddie Green, Billy Mitchell, and Al Grey. The sound is tight, soulful, and searing Basie all the way through – with tunes that include "Segue In C", "Blues In Hoss' Flat", "Who Me?", "The Deacon", "Half Moon Street", "Mutt & Jeff", "TV Time", "Speaking Of Sounds", and "HRH". LP, Vinyl record album

Shirley Bassey is at her mellow best here – sounding very different than the brassy vocalist who first rose to international fame with "Goldfinger" – yet still able to work through all the rich aspects of her great vocal range! Arthur Greenslade handles the backings, and the style is mature, and updated in maybe the way that Frank Sinatra was hitting at the time – both in the choice of songs, and in the way that Greenslade sets Shirley up for the best reading of the lyric. Titles include "I'll Be Your Audience", "Emotion", "Good Bad But Beautiful", "Jesse", "Run On & On & On", "Feel Like Makin Love", and "I'll Be Your Audience". LP, Vinyl record album

A lively little album from 60s singer Frankie Randall – a Sinatra-styled crooner plucked from the nightclub scene at Jilly's, but one who could also sing with the depth of Jack Jones or Vic Damone! This mid 60 RCA session has a nice sense of punch – thanks to arrangements from Billy May that swing heavily on the upbeat cuts, and let Frankie's confident vocals push to the front on a few of the mellower ones. Randall's got a bit of a speaking/then singing sort of style that must have been something to catch at Jilly's – and the mode works really nicely with the mix of older standards and 60s material used on the record. Titles include "Gravy Waltz", "Taste Of Honey", "Isn't It Romantic", "The Best Things In Life Are Free", "Here's That Rainy Day", "Carnival", and "They Didn't Believe Me". CD features the bonus track "Rosemarie". LP, Vinyl record album