Frank Sinatra - That's Life (1966)

It's a swingin' album from the incomparable Frank Sinatra - what more needs be said?

Press of the time:

• Stereo Review: "superb"
• CashBox: "sure to please"
• Record World: "should be a blockbuster"
• Billboard: "a powerhouse package"

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #6

Tracks: The top tracks are the bluesy title cut (a #4 pop hit), an up-tempo version of Somewhere My Love (Lara's Theme) from the movie Doctor Zhivago, and You're Gonna Hear From Me. What was side one (tracks 1-5) is preferable to the rest, but that blame rests on the flimsy material, not Sinatra's performance. I prefer the arrangements of Nelson Riddle or Quincy Jones to those here of Ernie Freeman, but that's just me nitpicking. Tracks to skip include a cover of the New Vaudeville Band's novelty tune Winchester Cathedral, the tepid Give Her Love, and The Impossible Dream, a song that has never appealed to me.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None, although around the time this album was released, my family was moving into this classic mid-century ranch house. I was only six months old at the time so I can't confirm or deny, but doesn't it look like hepcats in that house would play copies of LPs such as this on the hi-fi at their cocktail parties?

Previously revisited for the blog:
Sinatra Sings Cole Porter (2003)
The Capitol Years (1990)
Sinatra at the Sands (1966)
It Might As Well Be Swing (1964)
Sinatra's Swingin' Session!!! And More (1961)