Sinatra Heads: "A Swingin' Affair" >>> "Swingin' Lovers"?

Anyone out there with me on this? Of course, any Frank fanatic knows that there's no right answer when it comes to naming your favorite Sinatra Capitol album, even with "Wee Small Hours" in the mix.

But it feels like the scholars, critics and historians always cite "Songs For Swingin' Lovers" as the ultimate uptempo album when "A Swingin' Affair" is a far more exhilarating, catchy, thematic upbeat masterpiece with a hint of sadness throughout. Nelson's arrangements are more developed and seem to build on the strengths of the strongest tracks from "Swingin' Lovers". Frank's voice is also in FULL form on "A Swingin' Affair." I do love and appreciate "Songs For Swingin' Lovers", but it can feel a little hit or miss in terms of its peaks, and the album also feels like it ends after like the 10th or 11th track or so, but has some weird out of place bonus tracks tacked on at the end ("Anything Goes", "How About You"). "Swingin Affair" meanwhile feels very much like a journey, start to finish.

Anyone have thoughts? Any defenders of "Swingin' Lovers" who wanna enlighten me here? THIS IS BUGGING ME!

 

Haha, thank you. It looks like I'm about one decade late to this discussion.

 

I’ve always wondered about A Swingin’ Affair. It’s always been an album I’ve felt I SHOULD like, but never really warmed to. Now, Songs for Swingin Lovers?; thats the definition of truth in labeling

 

I'm not one who likes to single out particular albums, in this day and age when you can just make an mp3 file of your favourite tracks from many albums.

But to single out albums with "bonus tracks" as someone has. I've mentioned before elsewhere, the best in my collection I believe is my CD, "Nice n'Easy."
The bonus tracks on this are from six to seven years before the rest were recorded in 1960 and were included in the CD reissue.
The original album was apparently in the charts for 86 weeks.
I found his voice far better on these tracks.

"The Nearness of You,"
"Someone to Watch Over Me,"
"Day in, Day Out" and
"My One and Only Love."

 

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Correct, but it was "bumped" from the original album to make way for "Nice N' Easy."

 

You're a lucky man to have that Walsh CD with the bonus tracks. I have the first issue with only 12 tracks and if there's one album I wanna hear the bonus songs for it's that.

 

I have a lot of recordings of "My One and Only Love," my favourite being the Coltrane/ Hartman one.

But ten years ago I managed to find a single of the Sinatra one. It earned it's place in the smaller of my two jukeboxes.

 

I think the earlier Songs For Young Lovers gets the short shrift. It has an intimate jazzy feel and some of Sinatra's best vocal performances (like the way he repeats the word "shining" on "A Foggy Day").

George Siravo's uncredited small-band arrangements are also pretty great and suit Sinatra well. I love the new hook he invents for "My Funny Valentine" (the part where it goes into waltz time) and those guitar lines on "I Get A Kick Out Of You" really rock.

Shame that George Siravo went down in history as a footnote. He apparently arranged seven of the eight tracks on Sinatra's first Capitol LP, with Nelson Riddle chiming in with one ("Like Someone In Love"). Riddle -- great as he was -- seemed to build on what Siravo established on Songs For Young Lovers.

 

I am taking away your privileges at the Sinatra fan club temporarily, Lol. The funny thing is that the quote about Nelson being "a one trick arranger" is the exact same thing that pianist Bill Miller said about conductor Gordon Jenkins' overuse of his "high strings" technique on so many arrangements for Frank and Nat King Cole over the years. I do agree with you about that awful album cover though.

 

Nelson Riddle and Gordon Jenkins had styles that were so well-defined you could spot them as soon as a song started.

That's what made them great. Were they each "one-trick?" If so, those were the best tricks of all.

And they worked like magic against Frank Sinatra's vocals. These arrangers didn't bend for Frank. They stayed on their own paths and forced Sinatra to bend to them -- and that's where the tension and the brilliance came from.

