{"id":154,"date":"2010-02-02T05:19:23","date_gmt":"2010-02-02T10:19:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=154"},"modified":"2020-07-15T08:28:39","modified_gmt":"2020-07-15T12:28:39","slug":"album-review-frank-sinatra-strangers-in-the-night-2010-reissue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2010\/02\/02\/album-review-frank-sinatra-strangers-in-the-night-2010-reissue\/","title":{"rendered":"Album Review: Frank Sinatra – Strangers in the Night (2010 reissue)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Sure, the title track of Frank Sinatra<\/strong>\u2019s 1966 album Strangers in the Night<\/em> is sappy, MOR stuff. Impeccably arranged and finding the 51-year old Sinatra in fine vocal form, the song nonetheless was hopelessly out of step with the current musical trends. \u201cAdult\u201d music as it was, the song bumped no less a song than the Beatles<\/strong>\u2019 \u201cPaperback Writer\u201d off of the number one spot on the charts.<\/p>\n

Thing is, the song \u2013 with its famous \u201cdo-be-do-be-do\u201d \u2013 is unlike anything else on the album. And the remaining nine tracks are exemplars of a style. Big-band Vegas-y arrangements with plenty going on musically, the other tunes rank right up there with the most enjoyable work Sinatra ever turned out.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s thanks in large part to arranger Nelson Riddle<\/strong>. Sadly, Sinatra would never again with Riddle, but on the Strangers in the Night<\/em> LP, the ace arranger works his magic, developing sympathetic backing for the Chairman.<\/p>\n

Recorded in three days over a month-long period in 1966, these songs survey the adult pop landscape. \u201cSummer Wind\u201d is a song that originated in Germany, but it appears here with new lyrics by famed lyricist Johnny Mercer<\/strong> (\u201cAutumn Leaves,\u201d \u201cMoon River\u201d and literally hundreds of others). As is typical, Sinatra\u2019s vocal effortlessly glides atop Riddle\u2019s arrangement.<\/p>\n

Sinatra\u2019s legendary vocal control is a highlight of \u201cAll or Nothing at All.\u201d Riddle\u2019s arrangement starts out subtly and builds as the song unfolds: instruments come in, the drums loosen up, and the swinging beat becomes more prominent overall. At a shade over four minutes, it\u2019s the longest tune on Strangers in the Night<\/em>, but not a moment is wasted; the long instrumental section is a delight.<\/p>\n

In its own way, that song\u2019s big-band arrangement points out the sonic connection between swing-pop and rock and roll. In the postwar era, many bands found themselves unable to support the expense of bringing a big band on the road. So bandleaders like Louis Jordan<\/strong> stripped the bands down to a handful of musicians, and played harder to make up for what was missing. That \u201cjump blues\u201d or swing music\u00a0 — though not primarily guitar-led (saxophone was the most common lead instrument) informed much of rock and roll with its sensibility.<\/p>\n

But back to Sinatra. \u201cCall Me\u201d had been a big hit for Petula Clark<\/strong>, but in Sinatra\u2019s hands the song is slowed a bit and reinvented as a big band number. Once again Sinatra proves his mettle as a chief interpreter of others\u2019 work.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re Driving Me Crazy!\u201d is a musical cousin to \u201cI\u2019ve Got You Under My Skin,\u201d but the playful, upbeat arrangement gives the song its own unique identity. When \u2013 after Sinatra\u2019s \u201cHow true\u201d vocal line \u2013 the band blasts out, the listener knows that it\u2019s going to be a pull-out-all-the-stops affair, and it is.<\/p>\n

The pace is dramatically dropped for Sinatra\u2019s reading of the then-popular Lerner-Loewe<\/strong> number \u201cOn a Clear Day (You Can See Forever)\u201d. The same-named play had recently concluded a successful Broadway run.<\/p>\n

Sinatra\u2019s reading of \u201cMy Baby Just Cares for Me\u201d focuses on his ability to phrase the lyrics to his liking. Easily parodied because of its unique nature, this phrasing approach was in fact a big part of what made Sinatra special. While it didn\u2019t always work \u2013 it occasionally sounded gratuitous \u2013 here the approach works well. This technique is yet another way that Sinatra made songs his own.<\/p>\n

Another Petula Clark hit — \u201cDowntown\u201d — gets the Sinatra treatment. A showy band arrangement attempts to recreate the hustle and bustle of the city, and a snare-led drum pattern propels the song. A few odd vocalisms (\u201cugh\u201d and \u201cewww\u201d) seem out of place, but overall Sinatra turns in a credible cover of the hit.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes Sir, That\u2019s My Baby\u201d finds Sinatra back on more familiar and comfortable musical footing. A swinging beat and electric organ figure prominently in the big-band arrangement. Riddle even weaves in a string part, yet the song isn\u2019t overstuffed. When you\u2019re as confident a vocalist as Frank Sinatra, you can give the band plenty of space for solo turns.<\/p>\n

The original 1966 LP wraps up with a frenetic paced reading of \u201cThe Most Beautiful Girl in the World.\u201d The vocals race a bongo figure, a hopped-up drum part and a crazed orchestra. It\u2019s easy to picture a conductor\u2019s arms flailing wildly, egging the band faster and faster. Tight as the proverbial drum, the band careens through the tune, and Sinatra\u2019s voice soars above it all, making the whole affair seem completely effortless.<\/p>\n

The 2010 reissue adds a live reading of \u201cStrangers in the Night\u201d from a Tokyo concert in 1985. Though nearly two decades had passed, Sinatra\u2019s voice seemed only slightly the worse for wear. The arrangement keeps fairly close to the original.<\/p>\n

Also included from that same \u201985 concert is \u201cAll or Nothing at All.\u201d Here Sinatra doesn\u2019t hold his notes quite as long \u2013 he was seventy, after all \u2013 but he turns in a near-flawless and entertaining performance. And the band absolutely kills.<\/p>\n

A studio outtake from the original album sessions closes the 2010 reissue. \u201cYes Sir, That\u2019s My Baby\u201d appears here in a slightly more organic version. Apparently no two Sinatra vocal readings were exactly alike; the differences from the released version are slight, but worth hearing.<\/p>\n

As a snapshot of where Frank Sinatra stood in relation to the popular music of the day, the 2010 reissue of his 1966 LP Strangers in the Night<\/em> is a worthwhile purchase. But it\u2019s also a worthwhile listen even when shorn of that context. As the old saying goes, don\u2019t judge an album by its title track: while \u201cStrangers in the Night\u201d is a syrupy tune (as kids, we made fun of it whenever it came on the radio — which it often did), the remaining nine tracks show the master still close to his peak.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sure, the title track of Frank Sinatra\u2019s 1966 album Strangers in the Night is sappy, MOR stuff. Impeccably arranged and finding the 51-year old Sinatra in fine vocal form, the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19202,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[51,64,65],"tags":[860],"class_list":["post-154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pop","category-reissue","category-review","tag-frank-sinatra","cat-51-id","cat-64-id","cat-65-id","has_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=154"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19204,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154\/revisions\/19204"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}