In the mood for Sinatra

I was surprised to learn of the release of a new compilation of Frank Sinatra songs. There are more than enough Sinatra albums to go around the world and back so what on earth does Nothing But the Best have to offer? Well, the songs, which are from the Reprise catalogue have all been remastered. That means you can listen to them in the latest stereo equipment and they will not sound like they came old and scratchy from the depths of a dried-up well. That’s good.

On the other hand, it can be just another ploy to get buyers to part with their money for something they already have. You know that Sinatra goes way, way back than the Beatles or Elvis. So his fans have already sailed the whole gamut, 78 breakable plastic, 45 vinyl, LPs 8-tracks, cassette tapes, CDs and maybe we can add, phones, iPods and other new inventions. And because he does not record anymore, they have been buying the same songs in new packages year after year.

But then I came across an old news item. Nothing But the Best was released to commemorate the 10th year of Sinatra’s death. He passed away after a long illness on May 15, 1998. I remembered how the whole world seemed to stop in Los Angeles, how the shops suddenly filled with Sinatra items and the solemnity with which the church-goers at the Church of the Good Shepherd paid their respects to the esteemed parishioner. Nothing But the Best has a reason for being. It celebrates the music of a great man. But it does not really matter whether it does or not. Sinatra’s singing will always take your breath away.

Included are Come Fly with Me, The Best is Yet to Come, The Way You Look Tonight, Luck Be a Lady, Bewitched, The Good Life, The Girl from Ipanema; Fly Me to the Moon, Summer Wind, Strangers in the Night, Call Me Irresponsible, Something Stupid; My Kind of Town, It Was a Very Good Year, That’s Life, Moonlight Serenade, Nothing But the Best, Drinking Again, All My Tomorrows, My Way, New York, New York and Body and Soul. Nothing But the Best debuted at number two in the US charts and is now comfortably lodged at number four.

While we are in a Sinatra mood, fans might also want to check out if you could still get his Duets/Duets II. It’s also a commemorative CD released on Dec. 12, 2007, what would have been his 90th birthday. These are two separate albums that feature Sinatra singing with other popular artists. If I’m not mistaken, these are among his last recorded CDs. But though he was then in his 80s and the voice would sometimes tremble, the delivery was still fantastically Sinatra’s.

Some cuts included are For Once in My Life with Gladys Knight; I’ve Got the World on a String with Liza Minelli; I’ve Got A Crush on You with Barbra Streisand; Summer Wind with Julio Iglesias; Come Rain or Come Shine with Gloria Estefan; New York New York with Tony Bennett; They Can’t Take That Away from Me with Natalie Cole; Bewitched with Patti Labelle; The Best is Yet to Come with Jon Secada; Moonlight in Vermont with Linda Ronstadt; Fly Me to the Moon with Jobim; Luck Be a Lady with Chrissie Hynde; A Foggy Day with Willie Nelson; and others.

If you want more Sinatra, there is the Platinum Collection from EMI made up of the best from the Capitol years. These come from an earlier time and the three-CD package has a lot of great oldies like September Song, As Time Goes By, Moonlight in Vermont, Night and Day, Young at Heart, Fools Rush In, That Old Black Magic, From Here to Eternity, Autumn Leaves and others.

These albums are three of the best Sinatra collections ever put together. But what happened to Faithful, My One and Only Love, Look to Your Heart, Always, I’m a Fool to Want You and other memorable songs recorded when he was a young Hollywood star? And what about the later years when he made My Way, Let Me Try Again, If You Go Away, This is My Life and so many more?

It would take a long time and a lot of work to come up with a collection that would totally please the devoted Sinatra fan. But even the result will not be complete. Nobody really knows what tracks are still waiting to be unearthed in some downtrodden warehouse. It will also never be the best.

Who is to say which songs are the best? It will always be subjective as far as Sinatra’s music is concerned. Desperately in love? I’m a Fool to Want You. Another sleepless night? In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning. Visiting Rome? Three Coins in the Fountain. Wanna piss everybody off at the karaoke joint? My Way. Etc. etc.

So now I have stopped wondering why there will always be Sinatra releases for every generation.