Nothing But The Best

all the best of Frank, at least main stream Frank. No real early stuff, and no real late stuff. Productions have been cleaned and beefed up and balanced. Great booklet inside with lots of historical info. Also comes with a first edition "Frank" stamp from Las Vegas P.O. There have been many compilations, but none in one disc that is this complete and sound is up to today's standards. Some digital preciseness, but mostly just Frank et al as if he recorded today! A must for all fans and casual fans. If someone does not know why he was the Chairman of the Board, or hasn't really listened to Frank and orchestra with a great sound sys and some volume, give this a listen and you will be convinced. I am a rock and jazz fan and I adore Frank and the sound and song style that he was able to pull off that no one else has or will. I wish I had paid attention sooner.

All the top hits are here!! I had purchased a bunch of CDs all of which were wonderful and I received them so very fast, even before estimated arrival dates. I am very satisfied with my purchase and would recommend and use your services again!

The sound on some songs is not high quality. Overall a good buy after all it's Sinatra..

As a person in my early twenties, Sinatra is not the music typically associated with my age group. The album is, however, fantastic regardless of one's age and makes me happy every time I listen to it. It is extremely enjoyable and clear album.

This is my first Frank Sinatra CD; it's got all of the very best Frank you could ever want! Because the songs are all classics, it was easy for everyone to sing along. This would be the one to buy if you don't currently have any Frank!

I have several Sinatra CD's, and I have to say that this one OUT-DOES all the others I have. The collection of his best songs, from the younger years, to his older years, are by far out of this world! For those who love Frank Sinatra, and his world famous music, I recommend this cd! This CD has everything you need to have a romantic evening with your loved one, or just to listen to while relaxing reading a book, or laying in bed!

Well, it is Frank Sinatra with all of his best hits (though not all of his songs)! What else can I say? You certainly can't satisfy all the complains here about the covering of Sinatra's songs but the list is as good as it can be. If you already have Sinatra, then probably no need to buy this but then this CD is solid as a gift for anyone for almost any occasion. If you don't own Sinatra yet, this is the one to own.

Bought this CD for two reasons - I've always liked Frank's music and secondly my daughter and I will be dancing to The Way You Look Tonight at her wedding on 9/13/08. That song is on this CD and we both thought it was appropriate!

I bought this with great anticipation, but I'm very disappointed. It's just loud and bombastic with Frank's voice brought up to compensate - there is very little dynamic contrast or sense of stage space or "air." Maybe this is good for car or ipod listening, but on a high-fi system it's sounds very artificial. Not recommended.

All of the songs on this CD are Sinatra, & a darn good selection, too.

But not original versions, nor the best renditions he ever performed. Some producer made a poor choice, although Frank's voice is still grand & golden.

Still, I ain't complaining--all good, & welcome on the shelf.

Although Sinatra's Reprise recordings are often too cheesy for me, this one-disc collection of Sinatra's Reprise years easily rates five stars for the historic songs and brilliant sound quality. However, the collection came without the promised first-day issue of the Sinatra stamp, despite the fact that the packaging indicated the stamp was included. A subsequent attempt to get reparation from Amazon was unsuccessful. In a nutshell, the music rates five stars, but the packaging rates a zero.

What can I say about Frank that we all don't already know?
Great collection of greatest hits!!

The title of this cd says it all. A great collection of hit songs by Frank Sinatra. Something every Sinatra fan should have in their collection! Recommended to all, at a great price.

Sinatra's best will never be out of style. Timeless. Many have tried to exceed Frank Sinatra's style but only Frank can sing and emphasize the words the way he does. The emotion is very prominant you can feel and know what each word means...

I am a new Sinatra fan and this CD is absolutly terrific. Along a few of my favorates are not on here, this CD has some of the Chairman's best work. I would suggest this product to Sinatra fans young and old alike.

I suppose which tracks constitute Sinatra's "best" is a matter of opinion, but the selections on this disc are uneven, both in their relevence as his "best stuff" and the production quality. Some of the older tracks could have been made to sound much better than they do.

What can you say about the best singer who ever lived? This is Frank doing what he does best. Of course, not every great Sinatra song(and they are all great)can be included, but this is a start. No one can match Frank's phrasing. He could sing the pnone book and make it sound fantastic. Another plus for this album is the remastering. My favorite has to be The Best is Yet to Come with Count Basie. The band sounds fantastic! In fact, the sound on this album is remarkable. Everyone, no matter what age, should own and listen to this CD.

