Sinatra, what is the appeal?

I put in "for awhile". I just don't revisit hard rock on a daily basis. Too busy discovering other genres.

 

For me, it's the phrasing. I can't "sing along" with any of his songs from album to album, era to era. His interpretations are unlike anyone else and I find them fascinating!

Frank had more soul than just about anyone..

 

At 52 I've only just begun getting interested in Sinatra. I guess it's the mood I like.

 

Thank you for sharing this. Very, very cool that you have one of your favorite singles in a jukebox. I am jealous my friend!!

 

I always say Sinatra "finds" you, when you need him.

I got hooked a few years after he had passed, from a double cassette I had bought me, for the song "Theme From New York, New York" I listened to that tape until it finally broke and I had to replace it with the CD. I felt Frank was singing to me and to me alone, and I've never looked back. Thanks Frank.

 

There are two kinds of people in the world. Those who are Sinatra fans, and those who are not Sinatra fans yet.

 

Thanks for the kind words. I hope you enjoy Watertown as much as I have! Cheers!
----------- Chris

 

I liked him in passing when I was younger.

Really started digging him more and more as I got older.

Now, at 38, I can sit up alone at night in the wee small hours, throw back a bourbon, listen to "Oh, How I Miss You Tonight" and wonder what the hell it all means.

 

This is a somewhat timely thread. I had 1 Sinatra album for years occassionally taking it out for a spin but that's a far as it went. Well, I purchased the OMR Live at the Sands and have subsequently gone nuts. The past 3 months alone, I've acquired 34 Sinatra albums - mostly the Capitol stuff some Reprise and am actively searching for his Columbia work. I've also scored some mid-40's 78's and Dorsey stuff. I can't explain it.

 

No explanation necessary. Btw, the Dorsey stuff is sweet. Hard to believe he was only in his mid 20s.

 

I remember when I was a teenager I always thought of it as just fogey music. But as I got older I did start to really appreciate Frank more and more and now being a fogey myself I get it. One thing I do remember though was how great those Reprise albums SOUNDED, seems like he had the best recording equipment and engineers doing his music. From things I have read about him, he was concerned about sound on his albums. I dig his version of "leaving on a jet plane" ! Although as far as crooners go I always preferred Tony Bennett. He just seemed more hip. After all he did record a pretty great version of Something by the Beatles and Make It Easy On Yourself by Burt Bacharach.

 

A serious listen to In the Wee Small Hours opened it up for me. That album is a journey, a work of art, not just a collection of swingin' good times. Sinatra became a living breathing human person, not an icon, after a couple spins of that record.

 

Thanks for putting that so well. As one of the folks on the cusp of discovering Sinatra, and not yet drawn in, you encapsulate my fledgling feelings perfectly. I do find the voice somewhat . . . stiff? And I am not sure I like the timbre. That said, I've ordered an album or two and we'll see if I get hooked . . .

 

Frank's voice has the precisely right proportion of jaw-dropping beauty and interesting texture? dimensionality? solidity? I don't know, it's like the world's loveliest brick sh1thouse or something: decorative, rough, sleek, delicate, muscular, and utilitarian all at once.

And I dig the level of craft and attention to detail he brought to his work. Like so many of the really great musical (and other) artists, he chose a mighty labor-intensive and demanding path when he could have coasted along like a slacker on his basic natural gifts instead and had a very nice career. Just thinking about the drive these people have to create and excel makes me want to flop idly in a hammock with an iced tea all afternoon and listen to the results of their hard work.

 

Felt the same way for years concerning his voice. In hindsite, I think the first time I gave a dedicated listen to him was his early recordings. I cant say that it clicked completely then either, but I can say that it may have influenced me to hear *within* his Capitol voice what was once more prominent. A sweetness. Its still there on the mid 50s classic recordings but hearing the early stuff seems to me might have allowed me to overcome my inability to enjoy the Capitol cuts. Just a thought.

Kind of like whiskey. Sometimes a splash of coke can take the edge off and smooth things out; instead of a harsh swallow.

By the way folks, dont ignore his early years. Great stuff imo.

 

His voice.
I am not a fan of the style of music but his voice is incredible. I only own a couple of albums and a few compilations (plus some Xmas) and just love listening to him sing. He was an incredible vocalist.

 

His phrasing is what set him apart. If my memory is correct, John Coltrane was asked in the early 50's who he listened to for inspiration and he stated Frank Sinatra.

 

Frank's 50s Capitol work is wonderful,and Songs For Swingin' Lovers is in my Top Ten.

That being said, I prefer Jack Jones.

 

Sounds like a very good year. Me I think of my life as vintage wine.

 

I have a feeling that I am gonna lose it when I attend the Sinatra 100 Exhibition when it comes to the Grammy Museum in September. The Man & His Music have meant so much to me since I was 13. To be walking about and around all of his "stuff" will be quite overpowering for me!!!!

 

Besides the booze, the rat pack, and the bling,
ring-a ding-ding, the man could sing!

 

I bought my first Sinatra CD at age 12, a week after Frank passed on in 1998. 17 years later, he's the only music artist I've listened to for a majority of my life. Six of his LPs are the only ones in frames on my wall. What is his appeal? In part, he was surrounded by music geniuses of the period, including Nelson Riddle and Gordon Jenkins. A major part, for me, is something in his voice. Like a glass of your favorite bourbon or wine. Multi-faceted, and you enjoy every part of it.

This is my favorite album of his (as if my avatar didn't give it away). When I went through a period of depression after leaving college and moving home, it comforted me, and still does. Every song, in its order, are pieces of art, vocally and instrumentally. Jenkins's previous work with Sinatra, in a way, were practice rounds leading up to it.

 

Always in tune and on the beat is what strikes me. Always great musicians backing. Exquisite and classy. Noone at home, nor my friends listened to him, still I got hooked early on.

 

Does nothing for me musically, but I like a couple of his movies.

 

i can't stand his voice. i preferred some of his peers.