 Frank Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim Francis Albert was incredibly late to jump onto the bossa nova bandwagon, but when he finally did the result was pretty frickin' great. Cynics would likely view Sinatra somewhat in the same vein as Newsweek magazine: once a trend hits the cover of Newsweek, it can officially be pronounced dead, and once Sinatra tackles something trendy, it must be past and gone. But fortunately most of us didn't live through the bossa nova craze of the 60s, and can simply appreciate its fruits as they are. Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim brings together two of the century's genuine musical titans, and in some ways it makes you wish Frank had been less egomaniacal in that this is one of the only duet albums he made during the good years (imagine a full album with late-60s Ella, for instance, or for that matter, mid-70s Elvis). It's a classy affair. Jobim's melodies lend themselves marvellously to Claus Ogerman's orchestrations, as well as to Frank's voice. It's an album that conceivably could have gone totally in the opposite direction and resulted in a debacle the caliber of Hey Jude! Hey Bing! by Bing Crosby, but taste rules the day here. The real glory of this album is the softness with which Frank approaches Jobim's introspective songs. Although he is often praised for his mastery of interpretation and command of introspective phrasing, I must admit I often find Sinatra to be somewhat too "big" a voice for a lot of material, so it's nice to see him lay back here. And while I never really connect emotionally with Sinatra as a singer, the mood of this album feels sincere, aching in all the right places. Frank tackles ten songs, a mix of Jobim, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, and others to offer something of a great 20th Century songbook. The best cuts ("I Concentrate on You," "How Insensitive," "Dindi," "The Girl From Ipanema") lay down a light bossa nova rhythm and let Frank work his magic on some timeless melodies. And while not everything on the record is a great highlight ("Baubles, Bangles and Beads" stands out as filler), the large majority of it is wonderfully done. The English lyrics to Jobim's songs are all done tastefully, conjuring the same attractive air of mystery and wistful romance of the Portuguese lyrics, never getting in the way of the familiar melodies. The only real downside to the record is its paltry 28-minute playing time … a pitifully short record even by 60s standards. From what I understand, this session occurred on the same day as Frank & Nancy's "Somethin' Stupid" session. I can totally see Frank hurrying along, "Great, sweetie, there's your number one hit. Now scram, I got this Brazilian kid comin' in at 4." Productive days! I'm lucky to get my laundry done in the same amount of time, but then if I had the mob bankrolling my laundry chores, I suppose I could be productive too.
Review by Joni Tuttle |