I don't have any figures one way or the other. Just assuming it might be a fact from your supply issues and comments.

One thing, though - this particular CD/album may very well be a good seller because it's celebrating the 100th anniversary of a little, sleepy city in the desert, Las Vegas Nevada. Sinatra is but one performer that is featured in concert - as you probably know there's Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Bobby Darin, Wayne Newton and others whose live performances are celebrating this centennial.

Bugsy would be proud,

Holmes

[Rhodalee]

Good old Bugsy. If he didn't have a vision, none of this would have happened.

I stayed at the Flamingo some years ago, in the back of poolside, in one of the original rooms for a week. I'm not sure, but I believe they left it there while renovating, as a land mark.

BTW -- no matter what, the Flamingo remains my favorite of all the hotels in Vegas.

Does anyone know if those rooms are still there? Tom??

Rhodalee

The Flamingo is still there but much, much different now than when Bugsy was around. I'm sure those rooms are long gone.

Yes, Mr. Segal had a vision but was a bit of a spendthrift. Bet he's sorry he chased the broad to L.A.

I still go to Vegas at least once a year but it's not as good as it used to be. The buildings/hotels on the strip are so close together..stuffed close like sardines.

In the 60's there was space between the hotels w/beautiful landscaped lawns and pools. Even natural desert between the resorts on the strip. In this sense, it's sort of ruined..it used to be much more beautiful and, yes, simple.

Well, gotta go now Louie, Sammy and Keely are ready for their 5 o'clock show at the Desert Inn!!

Oh boy,

Holmes

[Rhodalee]

I was there about six or seven years ago, and stayed at the Mirage, I know Steve Wynn's driver - he still owned it then. I would rather have stayed at the Flamingo, except I got the room for nothing, as well as the shows there and at the Nugget.

To my recollection, they said they were going to leave the Bugsy buildings in the back as a land mark, I'd be so sorry if they didn't. I think when I stayed there, it was in the early 80's, in those buildings I mean.

As a very young girl, my folks drove cross-country and I remember vividly the nothingness of Vegas -- I can remember seeing the original Flamingo, and I was maybe four or five years old.

I plan on getting there sometime this year, it's been too long.

Rhodalee

I can't speak with absolute authority but I believe the Siegel suite had been renovated and preserved in the early or mid '90s. Because of a renewed interest in and celebration of Las Vegas' colorful past.
Unlike the movie version of 'Bugsy' ...the Flamingo was an existing hotel/casino that was bought out / taken over.
I think the original owner had financial problems.
As far as the name Flamingo...not sure when that came about.
I lived in Las Vegas between '91 and '95.
I wish I could have been there in the early 50s and 60s.
Many of the hotels of course have interesting historys.
The El Cortez downtown famous for catering to the locals and boasting looser slots was popular with me for the $1.00 breakfasts available 24hrs a day! And they tasted good too!
I ate there many times (I tipped of course)...you could afford to be generous at those prices!
Meyer Lansky had some ownership at one time of the El Cortez.

Now what does any of this have to do with the new CD 'Frank Sinatra "Live" From Las Vegas' (1986 at the Golden Nugget)?
What do you think Is blaring out of my speakers right now!

[C.R.E.]

I've enjoyed this CD since the moment it arrived. True, it represents a later version of "the voice", but that doesn't take away from the fun spirit and general quality of the recording.

I am so glad they released it. It reminds me of the 2 times I saw FS live, in the 1990's. Moreover, you can just tell FS was having a great time that evening, despite his recent illness at the time of the performance. I thought he was pretty witty the whole show too, interjecting some hillarious little sayings and swingin' along with that fat band.

Very enjoyable.

Christopher

One of my dear Sinatra friends sent this CD to me, so I can return the one I purchased from WM! If anyone can't find it, I'll be more than happy to pass it on to you for the price and postage.

I did notice Mr. S.'s voice seemed younger on one of the cuts, don't remember which one, however. Was this entire CD from the same evening? Also had to keep adjusting the volume up and then down and then up again, but that could just be my overly-sensative hearing.

Never-the-less, it's a nice additional to our collections. I adore his live performances, especially Australia & Paris. These were superior, IMHO, of course.