My husband loves the Frankster so when I saw this collection I had to get it for him. He listens to it in his truck. At first it was all the time, now he listens to other CDs sometimes too. He also loves the picture on the cover. The gift was a hit.

Excellent selections from "Ol' Blue Eyes." A classic CD from Sinatra with some of the best of his later songs.

What more can be said?

In many of his concert appearances, he announced for everyone to stand as the National Anthem was sung, then he would sing his Opus Maximus, "My Way!"

I grew up appreciating his music and his legend. Every vowel, every word he sang was precision.

I had the opportunity to see him singing at his 80th birthday concert in Salt lake City. Only Sinatra could have the Salt Palace concert arena plastered with Chivas Regal advertising, and only Sinatra dared to smoke in the Salt Palace! I can never forget when he told the audience that he wanted to introduce two of his old friends, his old friend "Chivas," and his old friend "Regal!" Then he put a cigarette to his lips, and some lady in the audience screamed: Nooooo!" Then Sinatra lit that cigarette and smiled!

Frank Sinatra was the original "Bad Boy," long before Mick Jagger or Jim Morrison ever came along!

This album captures the legend at his best! For old fans of his, this will be a treat to reminisce of Frankie and the Rat Pack, for beginners, his will teach you how singing should be done, performed by the best singer of he 20'th Century.

Everything but the best really describes this collection. Neither Sinatra, the arrangements nor the sound live up to other collections. I would never buy another Reprise Sinatra disc. I'm looking for someone to give this one to. Once was enough for me and I had to struggle to get through with it. Very disappointed.

Nothing But the Best, What more can I say this is a wonderful album of Sinatra favourites. If you are a Sinatra Fan you have to have this in your collection. Highly recommended.

Nicki Philadelphia

SINATRA IS STILL GREAT, ESPECIALLY FOR THE "GREATEST GENERATION" THAT REMEMBERS HIS WHOLE CAREER
EXCELLENT REVIVAL OF SOME OF HIS BEST RECORDINGS>

Nothing But The Best I will give it a five star because of the music. Love Frank Sinatra. The stamp was missing from the cd that I received. Had to order another. Sinatra Family please make more like this one.

I've been a Sinatra fan for forty years and take some ribbing for it now from the Buble fans I know, but I must say this "Best" album is truly The Worst. I was terribly disappointed and regard it as nothing more than a feeble attempt to cash in once again on his stellar career. He croaks, he's off key, the remixes are listless and lifeless, the one "new" song was recorded in 1984, when he was 69 years old and no longer "The Voice" and 14 years before his death. A waste of time and money. But wait, a new 42-cent Sinatra stamp is enclosed.

I really enjoy this CD, maybe because I'm four years away from being 60. I find myself singing the songs long after listening to them.

I am 50 yrs old, Frank was before my time. But this CD is a must in any collection. The songs selected for this are right on. I also needed something my mom would enjoy on a road trip, she was even snapping her fingers. Buy it you won't regret it.

On May 13th the U. S. Postal Service issued a commemorative stamp honoring Frank Sinatra on the 10th anniversary of his death. A week later, Sinatra was at number two on the Billboard 200 thanks to a new 22-song compilation called Nothing but the Best.

One can easily quibble as to whether or not this CD really contains the best of Ol' Blue Eyes--it only covers his work for Reprise, the label he founded himself, from the `60s onward. Nonetheless, it's a marvelous sampling that highlights many of the musical peaks from the third half of his career.

There are the obvious monster hits: the poignant "It Was a Very Good Year," issued as the singer turned 50 in 1965; "Strangers in the Night," with its silly "dooby dooby doo" coda from 1966; the Dean Martin-ish "That's Life" from the same year; the ultimate statement from the Chairman of the Board, Paul Anka's "My Way" from '68; the last biggie, his cover of the theme from "New York, New York," released in 1979.

Those are all well remembered milestones in pop music's final showdown with rock and roll. Timeless, swingin' performances of "Luck Be a Lady," "Nothing but the Best," "The Way You Look Tonight" and "My Kind of Town" are among the finest of his career. And few musical moments can match his teaming-ups with the Basie band, represented here by the smoldering "The Best is Yet to Come" and the groovin' "Fly Me to the Moon."

Compared to the smooth perfection of his `50s Capitol recordings, Frankie's voice has a smokier depth on these tracks, with just a hint of gravelly roughness. But the entertainer's ability to inhabit the lyrics and literally define the melodies presents the artist as master of his craft.

