Sinatra Vs. Other Male Interpreters of the Great American Songbook

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by ShockControl, Jan 19, 2014.

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  1. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    I have already listed Astaire in my top 4.. Earlier post. See Sammy as a "entertainer". Agree about Darin, but he was a bandwagon jumper with different musical genres( all good mind ).Greco's Tramp is a excellent hip jazz version, but Sinatra's version is imbedded in my head from his version from the movie Pal Joey.
     
    Last edited: Jan 27, 2014
  2. rangerjohn

    rangerjohn Forum Resident

    Location:
    chicago, il

    That's the best rendition he ever did. SO loose, yet tight. And it was unavailable to listeners for so long until the release of the Hollywood box.
     
  3. rockerreds

    rockerreds Senior Member

    You are right-I don't really experience it as a Jack Jones album.
     
  4. kennyluc1

    kennyluc1 Frank Sinatra collector

    Greco's singing DNA is stamped SINATRA...I do dig his version of "Tramp"
     
  5. Folknik

    Folknik Forum Resident

    I always found it unusual that so many critics who praise Sinatra and Tony Bennett have nothing good to say about Andy Williams. His voice was clear as a bell and subtly expressive, particularly on his 3 fine Christmas albums. He just had a very Christmasy voice. His album Solitaire, produced by Richard Perry, is also a lovely piece of wax.
     
  6. Listen to Andy William's album Lonely Street. It's his In the Wee Small Hours!
     
  7. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    Met him once, humble guy. His vocals were usually drenched in echo.. But that was his trademark sound. His Moon River is the definitive version imo such a huckleberry tune. Love, Andy. image.jpg
     
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  8. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    More lost vegas than las vegas these days. Always had a soft spot for the USA track running of this LP. The follow album is pretty much the definitive Scott album. image.jpg
     
  9. rockerreds

    rockerreds Senior Member

    His best album,it all came together with this one,sounds even better today.
     
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  10. Purple Jim

    Purple Jim Senior Member

    Location:
    Bretagne
    Frank is N°1!
     
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  11. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    More Billy Eckstein sounding than ole blue eyes. P.J. Proby in baritone mode does great justice to these American standards/showtunes. image.jpg
     
    Last edited: Feb 1, 2014
  12. Ronald Sarbo

    Ronald Sarbo Forum Resident

    Location:
    NY, NY, USA
    Herb Jeffries has died at the age of 100. The LAST of the "Boy Singers" and the "Big Baritones". Truly the end of an era.
     
    Last edited: May 31, 2014
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  13. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    Sad news !!!
     
  14. Regandron

    Regandron Forum Resident

    I agree with the earlier posters who said that Sinatra adds something to what is there in the song and uniquely creates the 'Frank' experience.

    I'm also interested in the comments on female singers. I've tried to warm to Ella Fitzgerald , but i am not getting it.. Although her interpretations are often described as 'definitive., it just passes me by . Barbra Streisand by contrast seems to me closer to the 'female Sinatra'. I saw her live (my wife's choice of concert!) in London in the mid-2000s and she completely owned the stage, the performance, the song everything. Is she not considered cool, in the same league.??. it is just outside my genre so I am intrigued to know.
     
  15. Larry Jordan

    Larry Jordan Forum Resident

    This may strike some as odd, but Patti Page was certainly one of the better singers of her time. It amazes me that so many people are only familiar with her novelty numbers -- like “How Much Is That Doggy In the Window.’ But she actually recorded some incredible incredible music in the early 1950s that had a real jazz/blues feel to it, that has been long forgotten by many fans. A friend who is a Patti fan made me aware of this fact and when I started digging deeper and getting in touch with a few of her fans, I was exposed to some of her lesser known work and couldn't believe how great she really was.
     
