SOUND CHECK.Frank Sinatra/``Where Are You?'' ``Nice 'n' Easy,'' ``Close to You and More,'' ``No One Cares,'' ``Point of No Return,'' ``Tone Poems of Color'' and ``Come Swing With Me!'' (Capitol) In ``Sinatra 101,'' the guidebook's authors pick the all-time best Sinatra recordings out of the nearly 1,500 he made. More than half the 101 classics stem from the crooner's time with Capitol in the '50s. This new batch of reissues includes a couple of must-haves and an all-instrumental oddity. Unfortunately, Sinatra's two greatest Capitol collections, ``In the Wee Small Hours'' and ``Only the Lonely,'' aren't among them. On ``Where Are You?'' (1957), a world-weary Sinatra blends seamlessly with the strings for a set of dark ballads including ``The Night We Called It a Day'' and ``Don't Worry 'bout Me.'' Four stars ``Nice 'n' Easy'' (1960) offers a change of pace as Sinatra stops brooding to deliver a collection of midtempo gems like ``Day In, Day Out'' and ``I've Got a Crush on You.'' Four stars ``Close to You and More'' (1957) features a subdued and intimate Sinatra covering such classics as ``Everything Happens to Me'' and ``With Every Breath I Take.'' Three stars ``No One Cares'' (1959) is another fine set of wonderfully anguished laments like ``Here's That Rainy Day'' and ``A Cottage for Sale.'' Four stars Sinatra's Capitol swan song, ``Point of No Return'' (1961) contains nostalgic standards highlighted by a bittersweet bittersweet, name for two unrelated plants, belonging to different families, both fall-fruiting woody vines sometimes cultivated for their decorative scarlet berries. ``When the World Was Young.'' Two and one half stars For the all-instrumental ``Tone Poems of Color'' (1956), Sinatra commissioned composer-arrangers Elmer Bernstein, Nelson Riddle Nelson Smock Riddle, Jr. (June 1, 1921 – October 6, 1985) was a well-known American bandleader, arranger and orchestrator whose career spanned from the late 1940s until the early 1980s. , Gordon Jenkins Gordon Hill Jenkins (12 May 1910 – 1 May 1984) was an American arranger who was an influential figure in popular music in the 1940s and 1950s, renowned for his lush string arrangements. and others to write pieces contemplating various colors. Interesting but not essential. Two stars ``Come Swing With Me!'' (1961) includes perky perk·y adj. perk·i·er, perk·i·est 1. Having a buoyant or self-confident air; briskly cheerful. 2. Jaunty; sprightly. perk fare like ``On the Sunny Side of the Street'' but it's lightweight compared to the torch song duo. Two stars - Fred Shuster Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash/``Walk Alone'' (Ultimatum) Hardly the rebellious cowpunks their name would suggest, Mark Stuart's San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. foursome are dedicated honk merchants who actually have the blessing of the Man in Black himself; two songs on the album are even produced by the legitimate offspring, John Carter John Carter may refer to:
The group deals in rock-ribbed roughneck country, with emphasis on cars, pit stops and the women it's so easy to lose track of going from one to the other. Three stars - Bob Strauss Lori McKenna/``Pieces of Me'' (Catalyst/Signature Sounds) No wide-open spaces, rhinestone cowboys or heartbreak. Just honest-to-goodness suburban country from this New England New England, name applied to the region comprising six states of the NE United States—Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. The region is thought to have been so named by Capt. plumber's wife, mother of four and Lilith Fair Lilith Fair was a concert tour and traveling music festival, founded by musician Sarah McLachlan, that consisted solely of female solo artists and female-led bands; it ran from 1997 to 1999. vet. McKenna's second effort finds the prolific songsmith song·smith n. See songwriter. crafting tunes from kids' dreams (``Mars''), loss (``Never Die Young'') and good fortune (``Deserving Song''). Three stars - Sandra Barrera Soundtrack/``The Royal Tenenbaums'' (Hollywood) Director Wes Anderson used certain tracks in ``Rushmore'' and ``The Royal Tenenbaums'' for specific reasons, but licensing restrictions didn't allow him to bring those songs to the soundtrack albums. So, while this enjoyable set includes some delights, integral tracks like mid-'60s Stones and Paul Simon Noun 1. Paul Simon - United States singer and songwriter (born in 1942) Simon numbers from the movie have evaporated between the screen and your CD player. Still, highlights such as Nico covering ``These Days,'' the Clash version of the reggae classic ``Police & Thieves,'' Nick Drake's ``Fly'' and one of Vince Guaraldi's timeless Christmas jazz pieces blend effortlessly with composer Mark Mothersbaugh's quirky instrumental vision. Three stars - F.S. CAPTION(S): 4 photos Photo: (1) no caption (Frank Sinatra) (2 -- 4) no caption (cd covers) |
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