Added: Forgot, it also had a defect where it keep repeating one note. Had to FF to the next cut. Shame, too, as it kept happening. Remember someone else saying they had a defective CD as well. Ours must have been in the same batch of pressings!

If it's a defect, the buyer should claim it - what you describe must be something affecting only some of the CDs then, I got a promo from US, the regular US pressing, and the European (EEC) pressing, and all three work fine. What's your pressing? (US I presume)? Always better to get these commercial releases first-hand, I think.

Also, be sure to try a different CD-player and see whether the defect occurs there as well - sometimes these things happen with individual players only, while it's not a defect of the CD. E.g. the European issue of the new album contains anti-copying-software bugs, which often cause problems e.g. with CD-players installed in your car.

Regarding the "varieties" in sound and volume, that comes obviously from the variety of source tapes used for mastering the album. It also affects channels at times (e.g. Sinatra's voice "jumps" from left to right channel and back at some of the edits).

It's not a single performance but a mix from several dates from the engagement (Dec. 27-31, 1986).

I'm preparing a review, still some minor things to research however, once that's completed I will post it.

Bernhard.

Danke, Bernhard. I shall play it on my computer and see if it does the same skipping. Yes, this was, of course, a US pressing I'm assumming. Where does it say on the cover?

Shall look forward to your review! The print was so tiny on the liner notes it demanded the finding of the magnifying glass! They evidently print these things for young eyes, or perhaps I just need stronger glasses!

well, Frank made it on the Billboard charts at #199. well, at least he's above Lidsey Lohan at 200.

[mikeg]

I'm so glad the CD made the chart. I don't think any of the others in the series have charted yet. Here's to Mr. S.

[Duncan]

From the first tight note in I’ve Got The World On A String to the final powerhouse “Yoooork” in the Theme From New York, New York this album proves to be the best live release so far from Frank Sinatra.
Some quibble over the recording and sound quality, some even over the performance quality, but I still find this to be infinitely more satisfying than 80th Live or even the much lauded Live At The Sands. For me, the set list is better than the 1966 album, and the performance more of an “event” than either. By the time you are halfway through What Now My Love you find yourself smiling with satisfaction. You can see Frank whipping the mic cord around his shiny shoes, you can see him leaning forward as he delivers the final tender “my last goodbye… my last goodbye…”.
I Get A Kick Out Of You blows all previous live recordings of this Porter tune out of the ball park. Did Frank ever sound so jazzy, so funny yet so regal all at the same time? He delivers the line “I’m sure if I took even one sniff… it would bore me terriff…” and it’s like The Beatles, Elvis and Streisand never happened. The sax solo bounding over the undetatchable Sinatra arrangement is a joy. Just the kind of delightful additional surprise you love when you go to see someone in person. Something a little out of the ordinary that wasn’t there on the original, but serves to make the concert experience all the more exciting. And that’s why this album is so much more exciting than 80th Live or even The Sands because it somehow manages to capture the feeling of a live show more than any other. Maybe because Sinatra’s between song chatter seems untouched and left just as it was originally, or maybe it is because the recording equipment not only picks up the music but also the general sound of the Golden Nugget auditorium on those evenings in 1986. It seems so much more real than the others. I think it also has something to do with the superb liner notes by Charles Pignone, which stick to the subject of Sinatra in Vegas and conjure up the same pre performance excitement that a concert programme does. In fact it has that concert programme feel. The additional comments by Frank Sinatra Jr, Bill Miller and Al Viola are a masterstroke. Again they add validity to the package as a whole, making you feel real thought has been put into it. The inclusion of a photo outside the Nugget circa 1986 is another brilliant addition.
And, for me, we have a new definitive recording. Luck Be A Lady more than eclipses the studio recording made years earlier, not only thanks to Sinatra’s punchy delivery but also to the orchestra who bring Billy May’s masterpiece to life like never before. To say that Sinatra was able to deliver a better rendering in 1986 than he was in 1966 is saying something, but for me it is true. “ELEVEN!”
I’ve Got A Crush, My Heart Stood Still and Someone To Watch Over Me bring out the romantic ballader in Sinatra once more, something he seemed to be as good at in 1986 as he was in 1946. Maybe better. I know I would rather hear the slight cracking pipes croon out “the world will pardon my much” than the skinny Hoboken boy of 1939 swoon over From The Bottom Of My Heart. But that’s just me.
Mack The Knife is a revelation, and it’s always nice to hear the singer enjoying singing as much – or more (!) – than the audience listening. The Girls I Never Kissed is, as Frank says, a little bit reminiscence of September Song. It suits Sinatra at this point in his life, and is delivered wonderfully. Frank slips straight into actor mode as he sings, immediately you believe he is that old wolf. Maybe he is.
Can’t you just hear Frank brimming over with excitement during For Once In My Life? Hard to believe he recorded the song nearly 20 years earlier.
Those who say this is an album only for Sinatra aficionados are wrong. This is a recording for everyone, whether they have heard Sinatra before or whether they don’t even know who he is. This album captures Sinatra during the big concert years, it shows him transforming from heart broken old man in The Girls I Never Kissed to the excited lover in I’ve Got You Under My Skin. And during My Way, he seems to be nobody else but Frank Sinatra.

