My Way: The Best of Frank Sinatra [1 CD]

Personnel: Dom Um Romao (drums).
Liner Note Author: Stan Cornyn.
Recording information: Hollywood, CA (04/10/1962-10/30/1986); Los Angeles, CA (04/10/1962-10/30/1986); Madison Square Garden, New York, NY (04/10/1962-10/30/1986); New York, NY (04/10/1962-10/30/1986).
Photographers: Ed Thrasher; Gene Shaw.
Arrangers: Claus Ogerman; Don Costa; Ernie Freeman Combo; Frank Foster ; Gordon Jenkins; Jerry Hey; Neal Hefti; Nelson Riddle; Quincy Jones; Torrie Zito; Billy Byers; Billy May; Billy Strange.
Although there are many who feel that Frank Sinatra's greatest material was recorded in the 1950s, there are others who hold that his best studio singing really came during his time with Capitol and with his own label, Reprise, in the '60s and '70s. It is probably an unsolvable debate, but as this 24-track set of key cuts from his Capitol and Reprise years shows, Sinatra grew comfortably into his voice and phrasing during these years, learning to stay away from his limitations and work steadily toward his strengths, all with a clear sense of his public image. As a result, the songs collected here are probably the casual fan's main recollection of Sinatra, and for that reason alone this anthology makes a fine place to start. The songs that built his modern image -- "My Way," "Strangers in the Night," "My Kind of Town" -- are all here. [This disc was originally released as the first volume of a two-volume collection also called My Way: The Best of Frank Sinatra. The second volume of the set is unavailable as a single disc.] ~ Steve Leggett