Concert Sinatra

Numbered Limited-Edition 180-gram LP Sourced from Original Master Tapes Paired With Nelson Riddle, Sinatra Achieves New Heights: Epic Arrangements, Gargantuan Orchestra Just how good is Frank Sinatra's The Concert Sinatra? Take it from an expert no less than the Chairman's own daughter, Nancy, who in 2003, weighed in on the set by unequivocally stating: ''THE finest collection of his career. With Dad's collection, it's always difficult to pick a favorite song but a favorite album is a slam-dunk. This is not only Dad's finest but one the finest ever in the history of recorded music.'' Miss Sinatra couldn't be more on the nose. Recorded onto 35mm film in 1963 at the Goldwyn Studios Soundstage, the record pairs the Voice with longtime collaborator Nelson Riddle and a gigantic orchestra. Consequently, the album's name refers not to a live performance but the music's epic grandness and the orchestra's huge size. Captured over four sessions in four days, the undertaking involved upwards of 60 musicians. Thematically, half of the album features Rodgers and Hammerstein compositions while the other half also pulls from popular Broadway shows. True to the theatrical adage of leaving the audience wanting more, The Concert Sinatra will have every listener wishing it lasted forever. Everything here is utterly magnificent. Using his unparalleled breath control techniques and in the best voice of his career, Sinatra matches Riddle's sweeping arrangements, turning in resplendent performances that are as powerful, majestic, and dynamic as Riddle's surging instrumental support. A number of pieces here - the delicate romanticism of ''Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered'' and tremendously poignant ''Soliloquy'' - are commonly cited by Sinatraphiles as among the greatest work Sinatra ever did. But nothing tops the definitive version of ''Ol' Man River,'' revered for the way Sinatra holds the notes, phrases the syllables, and brings the standard's goosebump-inducing emotion to