Great writing, Duncan - thanks for sharing! A fitting praise for an exciting album.

Bernhard.

[JamesDeFrances]

Dunc, I agree with Bernhard. That sounds like something out of Sheet Music Magazine!!!

It is a great album indeed. As for the "feel" of a live show, this album definitely captures it the best.

why doesnt anyone compare this to the Main Event? i think the main even is a real good performance. im still yet to see the Sands one on DVD.

[steffen]

this is a brilliant review, duncan, i very much enjoyed reading it, more so: re-living your excitement you had. i still have to obtain the CD, but you certainly increased my anthicipation.

you managed to paint a vivid picture. keep on writing that good stuff, you are a good music commentator!

[Amy L]

Just picked up the Live in Las Vegas at Target...Great CD...And Mr.S is swinging as ever...Thanks so so much for releasing this gem!!!!! It's as though I am sitting at the Golden Nugget...I love the "live" recordings....and just hearing Frank talk and ad lib....this is so special...Amy

[Nancy]

[Ed Potts]

But it is unfair to compare this release with " Live At The Sands." I love Francis Albert Sinatra in any form,what so ever! It just doesn`t make sense to compare the two.IMHO.

I'm an FS FREAK , no doubt about it !

Sorry, I just got mine(somewhere down the priority list behind food, rent, car payment and my trip to Vegas),but by God I finally got it.

I read most of the posts...

My thoughts

1) James D.- I haven't inspected it yet, but I too had your experience on NY NY, must be the copies they sold to Wal-Mart
(probably why the can sell them for $9.99

2)Bo- It wouldn't surprise me if there were some different dates here, but I understand. Have you ever sung sixteen songs in a row for a small crowd of 500 people?And if you have, wait till your 71 and try it again. So to me it's no big deal,common practice.

3)Chuckster - I've followed Mr. Sinatra since I was eight years old,I own probably 80% of the LPs, read all the books, rapturously watched all the TV specials, movies, et. al, he was my idol in high school(I even went so far to recruit my friends to be Dean,Sammy, Joey, and Peter.)I even got to see him twice in concert. Though I'm not the Sinatraphile anymore that some are I still think I hold my own as a knowledgeable fan.


WOW, I THINK I SHOULD HAVE CUT TO THE CHASE.

Anyway, I'm with you - I don't think I have ever heard Frank more relaxed than during this performance. He seems completely comfortable with his singing, and the crowd. No swagger or distance, just a friendly ol' guy singing, and even dedicating his songs to Mom and Pop public - a facet to his diamond I've never seen, or realized. Blew me away, really.

4)And George! Always a pleasure to read your posts. "Beautiful girls..."

Yeah, though I don't think one could say I worship him anymore, Frank will always be my man, and I feel grateful to have been able to hear this performance.

Oh, I almost forgot. I enjoyed the extended jazz sax on "Kick", I don't think anything like that has been committed to a recording before, though I think when the man did tours with Basie, and especially Buddy that the guys probably got a chance to blow a little bit.

All for now

Randy