Rating: 
Summary: "Sessions with Sinatra" is Superb!
Review: Charles Granata's "Sessions with Sinatra"is amazingly the first book to take you into the recording studio with the century's finest popular singer.Spanning the RCA-Dorsey era, through "Duets," Granata has interviewed arrangers, musicians, producers and engineers and goes behind the scenes into the actual recording of such classic albums as "Only the Lonely," "Songs for Swinging Lovers," "Sinatra-Basie" etc (little known fact:Jobim wasn't the only guitarist to play on the Sinatra-Jobim LP.) "Sessions with Sinatra" is not only a must for any serious Sinatra fan, but for any student of America's pop musical history. "Sessions with Sinatra" read back to back with Kitty Kelly's "His Way," might give one a fascinating portrait of both the man and the musician.
Rating:
Summary: Be in the recording booth with Frank Sinatra!
Review: Charles L. Granata has performed a great service for all those who truly love music and the works of Frank Sinatra. Although Sinatra was a complete entertainer, it was his recordings that set him apart from all others. Charles Granata takes you into the recording studios and recreates the energy, passion and dedication to his craft that drove Frank Sinatra to make the greatest recordings of our time. Never again will we see a collaboration the likes of a Nelson Riddle or Billy May, Axel Stordahl, etc. and Frank Sinatra. Only through Mr. Granata's book, can you relive this part of music history. It is a must for not only Sinatra fans, but for those who truly understand and love music.
Rating:
Summary: One of two essential books about FAS's music!
Review: Chuck Granata's book, placed on the shelf next to Will Friedwald's SINATRA: THE SONG IS YOU, gives the admirer of Sinatra's art a superb and fascinating look at WHY this man was the greatest popular singer of the 20th century. Where Friedwald goes into great detail explaining the unique musicianship of the man, Granata gives his readers the knowledge of how this artistry was captured and preserved for generations of listeners. Anyone interested in Frank Sinatra, great music, the recording industry or the technology of sound recording must own this book. In an age when innovation is often hard to come by, Granata truly has broken new ground! --Scott Allen Nollen, author of the forthcoming SINATRA AT THE CINEMA (Mindnight Marquee)
Rating:
Summary: A "must" for all Frank Sinatra fans.
Review: Fans of Frank Sinatra will find important this survey of Sinatra's style and the evolving art of recording during his times. Black and white photos of Sinatra at work pepper an account which surveys not just his recordings, but the techniques used in obtaining a balance of sounds during his recording sessions. An important title for any Sinatra fan.
Rating: 
Summary: For fans of the music
Review: First off let me point out that this book leaves out most biographical information about Sinatra -- it focusses on the recordings themselves. It examines Sinatra's approach and technique to recording and singing. That makes the book extremely interesting and is its greatest strength. Unfortunately, that is also where its weakness comes in. The book is quite clincial and could use a few more anecdotes and stories -- more "colour" if you will. I'd like to hear more interviews with musicians who worked with Sinatra and from Sinatra himself to get a better idea of the people making the music, because I feel that that the force of Sinatra's personality counts for something in his performance. I personally think that "chemistry" counts as much as technique in music and would like more of that brought out in the book. This is not enough of a flaw to stop you enjoying the book, it is very engaging and will appeal to anyone who loves Sinatra's records. I still highly recommend the book. I hestitate to add one more criticism -- Obviously one can not go into exhaustive detail about every single Sinatra recording, but I found it odd that Sinatra's greatest album "Songs For Swingin' Lovers" is barely mentioned while an entire chapter is devoted to the out of print (in US) "Close To You". I realise this is a personal preference, but I found it disappointing.
Rating:
Summary: A "must" for all Sinatra fans.
