Frank Sinatra Singing at His Best

Rating:
Summary: Cheaply assembled but classic
Review: This DVD was obviously made with a restricted budget, but the spoken narrative is brief and flows quite well from song to song. I have no idea where many of these performances are from, probably early 50s TV shows. ABout the only constant is substandard sound and picture quality- doesn't look like any attempt was made to restore it. All that said, 1943-59 (I'd actually say 53-60, but close enough) is THE classic era of Sinatra. There is a charming early 40s version of Stardust with Tommy Dorsey's orchestra, but most of the clips center on the 1950s where the legend was made. This is the period where Sinatra still had some of the range of his youth, but a touch of lemon that brought a maturity to his interpretations. He was on top of his game but not so drunk with his own stardom, and the voice shines through despite the not-so-good sound quality. Just a few short years later, we hear his withered voice on the 1965 "Man and His Music" special, tossing off songs he had made his own 10 years before (e.g. "I've Got You Under My Skin"), making the uninitiated wonder what the big deal is.

Someday I hope someone will restore clips of his Capitol era music and put out a quality DVD. In the meantime, this collection will have to do. Below average sound and picture aside, it's still a lot of fun and something that the Sinatra fans who relish his best music will enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: Cheaply assembled but classic
Review: This DVD was obviously made with a restricted budget, but the spoken narrative is brief and flows quite well from song to song. I have no idea where many of these performances are from, probably early 50s TV shows. ABout the only constant is substandard sound and picture quality- doesn't look like any attempt was made to restore it. All that said, 1943-59 (I'd actually say 53-60, but close enough) is THE classic era of Sinatra. There is a charming early 40s version of Stardust with Tommy Dorsey's orchestra, but most of the clips center on the 1950s where the legend was made. This is the period where Sinatra still had some of the range of his youth, but a touch of lemon that brought a maturity to his interpretations. He was on top of his game but not so drunk with his own stardom, and the voice shines through despite the not-so-good sound quality. Just a few short years later, we hear his withered voice on the 1965 "Man and His Music" special, tossing off songs he had made his own 10 years before (e.g. "I've Got You Under My Skin"), making the uninitiated wonder what the big deal is.

Someday I hope someone will restore clips of his Capitol era music and put out a quality DVD. In the meantime, this collection will have to do. Below average sound and picture aside, it's still a lot of fun and something that the Sinatra fans who relish his best music will enjoy.