The Complete Reprise Studio Recordings

This is a mammoth collection of every studio recording Sinatra made for Reprise. Twenty cd's and a book. With this much music there are several clunkers..Sinatra's interpretations of the pop hits of the day, even though "Its Now or Never" and "Something" add a whole new dimension to these songs. Songs you know well and some stuff you haven't heard in years or at all.Frank Sinatra is the greatest singer of all time and nobody interpereted a lyric better. Arguably his Capital output was the highlight of his recording career,but he took so many chances at Reprise(after all he owned the label)and while there are some misses, the hits certainly outnumber the filler stuff.I just bought this collection and I've been listening to a cd per day. To hear all this music in chronological order really gives you the depth and scope of Sinatra through the years.This may be the greatest CD ever. I know Capitol has their singles collections and all the CD's he did are available, but I would love to see a "complete Capitol studio recordings" collection.In summation, an incredible set. Music that has stood and will stand the test of time.

To truly be a Sinatra aficionado you must have this 20 CD set which comprises everything done at Reprise. ( Note - I would suggest this set for only hardcore Sinatra fans who already have most of the individual CDs.) I bought this set initially because I had given up trying to get all the individual CDs ( after 5 years of trying I could not find `All Alone', `Great Songs from Great Britain', `I Remember Tommy', and `The World We Knew' anywhere ). But I was amazed at the amount of new songs in this collection. Before I praise the heck out of this collection, I must warn of some real trash that is unfortunately included. First, a few tracks from the `World We Knew' album. `Don't Sleep in the Subway', `Born Free', `This is My Song' and a new version of `Some Enchanted Evening' ( the worst version of this song ever recorded ) are horrible. Why was he recording this stuff ? These songs are not even worthy enough for Sinatra to be humming them. The awful arrangements by Ernie Freeman and H.B Barnum do not help either. What a waste! Even worse is `Everybody's Twistn'. Two words: indescribably awful. However, `Life's A Trippy Thing' a duet with Nancy is unbearable and repulsive. It is a terrible ruin of a song. Sinatra's early `70s retirement occurred soon after this song was released. I would retire too if my name was associated with this. Another drawback - both live albums `Sinatra at the Sands' and `The Main Event' are not included. So what are the reasons to fork over hundreds of dollars for this set? First and foremost, every Reprise album is in here. No more running around North America trying to find rare CDs like `All Alone' ( which is excellent ) or `Great Songs from Great Britain'. Furthermore, the collection has longer versions of what you would get on the individual CDs. This especially improves the Ellington & Sinatra and `LA is My Lady' albums with longer and far superior tracks compared to the tracks on the individual CDs. Or how about some great tracks from the Reprise Repertoire Theater series including duets with Rosemary Clooney `Some Enchanted Evening' ( the finest version of this song ever recorded ), Keely Smith `So In Love', and Dean Martin `Guys And Dolls'. Likewise, they are two underrated duets that are only available in this package. `Style', a phenomenal duet with Dean Martin and Bing Crosby, from `Robin and the Seven Hoods'. `Me And My Shadow', a duet with Sammy Davis Jr., is just plain magic. Other hidden gems - not available anywhere else to my knowledge - include: `Like A Sad Song', `My Foolish Heart' ( recorded in 1988 but Sinatra does sound 30 years younger ) , `Stay With Me', `Since Marie Has Left Paree', `In The Shadow Of The Moon', `Dry Your Eyes' , `Nothing But The Best', and `The Boy's Night Out'. I was unaware these songs existed before and was pleasantly surprised when I heard them. By the way, the `70s disco versions of `All or Nothing at All' and `Night and Day' are actually fun and an entertaining change of pace. Notwithstanding, they are three tracks that makes this collection a must. I had never heard them ( or of them ) before this collection. They are among the greatest songs ever recorded by Sinatra. I'm baffled as to why they have never appeared on any Reprise `Greatest Hits' or other compilation CDs issues. First, `I Like To Lead When I Dance' a song that was recorded for `Robin and the Seven Hoods' but failed to make the film. Why ? This masterpiece was written by Cahn & Van Heusen, there is a remarkable arrangement by Nelson Riddle, and Sinatra sounds amazing. This song deserves to be among Sinatra's classics. Second, the aptly titled `The Game Is Over'. Recorded before Sinatra early `70s short retirement, the song is lovely. A soft little John Denver tune, Sinatra uses it as a canvass to express emotions to the extent which he had only done with `Angel Eyes' from `Only the Lonely'. It is a shame Sinatra never released it, it surely would have become one of his trademark songs. Finally, `Forget To Remember' is what music is about to me. This is music as art. Everything is perfect: Don Costa's arrangement, Teddy Randazzo's lyrics, and Sinatra's glorious voice putting it all together to create a hauntingly beautiful portrait. I can't say enough about this song. It brought me to tears, I would have paid the couple of a hundred of dollars for this song alone. Truly a must have for any Sinatra fan!

Sinatra's entire Reprise studio work in one affordable package - a fan's dream come true, especially when I think of the time and money I spent previous to this release trying to obtain even 85% of what's contained herein. As a rabid Sinatra fan and music collector, I submit that you cannot become a true Sinatra music expert, nor obtain the highest level of appreciation therefor, without this set. So many gems that never saw the light of day or had limited release on singles or unpopular albums characterized much of the Reprise period, especially from 1968 to his final recordings in the 80's. I am somewhat unique in that the 70's is among my favorite Sinatra recording periods; the vulnerability of his aged voice, but still of relatively solid quality compared to the mid-80's and on, combined with the experience and uncanny reads he gives to super-creative Costa arrangements. Try "A Baby Just Like You," a 70's Christmas song written by John Denver for Frank's first grandchild, A.J., which transformed my spiritual life (this is a chart so obscure you almost definitely have never heard it; I don't even think Sid Mark knows it exists based on the zero airplay he gives it during the holidays). Or "Bonita," a previously unreleased Jobim track which has become my favorite of that genre. Throw in Manilow's "I Sing (not write) the Songs" with a powerful arrangement and read. Another awesome cut you won't find easily anywhere else is the oft-disparaged disco version of Night and Day. Notwithstanding the negative critiques so generously offered up on this one, its a super-clever Sinatra-esque crack at the Disco craze (along with previously unreleased All or Nothing) which Sinatra used to open his shows in the late 70's (I guess it wasn't so hated back then) which nicely completes the ump-teen versions of that Sinatra good luck talisman. Then there's other hard-to-find beauties like the Sammy duet, "Me and My Shadow," and the "Life Is Such A Trippy Thing" duet with Nancy (far superior to Something Stupid), and new versions of previously released cuts like the "long" version of "Granada." Not to mention some of the amazing songs from less popular albums of the period (e.g., the Duke Ellington album, Sinatra & Company, and my all-time favorite, Watertown). The Reprise years represent the most varied, and in my view best, of Sinatra's musical work, starting in the Rat Pack days and finishing late in the 80's, including experimentation with folk rock, pop and disco along the way, presenting ever-increasing challenges met in superior fashion by Riddle, Costa and the like. The weakness of having the different albums and singles and unreleased material blend together on 20 discs in chronological order is actually the collection's greatest strength as you get a feel of how things evolved and emerged throghout this ever-changing period in Sinatra's career and popular music. If you have $269.99 available to budget for Sinatra music, this is the set (especially when you consider that he remade most of his great Capitol hits on Reprise often in an improved cut. Enjoy!