[SinatraFan]

In the second half of my post I was just agreeing with Nancy and stating my reasons why. It wasn't directed solely at you Steph, sorry for the confusion.

Sorry Allen for misreading your post (I did that with two other posts tonight...). I'd better go to bed before there is more confusion...

[Stunatra]

Wow... there are some harsh reviews on this album, here. This is not a bad album by any means. It is a fun album, and it isn't meant to be taken seriously as albums from Frank's Capitol years. This is an album I listen to quite often, usually in the car.

Frank puts his own stamp on every song here and makes them his own. He tears through You're Gonna Hear From Me, but we have heard from Frank prior to this album Winchester Cathedral is a fun number... Frank takes so much out of so little of a song... it just works. I have never heard the original, but I am not sure that I want to.

The Impossible Dream is grand, though it sounds a little tossed off, to my ears. But it is still a good recording. Sand and Sea is a 2nd rate Summer Wind, but it is still a good song and I like the arrangement. Frank sounds like he is having fun with Somewhere My Love.. which is given a nice big band treatment and liked it the moment I heard it. I Will Wait For You is one of my favorites on the album. I like this version of What Now, My Love equally as much as the versions he sang in concert. Tell Her You Love Her is a good song, but it would have been nice if Frank recorded another new song, as this was released previously on Sinatra '65.

Much needn't be said about That's Life... it is a great blues song that Frank made his own and if it wasn't for it, we wouldn't have this fun of an album.

Not his worst album of the 60's but it does contain a lot of MOR type music that was fashionable then. Winchester Cathedral swings nicely.
I wonder if this album was done live in the studio or was overdubbed.
It sounds like they laid down the charts and then had Frank come in and put down his vocals later.

[Stunatra]

Originally Posted by Ryan Wolfe

I wonder if this album was done live in the studio or was overdubbed.
It sounds like they laid down the charts and then had Frank come in and put down his vocals later.

That's possible, but I doubt it. Frank liked to be in the studio with the band... he said he needed the 'electricity' of the band, so to speak, to get him going.

[taylorjy]

Mastering engineer Steve Hoffman tells a great story - as told to him by Jimmy Bowen - re the recording of "That's Life." Scroll down to post #11 for Hoffman's comments:

http://stevehoffman.tv/forums/showth...=sinatra+bowen

Veeeeeery interesting stuff, indeed! Wonder what the initial recording became, and what it sounded like without the angry tone of voice... I also agree that what absolutely ruins the track (and several of the time) is the use of those backing vocalists.

[SinatraFan]

Originally Posted by Steph

I also agree that what absolutely ruins the track (and several of the time) is the use of those backing vocalists.

I agree, Steph, that's why I like the version found on the tv special A Man And Music Part II much better. I like the arrangement better and no background singers!

[Nancy]

Jimmy Bowen had the first #1 chart record for Reprise Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime with Dean and arranger Ernie Freeman. Part of that smash track were those background singers. I suppose they figured the same formula would work for FS. A lot of those recordings from 1966 sound the same to me.

[JamesDeFrances]

I always thought Freeman's arrangement of Tell Her was very reminiscent of his work in 1964 with Dean on Everybody Loves Somebody.

What type of synthesizers were used on this album?

[Thorsten]

Frank was indeed a versatile singer, but what he always needed was material that challenged him and good arrangements.
You can't get blood from a turnip and this lackluster material doesn't challenge him at all. I mean, just listen to the painfully overwrought sentiment of "The Impossible Dream" or the shrill arrangement of "Tell Her (You Love Her Each Day)" (Perhaps the worst song, he ever tackled - just take a look at the clumsy lyrics of this song) and you will see what I mean.
So on this album he really sounds like a fish out of water for the most time, especially if you compare it to his real masterpieces.

Originally Posted by JamesDeFrances

What type of synthesizers were used on this album?

No synthesizers in 1966, James. The only electronic instruments you hear are a Hammond B3 organ and, possibly, Fender bass and electric guitar.

Originally Posted by Thorsten

Frank was indeed a versatile singer, but what he always needed was material that challenged him and good arrangements.
You can't get blood from a turnip and this lackluster material doesn't challenge him at all. I mean, just listen to the painfully overwrought sentiment of "The Impossible Dream" or the shrill arrangement of "Tell Her (You Love Her Each Day)" (Perhaps the worst song, he ever tackled - just take a look at the clumsy lyrics of this song) and you will see what I mean.
So on this album he really sounds like a fish out of water for the most time, especially if you compare it to his real masterpieces.

Not a masterpiece I agree but Frank was having fun with some of this material and that's infectious

[BobbyGrindrod]

Yeah - Nancy has said before that Frank and his pals enjoyed dancing to a lot of the '60s pop songs at parties and the like. They aren't to be taken seriously as great works of art...

Anyone who compares an album like this one to his great Capitol albums is barking up the wrong tree. It's one thing to be academic about Frank's work, but it's quite another to let it get in the way of something that's supposed to be enjoyed on a simpler level.

"Jus' tryin' to have a little fun, folks!"

I'm listening to "Winchester Cathedral" right now. Frank sings it so soulfully! I love how he sings it.. what is better than relaxing listening to Frank late at night after a stressful day!

[SinatraFan]

I really like Winchester Cathedral too... it's one of my most played FS songs.

Most people don't care for the song but I think Frank sounds great on the song. Once again he makes a song better than what it really is.

[BobbyGrindrod]

Exactly. And it's his sense of humour that shines through in songs like this. You can see that he knows it's a throw away pop tune, so the way he sings the "ooh" etc is very amusing!

It's like "Down Town" on the Strangers LP. You get the impression that he's doing the song for a bit of a laugh (about the generation gap between himself and Nancy as wonderfully demonstrated on 'A Man & His Music Part II'), but because it's FS, he doesn't just ruin the song or turn it into a mess. He uses his famous interpretative skills to give a great reading that is simultaneously rather mocking as well as a whole lot of fun!

I agree with you Bobby I think Tony Randall does the same thing!

I love that song too. Some people don't like it, but it's one of my favorite songs on the album

Hi, i'm new to the Sinatra family website, so hi all!

On the whole, That's Life is not anywhere near the top of my list. However, despite Freeman's shmaltzy arrangements he did for many of Frank's songs i do happen to think his arrangements of the two real swingers on this album were pretty good (Somewhere My Love & You're Gonna Hear From Me). Even That's Life (the song) isn't bad.

But the real question i have have is WHAT happened in that studio between laying down the tracks for this album, and finally releasing this album. This has to be the WORST sounding Sinatra album, sonic wise. The clarity (on some tracks) and stereo separation are terrible. Some of those tracks sound almost like duophonic, not stereophonic. If any Sinatra album needs to be cleaned up and re-mixed (not remastered...re-MIXED) it's this one. Does anyone know anything about this technical stuff?

Paul