European Import
In which Sinatra not only jumps on the bossa nova bandwagon, he completely hijacks it and makes it his own. Tunes here were exquisitely arranged by the incomparable Claus Ogerman and features seven of compositions by Jobim plus three standards. I'd heard this album a few times and I already have digital files of this stuff, but when I eventually found it in a clearance bin for 50¢, I didn't hesitate. I'm guessing somebody sold this to the used media store after they picked up The Complete Reprise Recordings disc in 2010. In any case, while this album is quite brief (28½ minutes), it is quite a treat as well as a master class in phrasing and delivery.
Here's some insight on the album's recording session from Gene Lees, the lyricist of track 4, Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars: High Fidelity, May 1967, p. 95.
The album was nominated for Grammy awards in the Album Of The Year and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance category, eventually losing to Sgt. Pepper and By The Time I Get To Phoenix, respectively.
Reviews/ratings:
- Stereo Review: "Sinatra's best in years"
- Billboard: "soft and tender"
- CashBox: "There is no doubt that the disk will be a huge success"
- Record World: "The tone is soft and the mood is romantic"
- The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★★★
- The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★★
Album chart peaks:
- US Billboard Top 200: #19
- Billboard Jazz: #4
Tracks: Almost every review I've found for this album offer an opinion that, on this album, Sinatra delivers the definitive version of [insert song title], but the song mentioned is always different. That suggests to me that while everybody might have their own particular favorite track, there's a lot of good stuff here. And, well, I just can't pick favorites on this one today. The album ends subtlety and leaves the listener wanting more so the only choice is to play it again (or maybe segue into Wave).
Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None
Previously revisited for the blog:
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