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| Nothing But The Best | 
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| Artist: Frank Sinatra
Label: Reprise / Wea
Category: Music
List Price: $18.98
Buy New: $9.98
You Save: $9.00 (47%)
New (44) Used (13) Collectible (4) from $7.77
Avg. Customer Rating:  63 reviews
Sales Rank: 189
Format: Original Recording Remastered
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.3 x 4.8 x 0.6
MPN: 438652
UPC: 081227993689
EAN: 0081227993689
ASIN: B0013L5M08
Release Date: May 13, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 OLD BLUE EYES SINGING 'MANY' OF HIS VERY BEST! May 13, 2008
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
Five HUGE Stars!!! The magnificent, multi-Grammy-winning Frank Sinatra is caught singing some of the FINEST popular music and jazz performances of his legendary career, many of which are the DEFINITIVE versions of these songs. Unquestionably one of the GREATEST pop and jazz singers of all time. Jazz? Yes, Sinatra started with swing bands, won many jazz polls over the years, and Count Basie's jazz band (found here twice) was one of his favorites, but he never altered his style: it just fit both categories perfectly, forcing fans in each genre to bend to his singing mastery. And by no means are these tunes ALL of "the best" Sinatra, but it contains 'many' and it arrives, remixed and remastered, on the tenth anniversary of his passing from the new Frank Sinatra Enterprises. In addition, the CD contains a previously unreleased bonus version of the classic "Body and Soul". Some versions of this CD contain a collectable postage stamp and a bonus track on the US Postal Service CD of "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter" (available through your post office), and yet another contains a DVD of a live concert, so read the CD technical descriptions carefully.
Some of the 'best of the best' include a stunning, classic "Come Fly With Me", under Nelson Riddle's musical glow and Billy May's baton, with that signature string and brass intro. "The Best Is Yet to Come" is top-drawer Sinatra with Count Basie's Orchestra and his inimitable swinging piano coloring the proceedings. The seldom heard "All My Tomorrows" is pure vocal poetry in a poignant version that is somewhat different from another faster one that I heard years ago. Beyond this "Luck Be a Lady","It Was A Very Good Year" (Grammy), "That's Life", "My Kind of Town", "My Way", the "Theme from New York, New York" and "Strangers in the Night" (double Grammy) are all as some of us will remember them, some with extended endings: outstanding performances with "Ol' Blues Eyes" coming up BIG, over and over. Yes, "Young at Heart", "Nice N' Easy", "Witchcraft", "All the Way", "The Lady Is A Tramp", "I Get A Kick Out of You", and many others are missing which immediately challenges the nebulous title "Nothing But The Best". To those new to Sinatra, the depth of the Sinatra treasure trove from his Capitol Records years await you! Still, this CD captures a cross-section of the legendary Chairman of the Board's greatest performances which are absolutely not to be missed. Remixed and remastered with outstanding sound. My Highest Recommendation. Five CLASSIC Stars!!!!!
(This review is based on an iTunes download.)
 Missing Quite a Lot May 13, 2008
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
This collection is rather far from definitive. True, the Reprise label could not choose tracks that Frankie recorded for Capitol, but there are still missing his signature songs like "I've Got You Under My Skin", then Henry Mancini's "Moon River" or the enchanting faster songs like Cole Porter's "I Get A Kick Out Of You".
Good, but not absolutely comprehensive (That is pretty impossible). The fact is that Frank had his artistic peak in the 1950s under Nelson Riddle collaborations - it was before Reprise years. If this album is marketed as the best-of compilation to topple them all, it's simply not true. However, you can't go wrong with it, of course. It has much of the real best, including "Girl From Ipanema" featuring A.C. Jobim.
 Nothing But The Best, or, Frank Sinatra and the Loudness War May 21, 2008
5 out of 8 found this review helpful
There's good and bad news regarding the new Reprise Sinatra release.
The good: alternate takes of "Come Fly With Me" and "The Best Is Yet to Come" are both treats. It remains clear why the originally released masters were preferred (they were superior in phrasing in the case of the former and note choices and intensity of swing in the latter), but it's great to hear these musical moments. It's also nice to hear the extended scat on "Strangers In The Night." Kudos to the producers.
