View Single Post
  #67  
Old 03-16-2008, 09:46 AM
Edwin's Avatar
Edwin Edwin is offline
Platinum Member
North Brunswick, NJ
 
The re-recordings of standards and singles from the Capitol era on Reprise were all quite different than the originals. The originals are superior. His comeback then was still fairly recent and he strived for perfection far more than he did on the re-recordings.

The re-recordings on such as "Sinatra's Sinatra," the first Basie album and "Swingin' Brass" are punchier and more choppy but much less involved. The perfectionism and effort is not as strong as on the Capitol versions. Just one of many examples: listen to the word "love" at the end of both versions of The Tender Trap. On the original, he pierces the sky with that note as written. On the re-recording, he doesn't bother and throws it away.

To put it another way, on such Capitol recordings as Wee Small Hours, I've Got You Under My Skin, I Get a Kick out of You, I Won't Dance, Learnin' the Blues, Come Fly with Me, etc, etc, he's really, well, THERE with his whole body, heart, soul and brain and they are THE definitive performances. Some of the others may be louder, swingier, brassier, but there is nowhere near the depth that is achieved on the originals. His perfectionism and his chops were still there on such Reprise records as "The Concert Sinatra" and "Sinatra-Jobim," but not on the remakes of Capitol originals.

Another point: Frank Sinatra is generally in better voice and has better control on the Capitol originals than on the Reprise remakes.