Search - Frank Sinatra :: Live from the Golden Nugget

The Lion in Winter - still roaring!

El Comandante | Cincinnati, Ohio USA | 11/14/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This Las Vegas appearance from December 1986 may not present the elder Frank Sinatra at his absolute vocal best for the period, but there are enough high spots to make this a very worthwhile purchase. Indeed, Sinatra actually sounds better on many tracks of this 1986 concert than he does on the post-retirement "Main Event" from 1974. Fans and musicians have said for many years that as Sinatra's voice weakened, his interpretive skills actually increased - and there are many such moments in this CD. For swing aficionados, one of the highlights is a pounding "Mack the Knife," vastly improving on Sinatra's studio readings of the song due to the brighter tempo heard here (probably courtesy of Sinatra's impossible but invaluable drummer, Irv Cottler). In spite of the occasional vocal rasp or lapse of intonation, Sinatra really delivers the goods on "Live From Las Vegas."



Refreshingly, Sinatra loses much of his Vegas "jokiness" and attitude here, turning this CD into a fairly accurate document of how genuinely respectful this icon was of both his art and audience in countless cities and concerts across the world.



A word or two about the audio: Only Charles Pignone and a handful of others would know for sure, but this sounds like a off-the-board recording that was fed to an early digital recorder with relatively low track count. If that's the case, it would certainly limit the amount of post-production repair that could be done to the original tapes. Sinatra's announcements have been kept dry and relatively echo-free in center channel mono, while the songs themselves suddenly bloom into stereo, adding some reverb to the voice in order to achieve a "warmth" that couldn't be achieved in the Golden Nugget showroom itself (which was no prize, sonically speaking). Thanks to the overall power of Sinatra's performance, these little audio oddities are easily and quickly forgotten.



With the recent release of a 1987 Golden Nugget live CD in the new 5-disc "Sinatra: Vegas" set, fans now have two fine representations of latter-day, in-person Sinatra for their collections. As a live CD, I found this vastly preferable to "Sinatra: 80th" on Capitol."

Quite Possibly The Best Sinatra Live Recording In Existence.

Anthony Nasti | Staten Island, New York United States | 04/22/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I am not being over the top with the title of my review. I have noticed various negative reviews for this album. I myself have been a Sinatra fan since I was a little kid. I have various live recordings of The Chairman Of The Board in concert on both cd and dvd, and very few of them come close to matching the quality of this cd culled from Frank's December 1986 engagement at The Golden Nugget.



Despite being 71 years old, Sinatra performs with the same vigor and energy he had when he waa 25. Kicking off with a blistering rendition of "I've Got The World On A String", Frank is loose, informal, relaxed and in overall top form throughout the entire show. He converses with the audience, jokes around with the orchetra and pours his heart and soul into every performance. This is most apparent on the uptempo numbers, which among others include old warhorses like "I Get A Kick Out Of You", "Luck Be A Lady" and an utterly fantastic "I've Got You Under My Skin", as well as blistering rendition of the then newly recorded cover of "Mack The Knife". Mellower numbers like "What Now My Love", "My Heart Stood Still", a lovely "I've Got A Crush On You" and "Maybe This Time" g over just as well, and the croaky rasp that settled into Frank's voice as he aged somehow makes their sentiments seem more endearing. "My Way" and "New York, New York" are of course fantastic.



But the undisputed highlight for me is the Rodgers & Hammerstein standard "I Have Dreamed". Not a lot of reviewers have mentioned this one, but it's the best song on here. Sinatra imbues the song with an unprecented amount of warmth and tenderness as he dedicates it to two audience mebers celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. Sinatra was always a crowd pleaser, and this performance provs why. It's the most passionate Sinatra has ever soundend.



Also of note is the magical version of "Someone To Watch Over Me". Sung in a longing whisper, Frank really hits the sot with this one. This tender classic has rarely sounded better, as Frank goes for the heart and wrenches it. At 71, Frank already had more than his hare of women to watch over him, but he sings this song with so much passion and sincerity it makes it completely believable.



A lot of reviewers have complained about the uneven sound quality. I myself haven't noticed a great discrepancy at all, and probably would never notice it if it hadn't been pointed out at all. As long as you have a decent pair of headphones or a good stereo system, you're set.



The packaging and liner notes are attractive and informative. This cd makes a great companion to the 5 dsic "Sinatra: Vegas" boxed set, which along with this cd gives you the most entertaining performances of the greatest entertainer of our time, and of all time."

Beyond The Rat Pack

KRA | East End of LI | 10/04/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is an essential CD to celebrate Sinatra, the man, singer, the legend. When this show was recorded in the 80's Sinatra's voice may not have been "what it was", but Frank kept performing and in turn paid the ultimate respect to his fans. In fact he kept performing into the ealy 90's when he reached a point where he simply could not continue.



At this show we have Mr. Sinatra well past his "Rat Pack" days, and in lies the beauty of this show. In place of his sometimes arogant posturing, we have an icon, clearly happy and even humbled to still be delighting his legions of fans. Frank is relaxed and clearly he is having as good a time as the adoring crowd,



As always he is backed by first rate musicians, and he gives the crowd many of the songs that they have come to hear. He salutes his friend from the "age of cool" Bobby Darin with Mack The Knife, and does his take on the already by then reworkings of standards with his take on I've Got A Crush On You, a song made popular in again in the 80's, by Linda Rhonstadt.



Fo me, other highlights include; I Have Dreamed, Maybe This Time, and One To A Customer.



A great feature is having New York, New York, live. How many performers are lucky enough to land a new singature song later in their careers. Frank had a hit with this track back in 1981, and it became his "new" it song and he usually closed out his shows with it (as he does here).



We all loved the one and only Frank Sinatra, and at this point we knew he loved us back.



I had the pleasure of seeing him live around this time in Atlantic City, and I'll never forget that evening.



Ken



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