Pickleloaf.com : Music : Songs for Swingin' Lovers!


Music : Songs for Swingin' Lovers! In association with Amazon.com Rating: - Just listen! What does one say about Frank Sinatra? He's probably one of the most written about human beings in history. So how does one add anything meaningful to what has been written about him. I think by being truthful. I grew up listening to AC/DC, Aerosmith, and many other 80's rock acts. To this day I still enjoy them ocasionally. At the time, if I thought about him, Sinatra seemed like some kind of joke. Some old guy with bad hair and a bad act. But those thoughts spoke more about who I was than about Sinatra. Forget all you think you know about Frank Sinatra. Just listen to the music, because honestly there is nothing like it. And thats why so much has been written about him. Because no matter what kind of life he led, he was just a brillant musician. The music is everything one hopes for in music. This album, considered his finest by many, is just pure joy to listen to. Many talk about the emotion Sinatra conveys in his singing, but it's the emotions that he brings out in the listener that I think truly made him special. Fifty years after he sang these songs, you can truly relate and still understand the emotions he conveys in each song. And I think fifty years from now, these songs will still convey the same emotion to listeners in 2058, as they do today. Is this Sinatra's best album? Is this the one you should buy? I don't know. I don't think there is an answer to those questions. What I do know is it is one of the finest, of many, albums, by THE finest singer that I have ever listened to. You can't go wrong by owning this album. You'll miss out on something VERY special if you don't listen to it. Rating: - Classic Sinatra, classic music Songs For Swingin' Lovers is, like SInatra's other classic albums from the same period, without question one of the greatest moments in the annals of pop music. It's a record that radiates pure, unadulterated joy, a set of gorgeously sculpted musical constructions that defy both time and gravity. Frank sounds positively jubilant here, attacking classics like "You Make Me Feel So Young," "Love Is Here To Stay," and "I've Got You Under My Skin" with passion and grace. The selection (not to mention Nelson Riddle's brilliant arrangements) is a glorious affirmation of the Great American Songbook, displaying a golden age of American pop in all its jazzy, swingin' glory. The arrangements are both lush and light, sumptuous sound labyrinths that swing with the energy of a thousand moonlight serenades and champagne coated New York reveries. This is pop music as it was meant to be heard, full of palpable emotion and wonderfully wrought melodies, without an ounce of prefab conceit or commercial calculation. This is an absolute masterpiece of American music, and the kind of record that everybody, music nut or otherwise, should own. That includes you, bub! Rating: - This is Sinatra's best album! The peak of his career! I own several Sinatra albums, but this in my opinion is the best of them all. Released in 1956, it features arrangements and orchestra led by Nelson Riddle, who I feel was the best arranger of them all. There are many other Sinatra albums that come close, "Come Fly With Me" "Come Dance With Me", "A Swingin' Affair", "Come Swing With Me" and most all the Capitols are excellent, but this one overall is the one I keep coming back to. If you love the great American Songbook, you'll love this one. My faves "You're getting to be a habit with me", "You make me feel so young" "I've got you under my skin" and many others. The remastered sound makes it an absolute must purchase. Mickey Mantle had his peak year in 1956 with 52 homers while batting.353. Mr. Sinatra also had his peak year as well with this one. If you only have one Sinatra album, (outside of greatest hits compilations) it's got to be this one. Rating: - One Of Frank's Most Elegant And Entertaining Albums. My father once said the reason Frank Sinatra is regarded as the finest vocalist in music is because throughout his entire recorded career, he managed to cover the entire gamut of human emotions in his songs. "In The Wee Small Hours" was loneliness, "Only The Lonely" was despair and sorrow, and "September Of My Years" was a propulsive combo of nostalgia, regret, desparation and anticipation. On the flip side of those albums, "Songs For Swingin' Lovers!" is Frank at his happiest and upbeat. The 15 songs present all swing hard except for one ("We'll Be Together Again"), and even that lone number is hardly a downer. Frank's voice I think really came into his own this album. By now, he was already well established as the finest singer in the business, but it was here that he perfected his breath control and more importantly his phrasing, perfecting his style of bending certain consenants without sounding over the top or out of context with the melody. The songs here are among Frank's best. I often likened Frank to an actor who recorded his roles on tape rather than film, and it is here that Ol' Blue Eyes does some of his best "acting" on this record. For example, on "You Make Me Feel So Young," the album's zesty opener and a song forever associated with The Master, Frank truly sounds enraptured by the ferment of true love. Elsewhere on this magnificent recording, Frank takes us on a stroll down the lane for the gently swingin' "I Thought About You," gets you hooked instantly on the intoxicating "You're Getting To Be A Habit With Me," (a song as addictive as the romance Frank sings about on the song - hey, not a bad addiction to have!), laments on changing times on Cole Porter's "Anything Goes," and, of course, plumbs the depths of romantic obsession and denial on the timeless "I've Got You Under My Skin". That latter recording is often regarded as Frank's finest achievement, and it's hard to argue otherwise. Frank has never laid down a more gripping vocal, clinging to every syllable, every last consenant as if it's the last breath he'll ever breathe in his life, ably aided by Nelson Riddle's delicate, intricate and flat out brilliant arrangement. For my money, it's not only Frank's best, but the finest recording of anything in American music. The rest of the album is equally solid, with "It Happened In Monterey," "Too Marvelous For Words," "Pennies From Heaven," (not as good as the Basie version, but an excellent recording nonetheless), "Our Love Is Here To Stay" and "How About You" being highlights. However, not all the credit must go to Frank, as Nelson Riddle concocts some of his most potent and intelligent arrangements on this album, all of which play off marvelously against Frank's vocals. The sound remastering job is better than a few people here make it out to be, and the liner notes are extremeyl well written. "Songs For Swingin' Lovers!" is a classic album that belongs in any music lovers' collection. Rating: - Quite Possibly the Greatest Sinatra Album of All Time--And One of the Greatest Albums of All Time For sheer joy and energy, this is Sinatra at his apex. Every song is excellent, with crystal-clear sound, brassy horns, top-notch Nelson Riddle arranging, and Sinatra at his vocal best. This album is often listed as one of the top 100 albums in any genre ever made, in often eclectic lists including everything from the Beatles to Nirvana to Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and the Beach Boys. And though it's hard to narrow it down to one album, this is in my opinion Sinatra's best. The songs are upbeat, and there is no way one can listen to this album without feeling better about life. I have this on both CD and vinyl. The sound quality on the CD is clear and sharp.