There is one previously unreleased cut-and-paste take, "Body and Soul," with a vocal from 1984 grafted onto an orchestral arrangement laid down in 2007. There's also the aptly titled "Somethin' Stupid" duet with daughter Nancy, a kitsch classic.

I can only imagine how difficult it was to sift the finished product down to a single-disc package--for instance, the inclusion of just one song ("The Girl from Ipanema") from the magnificent album Sinatra did in `67 with Antonio Carlos Jobim must've been a particularly tough call. Even so, Nothing but the Best succeeds in presenting Hoboken's most famous native son in top form.

While one can partially attribute this disc's sales success to the public's hunger for memorable songs in an era where melody seems to have vanished from popular music, it is also a statement confirming the lasting power of America's greatest "saloon singer."

copyright © 2008 Jim Newsom/Port Folio Weekly. Used by Permission.

Originally published in Port Folio Weekly 6/10/08.

"Frank chose quality material and great musicians. He had an innate talent within himself and unbelievable musical instincts." ~ Neal Hefti ~

What's so special about this CD?

There is something new
As well as something old
There is something poignant
As well as something blissful
But everything is simply beautiful.

When I think of this newly-released compilation Frank Sinatra CD, "Nothing But The Best," I think of one of my favorite quotes that aptly describes this music - it is from a German poet, playwright, novelist, philosopher from the Romantic Era, Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe, and I quote:

"The effects of good music are not just because it's new; on the contrary music strikes us more, the more familiar we are with it."

The songs here are some of the most familiar Frank Sinatra music that we have been enjoying all these years, with the exception of a previously unreleased track, a heart-rending, poignantly beautiful song from a trio of songwriters Johnny Green, Edward Heyman and Robert Sour, "Body And Soul." This is an old classic song that is widely-recorded amongst singers and instrumentalists, but the novelty of this version alone is enough reason to own this compilation CD. Kudos to Torrie Zito for the exquisite and lush strings chart arrangement with a classical touch, and to Frank Sinatra, Jr. as well for ably conducting the orchestra. Mr. S sings it with heartfelt emotion and tender perfection that is almost impossible not to be deeply moved by it. The vocal session was recorded in New York City in 1984 and the orchestra session was recorded in Hollywood late last year. To my ears, this is absolutely the best vocal interpretation ever produced.

This tasteful collection has been carefully selected from different recordings that were conducted by some of the most brilliant breed of arrangers and orchestrators whom I call "The Elite Sinatra Arrangers" - Nelson Riddle, Gordon Jenkins, Claus Ogerman, Billy May, Don Costa, Quincy Jones, Ernie Freeman, Billy Strange, Skip Martin and last but not least, Torrie Zito. All the songs are true representations of the Chairman's exceptional vocal flair that speaks of timeless elegance and sheer perfection. My choicest cuts include my all-time favorites "Moonlight Serenade," "The Way You Look Tonight," "The Girl From Ipanema," "Fly Me To The Moon" and Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen's "Come Fly With Me."

"Come fly with me, let's float down to Peru
In llama land there's a one-man band
And he'll toot his flute for you
Come fly with me, let's take off in the blue."

This is one of the best compilations CDs ever produced, and a worthy addition to your Sinatra collection. If you're happy with this new compilation, you'll also enjoy The Great American Songbook, and two newly-released compilation CDs: Beautiful Ballads & Love Songs and Sinatra At the Movies.

A beautiful CD to enjoy forever and a day.

I have heard Frank Sinatra all my life but never quite appreciated him until recently. Maybe I'm getting older or maturing in my musical taste. I'm having a great time listening to the CD in my car. The music is really beautiful.

This CD is a great collection of classic Frank Sinatra favorites and is a pleasure to listen to.

This is my first Frank Sinatra cd. Hearing him on the radio one day made me think that I should have some of his standards in my collection. The price and song list attracted me to this specific CD. The sound is great and clear.

I thoroughly enjoyed this CD and it's digitally remastered sound from the first to the last song. It encompasses many, many of his classics and provides you with a wide variety of his ballads to his power voiced big band sounding hits. Certainly a man I enjoy listening too and when he sang he gave it his all as he truly loved to perform and I was lucky enough to see him, although in his senior years but it was phenominal at the time and at Radio City Music Hall in 1980. If you are a Sinatra fan this is a great compilation of his music and all remasted for better clarity and sound.

Five Stars! A terrific re-issue of Sinatra's album of his classic hits. A must have for all Sinatra lovers!