Will Friedwald, in his book, mentions that Columbia was supposed to be releasing all the James and Sinatra commercial songs, 10 or 11, I believe, in 1995. Is this the "Complete Recordings" cd I see in the marketplace? Does anyone know why it's missing 3 songs that they did? I want all or nothing at all! and if Sony can't put a package together for a fan who knows anything about the music he's buying, maybe I'll buy it and give them three bucks less than the cost and see how they like it. Do you feel me?

Oh, and I'm new here. Incredible place.

[BobbySoxer]

I'm holding the cd HARRY JAMES AND HIS ORCHESTRA featuring Frank Sinatra, Columbia, The Complete Recordings l939. in my hand as I write.

The "Brunswick" label was released by Sony in 1995. and it contains 21 songs, each a treasure. I was unaware that anything was omitted, in fact it seems to me that it contains more tracks than I knew existed. There is repetition, but it's amazing to hear the development of a truly great talent.

Here's a list of the songs:

FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART
MELANCHOLY MOOD
MY BUDDY
IT'S FUNNY TO EVERYBODY BUT ME
HERE COMES THE NIGHT
ALL OR NOTHING AT ALL
ON A LITTLE STREET IN SINGAPORE
WHO TOLD YOU I CARED
CIRIBIRIBIM
EVERY DAY OF MY LIFE
FROM THE BOTTOM OF MT HEART
MELANCHOLY MOOD
IT'S FUNNY TO EVERYBODY BUT ME
ALL OR NOTHING AT ALL
STARDUST
WISHING WILL MAKE IT SO
IF I DIDN't CARE
THE LAMP IS LOW
MY LOVE FOR YOU
MOON LOVE
THIS IS NO DREAM

A number of the tracks are previously unreleased, and the repetitions are alternate takes. Don't feel cheated -
this is among the greatest of the recent releases. It's a delight to feel " in at the beginning "and that's exactly the feeling this cd gives.( Mine came from Amazon a few years ago.)

Please, "Why ask for the stars when we have the moon". I've always wanted to say that, thanks for giving me a chance
to play Bette Davis, and welcome to the Forum.

I love Bette Davis.

But all those songs don't have Frank singing on them, do they? As far as I know, he's not singing on:

Who Told You I Cared
Every Day of My Life
Stardust
Wishing Will Make It So
If I Didn't Care
The Lamp Is Low
Moon Love
This Is No Dream

I'll still get it cause I like James too but the ones I know are missing are:

Let's Disappear
To You
I Poured My Heart Into a Song

These might be the weakest ones he did with James, I don't know, but I'd like a chance to decide.

[Chuck Granata]

Hello,

When we assembled the Complete FS & James CD, we used all of the material available to us.

It certainly is "complete," as the word is almost universally used in the industry to indicate that all of a performer's STUDIO recordings are included. That certainly is the case with the FS & Harry James CD.

The radio airchecks were bonus tracks which came from the Library of Congress. Unfortunately, they did not have acceptable sounding copies of the tracks you mention, or we would have included them.

Bear in mind that if a record label were to consider every note a singer sang necessary for inclusion on a "complete" collection (i. e., radio recordings, which fall outside of the label's studio holdings), the public would never have any of these packages - they would be far too costly to produce and manufacture.

As an example, Mosaic Records (in conjunction with Sony Music) released a massive box set containing all of Mildred Bailey's Columbia recordings. They used all of the studio masters, PLUS a number of radio airchecks. The set is still a complete and definitive documentation of Bailey's Columbia recording career; the radio tracks are a bonus, "icing on the cake," and if every radio recording she made wasn't included, it in no way dilutes the presentation of her complete STUDIO output.

Hope this explains our approach in an understandable way.

Chuck Granata
(Columbia/Legacy producer)

Thanks for the replies, Chuck and "Bette." I will get the James cd. Glad to hear radio airchecks are included. I just could never pin down which songs or recordings were studio tracks and which were radio airchecks. I was going by Will's book, which said they did 10 songs in studio.