Sinatra, what is the appeal?

Many years after I became a fan of Sinatras style and voice I had a friend of mine come visit. We were having a casual conversation as he shuffled through my albums browsing what new lps/cds I had purchased. He grabbed a couple of Frank Sinatra albums and said something akin to "Frank Sinatra? You like him? Never cared for his voice. Very stiff." I asked him if he liked any of the crooners from that time period? He stated that he really liked Tony Bennet. I knew exactly how he felt. I had felt the same. Tony had a much more joyful voice. A jubilance. More a smile of life than a grin with a hidden smirk. Franks has the you wont get the best of me look, while Tony has a sweet honesty.

And though that may be stark in comparison, the elusiveness of what and how Frank states multiple emotions in a very different way can strike many as too shouldered up with a pinched cigarette. But its not until one sees how masterful his ability to express the male viewpoint in a phrase, how the story is told through bravado with class, where consonant is there for a reason and each vowel combined makes the song sing its meaning that you start to hear what he is doing.

I dont think there is a singer that combined maleness with tenderness in the way Frank did. His timbre and very unique character of his voice was the absolute best a male contemporary singer could offer.

 

I have an original Capitol pressing -- will that do?

 

The MFSL recent issue has not came out on vinyl. Not to sound stuffy but MFSL completey nailed the SFSL sound on the sacd hybrid. The right original can sound very good, but wow SFSL never sounded better than the new MFSL. Not talking about the one from the silver box from years ago.

One day the MFSL will not be around I would not want to be without the sacd hybrid (yes it will play on a regular old cd player)

Same goes for " A Swingin Affair" "Where Are You? "No One Cares". Youd be hard pressed to find better SQ.

 

I like beer, nuts, BBQ......and Sinatra.

 

I belong to another music forum (yep, I have forum on the side ). One member went into this rant about how it's not possible to like Rock 'n' Roll and Sinatra. I said I refuse to limit myself-it's all music to me.

 

It's still rock 'n' roll to me!

 

Badass and with attitude. Yep.

 

I figured Sinatra was "square" music up until I turned 30. How wrong I was.

 

I never had any Sinatra till about 4 years ago. Now I have about 15-18 titles.

So after that number of titles...I've finally come around ! I've been collecting more 50s jazz and such cd's that any other era as of late.

Still need just a few more.

 

Yeah, maybe, but that doesn't describe me, either. Sorry for stating my opinion in what is obviously a love in for Sinatra fans (even though title said nothing about "appreciation").

 

Ha ha ha ha!!! VERY well said.

 

Perhaps.
I just picked the MFSL original master recording on Vinyl.
Sound is amazing.

 

To be honest, that's why I clicked. Never been a fan. Admittedly that's because I don't appreciate that type of music in general.

 

My grandmother liked Sinatra in the 40s, as a welcome contrast to the Hillbilly music she grew up with. Personally, I prefer the Hillbilly stuff. I do like James and Dorsey, so I might like some of the stuff Sinatra recorded with them, though I tend to prefer instrumental swing to vocal.

 

Which "type" of music? Samba, big band, ballads, jazz, etc... ?

 

Add smooth male vocals to any of the above. I do have a soft spot for female torch singing. The dudes, not so much.

 

I grew up in a household that didn't play a lot of music, but my father did have several Capital Sinatras that I became very familiar with by the time I was 10-12 years old. He was a first generation Italian American, born in the 1920's, and Sinatra was as much as a cultural thing as a musical one, but he and I enjoyed our Frank. He died 12 years ago, and I appropriated those albums into my collection, even though I had them all on CD, as well as a pretty decent Reprise selection.

 

Oh, ok. So it's just the dudes? Gotcha.

 

Julie London and Peggy Lee have a siren effect on me. The Rat Pack-ers, not so much.

 

Somebody has to say otherwise, so... I don't like Sinatra, could easily live my life never hearing him. Don't like his "Godfather" persona, don't like the way he sings the songbooks, Total Narcissist,, a lot of the songs are just cheesy and dumb, I understand why people like him, his delivery, and if your into that "I'm more a man than you" bull, has a good voice, just not my cup of tea. I'll take Bobby Darin or Roger Miller anyday.

 

Each to his own (see how that works, guys?)

For myself, I've never liked any of the "big band", "swing era", "crooners" or whatever else they're called; male or female. It's just not my thing. But I would admit I'm not exactly diverse in what I prefer to listen to; mostly rock, metal, and crossover hip-hop. So, yeah, what am I doing in here

 

Back in the late 70s after all the great hard rock, punk, reggae, funk, etc., I had all the qualifications to not like Sinatra at all but he just hypnotised me, especially on film. Jeeze, that voice, that command, that masterful grace with a spice of humour, tension, sadness, joy,... life. Friggin' awesome.

 

I have several Sinatra albums, but my favorite - oddly enough? - is At the Sands with Count Basie. Frank really seems to be on his game with this show. This song makes me mist up every time I hear it.

Some of his material sounds a bit "phoned in" as if he showed up, did his bit, and then took off to drink some martinis. The phrasing and voice was perfect, but lacked that extra bit to make the song truly great. Again, not all of his material, but I notice this more on my Capitol CD set.

 

+1. I had to eventually close shop (for awhile) in my late 30s to all those power chords, thundering drum solos and screeching vocalists to save my hearing and my psyche. I figured, that part of my life is over. Remember it fondly, but move on and expand your horizons. Enter Frank and music from all over the planet. Change is good.

 

I never stopped listening to Johnny Thunders, Chic, Bunny Wailer, Led Zep, Zappa... whatever, and there's still a place for Frank.