Sinatra - "This Is Sinatra" reissues

(please feel free to move this if there's already a place for similar discussions)

I'm looking at the lists over on 11fifty and they talk about a "MFP This is Sinatra, 1953-1957 CD". It's EMI, and I had no idea something looking that "bootleggy" could be considered the best version on CD. My question is: this is a very hard CD to get a hold of so could any EMI or UK CD version be thought to be of equal quality? Or is that one really significantly tops over the others?

Thanks!

 

Re: This Is Frank Sinatra 1953–1957 (MFP/EMI CD)

I’m sure it’s been discussed in the Sinatra/Capitol threads, and listed at Matt’s (@MLutthans) website:

Notes on This is Sinatra
Notes on This is Sinatra, Volume Two
Notes on Look to Your Heart

I wouldn’t say it looks “bootleggy.” Several significant Sinatra/Capitol CDs have appeared on EMI’s Music For Pleasure label in the UK. I also do not necessarily consider this to be the “best version on CD.” The sound quality varies, with some tracks better than others.

As for availability, I see one now for a reasonable price at Amazon UK.

 

My apologies for linking back to the same website you were looking at. (In my haste, I assumed you were talking about Discogs.)

In no particular order, here are a few links to other threads which mention this 2-CD MFP issue:

Sinatra / Capitol: General Purpose Sound Quality (and more) Discussion Thread*
Sinatra / Capitol Sound Quality (and general discussion): Singles, Soundtracks, Etc.
Best labels for CD mastering in the 80s?
Sinatra / Capitol Sound Quality etc.: "This is Sinatra" - (rec. '53-'55, released 1956)
Sinatra / Capitol Sound Quality and General Discussion: "This is Sinatra, Volume Two," Released 1958

 

Looks more like a low price 9 track special products front cover from the late 80s. Which was my first Sinatra CD.

 

The cover image pose matches that of the 1957 album A Swingin’ Affair! (which is fairly accurate, chronologically). The actual release year of the 2-CD set was 1994. At that date, the three included compilation LPs (from 1956, 1958, and 1959) had not yet been reissued on CD, and many of these single tracks were as yet MIA in digital form.

 

This was my point. I used the term bootleggy incorrectly but I was aiming at that fly-by-night record label look. Not to say that that couldn't produce a good mix but it's not usually the case. Then again, knowing it's EMI, I have several European or British EMI discs from the 90s that look like the kind of CDs you'd see on a display in a store with built-in speakers, sample music buttons, with "Sounds of the Ocean", "WolfSong", and "Diner Hits Vol. II" among the discs.

Do you have any particular favourites across the Capitol years? To be honest, my personal preference is to just put on the original records, but I wanted to assemble a digital "best of Capitol" from my CD, LP collection and picking up any other reissues, releases I didn't know about.

 

The (US 1990) 3-CD set, The Capitol Years.

And see this thread: Frank Sinatra - Best Sounding CDs?

 

Ok, I don't necessarily only want CDS but that's useful. When I say "digital, I also include any current vinyl releases which are all produced digitally. This stuff gets confusing when you start comparing because MFSLs are pretty self explanatory but the Dell, and the Walsh, etc are very hard to identify visually online. I wouldn't know how to identify a Dell UK LP for example. I wish someone had that Capitol scorecard but with an actual image of each front and back to see what they look like for shopping online. In my research I haven't found that so I have to rely on bad images on discogs or ebay ads.

 

It's got some NR on at least some of the tracks.

 

The Capitol Years had a vinyl issue. Good luck with that.

 

I had these when they were two separate sets with slightly different song selections. I wish they had featured more of the early B-sides, many of which are overlooked gems.

To my ears, "Take A Chance" (the flip of "Young-At-Heart") is one of the best things he ever did. Great lyrics, fantastic melody, and a punchy horn chart courtesy of ol' Nelson Riddle. One of Nelson's best, I'd say.

Speaking of Riddle, his weepy (heh) orchestration on "Weep They Will" (the flipside of "The Tender Trap") is not to be missed. Neither is Frank's thoughtful vocal. Another great lost flip is the jaunty "You'll Get Yours," which could be found on the back of "Flowers Mean Forgiveness" (itself a lost single, but I digress). Also, I think the audacious "500 Guys" is way better than its too-polite A-side, "How Little It Matters (How Little We Know)."

Instead of these great tunes, these sets included stuff like that awful "Johnny Concho Theme," which is so smarmy even the sleaziest lounge singer would be embarrassed to touch it. Speaking of smarm, there's also his version of "Everybody Loves Somebody," which gets no love from me. Then there's "I Believe," which sounds like they solicited lyrics from kids in remedial poetry classes ("Why do I believe? I guess that I believe because"). Ugh. Fail!

Despite these collections containing a good number of big hits, I always found the Look To Your Heart set more consistent. Gonna live till I die, baby!