The bad: Reprise engineers have clipped the beginnings of two tracks: the
first note of the cymbal's famous triplet in "New York, New York" and,
astonishingly, the initial sibilant sound of the word "she" in Bewitched" (as in, "She's a fool and don't I know it," rendering it instead dangerously close to "He's a fool...").
The remixed sound is uneven and shows every symptom of the negative effects of the so-called "loudness war" that's a fact of life in the recording industry today. If you're unfamiliar with this phenomenon, do an Internet search on "loudness war."
Basically this means that the dynamic range is reduced to allow for a
"louder" CD in order to catch more ears on the radio. The fact that
compression is already applied to radio broadcast signals isn't factored in. Have you ever noticed that some CDs are simply "louder" on your iPod? This is why. The fact that those "louder" CDs are the more recently mastered ones is no coincidence.
The result is that the voice is much more forward on many tracks and the
entire mastering is very "hot" in the manner of contemporary pop CDs that
show annoying noise inflation. This loudness is often just that -- loud and harsh. The balance often suffers, as though engineers (and, presumably, Sinatra himself) didn't know what they were doing when the balances were initially set back in the 60s. The notion that an acoustic band or orchestra supporting a vocal needs a broad dynamic range is a concern of past generations. The most egregious example of this is what seems to be an unfinished remix of "That's Life": the strings are boosted to be louder than the now distant-sounding brass and indeed compete with the vocal in spots; Sinatra's vocal sounds like he's singing through a toilet-paper tube. Play this track side-by-side with an earlier Reprise CD release and, once you've adjusted the volume knob, you'll hear a very different sound. The original is much warmer and cohesive.
"Body and Soul" is a mixed bag. Its inclusion is a true bonus and a
great decision on the part of the producers. The string arrangement by
Torrie Zito is discreet and charming; his choice is appropriate since he was involved in the sessions from which this unreleased vocal derives. Sinatra's vocal is touching and warm in the first chorus. It's clear that (as was decided in 1984) the key is maybe a step too high, and the crescendo is strained (yelling, not singing, by the final "surrender"). Since the song was originally to be part of a big-band album and Sinatra's own phrasing had become less seamless (and more jazz-oriented) by 1984, perhaps a band with horns would have been more appropriate and made the shouting and questionable intonation of that crescendo less jarring.
The liner notes are great but it's odd to have an interview with Neal Hefti (fully justified) and not include a single one of his charts. This
considering the fact that at least three of his arrangements were sung by
Sinatra until the very end ("I Get A Kick," "I Won't Dance," and "Pennies
from Heaven").
classics from Ole Blue Eyes May 14, 2008
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
One of the Greatest Cornerstones of American Popular Music. a Instrument of a voice that is timeless. whenever you hear a Frank Sinatra song you always know it. this Collection captures quite a few of his many Great Songs. the music and the vocals are all classic performances here. the Phrasing and the way Sinatra just connects with a Groove and the Arrangements are so smooth. a Must have and it is hard to believe it's been 10 years since He passed. He was truly a One of a Kind Artist. this is a Must have collection.
'Nothing But The Best" (Again and again!) May 14, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
To mark the 10th anniversary of Sinatra's passing and the issuance of the commemorative FS postage stamp, Warner Rhino gives us "Nothing But The Best,' a collection of Reprise releases which, with a few exceptions, every Sinatra fan has 62 times over again on prior re-issues...
But wait.....there's a few surprises here!--Sinatra afficinado, Charlie Pignone, who produced the package, gives us alternate 'takes' of "Come Fly With Me" and "The Best Is Yet To Come..." as well as the complete take of "Strangers In the Night" with Sinatra scat singing (buh-buh-buh-boo) well after the famous 'doobie doobie doo'..it only amounts to 5 seconds or so, but what you hear was edited out of the famous 1966 single release........
The bonus track of "Body and Soul" overlays Frank's 1984 vocal (intended for "L.A. Is My Lady", but not issued) on a new arrangement by Torrie Zito that was recorded last year, conducted by Frank Jr, replacing the original Quincy Jones chart---it's not top drawer Sinatra, but buffs will want to have it..........
The remastering and packaging is excellent and in this day and age with aging rockers like Rod Stewart and Michael Bolton making fortunes, with limited vocal abilities, trying to sing great standard tunes, it's nice to have "Nothing But the Best" demonstrating what great popular singing is all about...............
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