My dear mom, who started me on the lifelong hobby of record collecting, passed away last week. I can think of no better tribute than to present several rare items involving her favorite singer, Frank Sinatra.
Frank, unsurprisingly, is also my favorite singer by far, and it's amazing to me that I have managed to operate this blog for nearly a year without presenting anything by him. I suppose the reason is that virtually everything Sinatra ever recorded is in print and easily available, and this blog is mainly devoted to more elusive materials. So forgive me if what I present here is a bit esoteric.
First up is a 78 that was issued in this form only in the UK. It is Frank's 1950 recording of two lovely songs by English composers - Ivor Novello's If Only She'd Look My Way and Carroll Coates' London By Night - in beautiful Axel Stordahl arrangements. The rarity here is the spoken introduction by the Duke of Edinburgh thanking the purchaser for supporting the National Playing Fields Association (see label above). To be clear, only the intro is unusual. The songs themselves are otherwise available.
The second rarity isn't even a Sinatra record - it is a rare Sinatra 78 picture sleeve (below) showing the cast of From Here to Eternity, his comeback film. Ray Bloch's orchestra presents the title song with accordion solo by Mat Mathews (recently featured here). On Re-enlistment Blues, Bloch accompanies an excellent anonymous vocal reminiscent of Sy Oliver.
The main part of this post really is important Sinatra, and if not impossible-to-find is still unusual. It consists of 17 songs from his 1953-55 radio program, To Be Perfectly Frank, in which Sinatra presented standards with backing by a small combo. These songs are sourced from two old and rough-sounding bootlegs. I have expended a fair amount of effort to remove clicks and noise, re-equalize each item, and fix speed problems (which is of course involves some guesswork). I am happy with the results and you may be, too, if you don't expect sonic miracles. The singing is miraculous enough.
Another 17 songs from this set will appear as soon as I finish work on them.
Thanks, Mom, for the gift of life and of music. I miss you very much.
78S | PERFECTLY FRANK
14 comments:
Buster, first of all I would like to extend my sympathy and condolences to you on the passing of your beloved mother. I lost my own mom four years ago this March and not a day goes by without thinking of her. I too enjoyed a "musical" relationship with my mom... we listened to music together since I was a kid and we listened to many a Sinatra record together. Your tribute to your own mom brought me some tearful yet joyful feelings of my own. Thanks and god bless all our mothers, no matter where they may be...
Buster,
My most sincere condolences to you and your family with the loss of your beloved mother. I have lost my mother in november last year and she was also a great lover of Sinatra. As the only son I decided to play some tracks of him during the funeral. That was the way she likes it. There's no doubt about it. I wish you all the strenght. My thoughts are be with you. Ron
Like the others before me, you have my sympathy.
How wonderful that you and your Mom were able to share a passion for music. Though we may never meet, our shared passion for music brings us together as friends. Thank you for all that you have shared. The quality of your posts always amazes. Take Care. JohnnyUSA
Buster, My condolences. And my thanks for the Siantra radio transcriptions. These are among his finest recordings--showing him relaxed in a way his studio sides do not. The only other Frank Sinatra recording that has this kind of effortless swing is the concert with the Red Norvo Quintet from 1959. Somewhere, I can only hope, mint tapes or masters exists for these recordings. By the way, there is a bootleg with alternates takes from "In the Wee Small Hours" that has the original arrangement of "What is This Thing called Love" with 1.20 minutes cut from the released version restored, including a magnificent Mahon Clark clarinet solo. Why doesn't Capitol do some real excavation and unearth all this buried bounty?
@David Federman
I have the extended version of "What Is This Thing..." you mention if you would like me to post it. Just let me know...
Thanks everyone - I am grateful for all your comments and concern. It means a lot to me.
David or SD - If either of you can provide a link to the Wee Small Hours alternates, I certainly would appreciate it!
Here you go, guys. I hope you don't mind FLAC (it's the lossless format I am currently ripping to).
Find here three tracks (numbered 13-15, from CD called FROM THE VAULTS)
#13 is the long take with the clarinet solo
#14 is a short false start
#15 is a shorter alt take of the original
If you need ANYTHING Sinatra, I have a lot of good stuff.
http://rapidshare.com/files/216764616/FRASIN-WHA-ALT.rar
Scoredaddy - Many thanks!
Buster, sincere condolences. Like yours, my mom, who passed away last October, started me off with a large collection of second-hand 78s of all types of music when I was about four, in the early 1940s. I haven't stopped collecting since.
Like you, and my good friend Scoredaddy, I am also a long-time Sinatra collector. I don't remember seeing this record before and thank you muchly for sharing.
Thanks also to Scoredaddy for providing the links to the three tracks from the CD "From The Vaults" - all these items are treasures.
Sorry to hear about your Mom. I got much of my musical bug from my father.
My sincere condolences to you and your family.
Dear Buster,
I just love these tracks. This is Frank at his jazziest, and in his nicest manner.
I wonder, who are his deft accompanists?
The thought that there could be more of this delightful music prompts me to say: thanks for the effort you put into this great blog, and for sharing this wonderful side of Sinatra.
almason
All,
I do appreciate all the words of support and condolence. They mean a lot to me.
Almason,
Thanks for your kind comments. The personnel are unknown, except for pianist Bill Miller, although one source speculates that the musicians could have included drummers Johnny Blowers and Alvin Stoller, bassists John Ryan and Joe Comfort, guitarists Tony Mottola and Alan Reuss, and winds Sonny Salad (?) and Abe Most. Looking at the personnel who appeared on Sinatra recordings of the period, the most likely names from the group above would be Stoller, Comfort, and Reuss.
many many thanks ... looking forward to the second set.
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