Review: Frank Sinatra created a unique and timeless vocal style that kept him as one of the country's premier singers spanning three generations of audiences. But what is not so well known is that he was also the ultimate recording studio artist, personally supervising every aspect of his recordings, from choosing the songs and arrangers to adjusting the microphone placement. He was an intimately involved, detail driven, master of his medium. In Sessions With Sinatra: Frank Sinatra And The Art Of Recording, music historian and archivist Charles L. Granata brings the reader into the recording studio to witness the master entertainer's quest for recorded perfection. Enhanced with one hundred photographs of Sinatra working with orchestras and arrangers, listening to playbacks, and singing his songs, Sessions With Sinatra is a "must" for all Sinatra fans.
Rating:
Summary: The center of 20th century popular music...
Review: Granata does a great job taking us behind the scenes for the technology and people who brought us the best popular music of the century. The photos, which focus on the studio instead of the amply documented night life theme, are probably worth the price of the book, but the author is an expert in recording technology and provides anecdotes and discussion as to how and why Sinatra had such an impact and continues to make his mark. Because we take it for granted today, it is easy to forget that the way in which recordings were created had much to do with the kind of music that was recorded. Granata notes one occasion on which a perfect take had to be remade because a three-and-a-half minute song was too long for Columbia's equipment at the time. What stands out, though, is that for all the bad press Sinatra gets for his impatience on movie sets, he clearly managed the recording process down to the minutest details during the Columbia and Capitol years, resulting in a degree of musical excellence that was not exceeded even during the technologically more advanced 1960s Reprise era. Granata gets high marks for explaining all of this in a way that is highly readable for those of us who love music and have limited understanding of engineering concepts. The most fascinating chapter may well be the one dealing with a nadir of Sinatra's career, the Duets project of 1992/3. Throughout, we learn that Phil Ramone was constantly selling the project to the singer, while FS (to his credit) continually called the whole purpose of the project into question. If you think Duets sounds like a mistake, you should read this account of how Sinatra was pushed into making these pale remakes from his legendary songbook. Also worthwhile is Granata's recommended recording list in the appendix. If you are a new Frankophile, this is a great place to start and will lend additional meaning to the text, because you can HEAR how FS works the voice and lyrics in Ol' Man River and other classics. Highly recommended, even if you already have Friedwald's excellent 'The Song is You.'
Rating:
Summary: It's Like You Are There
Review: I just finished reading this book and it is one, if you are a Sinatra fan, you can't put down. The book covers Sinatra's recording career from his first days with Harry James to the final Duets recordings. The detail is fantastic and at times, you feel you are actually in the studio with Frank. Even a discussion of the different types of microphones used is interesting. However, what makes this book one for every Sinatra fan's library are the extensive interviews with the people who worked with Sinatra in the recording studio. I am thankful the author took the time to obtain these first person accounts as they are what make the book well worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: It's Like You Are There
Review: I just finished reading this book and it is one, if you are a Sinatra fan, you can't put down. The book covers Sinatra's recording career from his first days with Harry James to the final Duets recordings. The detail is fantastic and at times, you feel you are actually in the studio with Frank. Even a discussion of the different types of microphones used is interesting. However, what makes this book one for every Sinatra fan's library are the extensive interviews with the people who worked with Sinatra in the recording studio. I am thankful the author took the time to obtain these first person accounts as they are what make the book well worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: Let's be Frank - THIS BOOK ROCKS!
Review: Just a brilliant book on the man's A R T ...
As a Beatles/Sinatra devotee, a musician, AND having devoured The Beatles SESSIONS book by Mark Lewishon years ago,
I've been waiting for a book about Sinatra's Art forever -
though it came out in '99, I was recently made aware of it, thankfully so.
Ok, so I'm hip to music sooner than books... Not as strategically laid-out as Lewisohn's, but awesome detail, as well. My Dad, who is a major Sinatra fan, too, read it in 3 nights, and he isn't a musician.
If you love Frank and would like to know more about his vocal technique, the history of the studios & microphones he used, the arrangers and producers he collaborated with -
GO GET THIS BOOK.
It will make you listen to the songs all over again through new,
inspired ears. Enjoy!
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