Sinatra: The Capitol Years, 21-CD Box Set at Amazon UK: STEAL OF A DEAL!

I've had my eye on this for a while. The set may have its issues but in general it's well-regarded. Would I rather Steve got his hands on Frank? Silly question. But wake me when that happens.

This is the first time I've seen it stocked by Amazon proper as opposed to a marketplace seller and the price is remarkable, 107.41 GBP, shipped to the US. The exchange rate depends on who does the converting, either your credit card or Amazon may be cheaper, but not much difference. It will come out to about $165 shipped (~$7.85/disc!). I don't think they did another run of these, so they probably won't last long and I guarantee you won't see it lower. Between this and needle drops I'll be doing of original mono vinyl, and the recent MOFI CDs, and the Christmas album, and maybe the odd Walsh master (I'm still trying to sort that out), oh, and the 3-CD Capitol Years set, I should be set.

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It is a good set. Would you believe that amazon.co.uk was selling this for only 75.39 pounds, total shipped to the U.S., back in early 2007? Someone else here posted a heads up at that time and I jumped on it.

 

I'd be curious about the quality of mastering of the compilation/singles packages that are included in there. Has that been discussed here?

I'd be down for a top notch This Is Sinatra on CD.

 

While "Sinatra Sings of Love and Things" is a disappointment sound-wise, the others more than make up for everything at full price. At any sale price, anyone who does not own this set would be a fool not to purchase it. I use these CD's as my primary Capitol listening source for Mr. S.

 

I think this was the first Capitol boxset I bought, it's a great set, I'd recommend it to anyone interested in Frank Sinatra, and a great way to get the Capitol collection.

 

Wow. That would have been a real steal. Nice score.

 

Really nice deal , i have that 14-cd set that was offered at Borders for a while , that has about 10 of these albums in it , the rest i have on Vinyl i think , but anyone who needs to start a Frank collection , great way to go !

 

If your credit card company charges an additional fee (typically 3%) for currency conversion, you should be better off by turning on Amazon's Currency Converter, even if their exchange rate is slightly higher than your bank's. This ability to pay in dollars instead of pounds is a relatively new feature at Amazon UK.

 

That 14-CD "mini" box set is still available online (here) for a nice price, but the sound quality is atrocious, uh, it contains the Bob Norberg remasters. This British box is much preferred, not just for the additional material but for the lack of excessive NR and other digital non-enhancements.

The jewel case spines are cool, too:

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The Sinatra Capitol Concept Albums 14 CD set is available from Amazon Marketplace at a bargain price still if anybody is interested. It can be yours for $34 delivered new or $30 delivered used like new. I own it and like it but I haven't heard the better 21 CD set with better audio discussed here. I have read so many bad comments on the 14 disc set, mostly from people that have heard both.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-list...278509446&sr=1-1&seller=&colid=&condition=new

 

If you're a Capitol completist, you'll need at least the 4-CD Complete Capitol Singles set, and you'll still be missing some of the Sinatra tracks from the soundtrack albums, High Society, Pal Joey and Can-Can. (There are compilation CDs which contain the latter.) Still, this 21-CD box is the best way to get the bulk of it.

 

Many thanks! I just ordered it!

and 2 pounds shipping to Greece...

 

I too have not heard the 21 cd set , but at least with my 14 cd set maybe 9 or so of the cd's sound really good , there were a few clunkers that sounded "flat" to me , but i have a lot of them on Vinyl pressings to listen to at home .

 

I was reminded of this recent comment by an email just received from Amazon. While that $34 price may have been true at some point in time, the best available Amazon Marketplace price for the 14-CD set NEW is $63 delivered, currently. (Compare to the Sinatra.com store, which I believe is the only official sales site for the product.)

Note: This is NOT an endorsement of the 14-CD "mini" set. It's an okay box if it's the only Capitol Sinatra you'll ever buy, but... If you care about sound quality, the British 21-CD set is much preferred for both the mastering and completeness of the material. Unfortunately, as predicted in the thread starter, the British box is now listed as out of stock, and its price has doubled, at Amazon UK. It looks like this bargain opportunity has knocked and departed.

 

Not may have been, it was true when I posted the link and it was true when I and quite a few others here purchased the set months ago but as you mention, it isn't true now. I think it is great at $34 for someone like myself that didn't own any of these albums in any form and won't purchase the better set.

Chris

 

The 14 CD set actually dropped below $30 shipped for a while. I got two copies at that time (one for me, one for my Mom). It's not an audiophile's dream, but if you aren't too critical, it was a bargain.

 

I wasn't questioning the validity of your post or link, Chris.

Prices from Amazon Marketplace sellers change daily as a function of availability, especially for discontinued surplus items such as this. (I remember when the set was offered in the $30 range several months ago, but it didn't last long. I also remember reports of people ordering, but not receiving, this item at that price from Marketplace sellers who oversold their limited stock.)

Agreed. It was a steal at that price. That does not mean that its audio shortcomings are insignificant, nor that comparisons to other better-sounding sets should be discouraged. I own four different CD sets of Sinatra's Capitol "Concept" albums and more, and I can only confirm what many others will tell you: The British box set which is the thread topic was the best of the bunch overall.

 

For background listening while you're going through the carwash, tenderizing meat in the kitchen, cutting wood outside in the yard...etc. it might be just the ticket. For 2-3 dollars per disc it certainly is cheap.

Put it on while hammering out dents in sheets of aluminum, ah, so soothing.

 

I gotta say A+++ on the way you have them charted out on the site these days .
I know you have the Label people all pissy about 30 second samples , do they get all Fumed at disiing the product they are putting out ?

 

I agree 100%! That budget-line UK disc is fairly easy to find and inexpensive! Well worth the effort to track it down.

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