I'll take these two over Don Costa, whose style on the tepid Sinatra And Strings could be anyone's. Or Neil Hefti. It says something that I can't even remember what he arranged for Sinatra, but I know I was unimpressed hearing it decades ago.

 

I'm not so sure about Sinatra "bending." He had a lot of control in recording sessions. I'd say he more "reacted" to the orchestra, like a jazz musician.

 

I am a fan of both arrangers as well, but Nelson is my favorite overall, although I think Gordon's charts with Nat King Cole are stupendous, maybe the best work he ever did was with Nat. I like Don Costa as well, especially his majestic arrangement on Come Rain Or Come Shine; surely one of the best string and brass charts I have ever heard on a Sinatra record. I even like what Don Costa did with Liza Minnelli's New York, New York, which for me just blew her original version out of the water. I think Frank was really astute to vary his arrangers as much as he did over the years. I think it kept Frank spunky. I also absolutely love some of Frank's stuff with Quincy Jones, Torrie Zito and Frank Foster.

 

I agree about Nat King Cole and Gordon Jenkins. Where Did Everyone Go? is an unbelievably impressive album, and the arrangements are what make it work so well. I assume you know this title. Jenkins really indulges himself here, with some of his best string charts.

I also agree "Come Rain Come Shine" is a good arrangement. What I don't get is much personality from Costa in the larger sense. I never say "That's Don!" like I'll say "That's Nelson!" (for example) when I hear something like the brass-meets-strings break on "Hidden Persuasion."

That said, Costa's "Monday Morning Quarterback" stands as one of the best late-period Sinatra songs, so I rank him highly as a songwriter.

 

I beg to differ. „By 1956 he had done the trick“ is probably a more appropriate phrase. Without Nelson they‘d still be stuck in their schmaltzy strings-and-background-choir-arrangements forever. „September of My Years“ is a great album with Gordon Jenkins‘ charts. But they sound heavy handed and dated to me, everything about them cries „1940s“. They are inferior to the charts Nelson wrote for „Moonlight Sinatra“ in every possible way.

 

To each his/her own but I prefer “young Lovers”and “swinging affair” over swinging lovers but not by much. It’s like Comparing orgasms they’re all good!!

peace and love✌Dave

 

Small correction: Bob Norberg is credited with the remastering on that 2002 release.

 

Further correction: In the USA, both the common Walsh (1991) and Norberg (2002) Capitol Nice ’n’ Easy CDs had the four bonus tracks. There was an earlier 12-track version by Walsh (1988)—with non-identical title track remix—but it went out-of-print quickly. And the Norberg was first issued in the second Concepts box set (2000). For the complete CD release history, see @Matt’s web page and the album thread:

Nice ‘n’ Easy - 1960
Sinatra / Capitol Sound Quality and General Discussion: "Nice 'n' Easy" - 1960*

 

I prefer Swinging Lovers if for no other reason than the song selection is better. There are a few songs on Swinging Affair that I can't stand to hear. It also sounds like a "formula" album to me. Somewhat calculated in its presentation.

 

I have the rare Walsh 88 12-track version. It's funny that it's rare because I'd gladly trade it for the one with bonus tracks any day... and that's the one I can never find in the used CD stores.

Also.... Norberg. He who shall not be named, as far as I'm concerned.

 

Yeah man, I don't hate Jenkins ("No One Cares" is in my top 5, and I have a place in my heart for the bonkers creativity of "The Future") but he definitely wears on me. Also, who the HELL decided to have Jenkins arrange the Xmas album? That 1000 percent should have been Riddle. That thing is totally morose and lifeless. It's a very Merry Funeral to my ears. When you hear the Riddle bonus tracks on the CD, it's a pretty profound glimpse into how much better it could have been.

Now all that said, I love me some Don Costa and Axel Stordahl. Frank really excelled on those romantic, heartsick arrangements a la "Songs For Young Lovers" and "Sinatra & Strings."