Search - Frank Sinatra :: Columbia Years: 1943-1952

Indispensible for Completists.

E. Hinrichsen II | New Jersey | 10/12/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Sinatra hit his peak with Capitol Records from 1953-1960. Nothing done before for RCA and Columbia, nor after for Reprise ever came close. The recordings contained in this set don't begin to give a glimpse of what Sinatra was about to metamorphosize into in the 1950's until the last two records. These recordings are the work of a Big Band singer gone solo who had not quite cut the cord with his past or realized he had a lot to say and that, lo and behold, the public would listen. No art can be looked at in a vacuum or outside of it's historical context and within those parameters this was the best work Sinatra could do at the time, hobbled as he was in a transitional period between the big bands and solo standards singers.

As historical artifacts these recordings are quite important. As art, I believe, with some exceptions, they are less so. Should you buy this set?

If you are a fan of Sinatra then you owe it to yourself to own every recording ever made by him including some real (no pun intended) dogs like "Mama Will Bark" with swedish "actress" Dagmarr and a batch of Gospel recordings he made in his "down and out" period in the late 40's and early fifties. Buy this, in one form or another, because you need to understand the totality of a giant of an artist like Sinatra. But don't expect to love most of it.

You want love? Buy anything you can lay your hands on, legit or bootleg, recorded by Sinatra between 1953 and 1960."

HISTORY AND THE LEGEND

FAS1 | Villa Rica, GA | 07/19/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm 63 years old and have been listening to The Chairman Of The

Board since I was six years old. This marvelous boxed set is

absolutely incredible!! I should never have waited this long to

purchase this set and I'm extremely fortunate to have found it

at AMAZON.COM. If you truly love Frank Sinatra, get this box

before it's too late. This is vintage early Sinatra that

preceded his flagship years at Capitol and Reprise. What a joy

to now own all of his commercially released studio recordings.

This beautiful boxed set was my last "missing link!" BUY IT!!!"

The Voice- Warm, Subtle and Stunning

Bruce K. Hanson | Petersburg, VA | 07/01/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"OK...better late than never. I really was not much of a Sinatra fan perhaps due to the rather arrogant persona I had witnessed when he was on talk shows during my teenaged years. Then I discoverd some reissues of his "concept" albums for Capitol Records and changed my mind. A few years ago I bought the Rhino set of Sinatra's Hollywood soundtracks- love it. After buying a few re-releases of Columbia CDs I realized that I was gong to have to buy the whole shebang. And a few days ago I finally purchased it. I don't know what else to say but wow, what a voice. Now I understand what all the fuss was about. No need to go over all the songs here as they are listed. And yes, there are a few awful recordings here thanks to Mitch Miller who also tortured Rosemary Clooney with his crapola. But for the most part, this is an amazing collection of songs where the artists- the singer, arrangers, conductors, musicians, techies, and everyone else involved, were creating art. My set arrived last night and after doing some chores I just sat down and read the extensive notes on the recording dates as I listened to one of the sweetest voices imaginable. If you think you want this set and perhaps are thinking of buying the smaller 4 CD set as an audition then do yourself a favor: don't wait until it's too late. Buy it! It's truly stunning."