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  16. ShockControl

    ShockControl Bon Vivant and Raconteur! Thread Starter

    Location:
    Lotus Land
    He has a pleasant voice but IMO is nowhere near the singer that Sinatra is, in terms delivery, phrasing, swing, and conveying the meaning in a lyric. Go you Youtube and hear his disastrous duet with Ray Charles on "What'd I Say."

    That said, of the many Andy Williams albums that I've dragged home from the thrift store - and the many I've dragged right back - his French album with Quincy Jones is probably the closest he ever got to swinging convincingly.
     
  17. Ronald Sarbo

    Ronald Sarbo Forum Resident

    Location:
    NY, NY, USA
    Happy 100th birthday to The Great Mr. B....Billy Eckstine
     
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  18. nick25

    nick25 Member

    Vic Damone had moments of greatness like his "Closer than a Kiss," album. I've never been able to rate him as highly as Sinatra though because he was inconsistent IMO. I think British singer Dennis Lotis was extremely good but only made two albums. Torme, Davis and Darin had moments of greatness too but Dick Haymes is the artist that I would rate close to Sinatra. I haven't yet found a bad Haymes disc.
     
  19. Carl Swanson

    Carl Swanson Senior Member

    Love Sinatra, but I like V/A "songbook" albums much better as a rule.
     
  20. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    Great thread.
     
  21. rangerjohn

    rangerjohn Forum Resident

    Location:
    chicago, il
    I didn't know where else to post this. Here's Eric Clapton very recently on Sinatra:

    "It took me all this time to understand Frank Sinatra - that’s been really difficult. And I think it might have something to do with the fact that he is so highly revered. And often my response to that idolatry is to go, ‘Nah’ - to trash it and go looking for something more obscure. Because he was so familiar and popular. And bit by bit I’ve had to come to terms with the fact that he was a genius. And I’m not sure I’m really comfortable with saying that even now. Because I’ve still got this sort of prejudice. And I think that’s kind of what you’re talking about. It’s almost like having a punk attitude, it’s like, ‘Nah - that’s gone before.’ But actually I see myself more as a musicologist: I see how it’s all connected. And when I think about Sinatra and Bing Crosby and Louis Armstrong - those guys were serious. Dean Martin I don’t get at all, or Sammy Davis Jr, they were kind of lightweights. But Frank Sinatra could actually really do deep emotional work, but I didn’t want to admit it till the last couple of years.”

    Exclusive: ‘I’m lucky to be alive’ - Eric Clapton speaks »
     
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  22. mpayan

    mpayan A Tad Rolled Off

    Missed this thread. Some very cool responses. Bing is my favorite. Only one I knew as a kid. Franks time had passed and Bing was about the only one at his age that was still popular with his TV specials. Well, Dean also. But Bing Crosby made you feel right at home.

    While I dont think anyone surpasses Frank Sinatra in his singular volume and pure interpretation of getting everything out of the emotion of the American Songbook, I think overlooking Tony Bennett as second in this regard is a mistake. He is second to Mr Sinatra in my book.

    Bing (my favorite)
    Frank Sinatra ( the best)
    TonyBennett(close second)


    Then there are the ones who I simply think are treasures:

    Nat, Dean, Sammy..
     
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  23. mpayan

    mpayan A Tad Rolled Off

    Sammy Davis Jr "lightweight"?

    Better study some more EC.
     
  24. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    Not as eye catching as the UK version though. :)
     
  25. Jayson Wall

    Jayson Wall Forum Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    For me, it’s broken down into 3 groups.

    Group 1:
    Frank Sinatra, Bobby Darin, Nat Cole, and Bing Crosby

    Group 2
    Martin, Davis, Armstrong, Greco, Sinatra Jr, Randall, Torme, Como, Rawls, and Jones’ (Tom & Jack).

    Group 3
    ….and the rest.

    As much as I’ve tried for last 25 years to get into Tony Bennett, he doesn’t do for me. I have a few of his albums, but when you consider his performance in THE OSCAR the highlight of his career, I think that should tell me stop trying. ;)
     
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