Aug 10
11
Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim
Back on the original Music Mook site we kept hinting at a “10 Album List to Change Your Life” and although we never got around to it we will try and mention what would have made that list had we made it. This would be one of those albums. (More on that list at another time!)
First, a little background on my experience with this magnificent album. I first heard this sometime around 1999 on the original vinyl pressing (To all you young’uns that means a record. Ask your parents, they can tell you all about it). I was in college and was assigned some sort of art project and for whatever reason I needed images of Frank Sinatra. Luckily my roommate at the time had inherited crates and crates of old records from an Uncle and lo’ and behold he had a ton of Sinatra.
I sifted through all these albums, not knowing they would all become a major part of my musical life someday, and chose the nicest looking ones for reference. The one that stood out the most to me was the dark, smokey blue cover of this album. It was striking and intriguing and drew me in immediately. Mr. Sinatra looks like he means business as he gazes upon that music stand with cigarette in hand (You don’t see that anymore! I’m surprised it wasn’t airbrushed out on the cd release in an attempt to make people forget that people ever smoked).
Anyways, after a few days of working on the project I decided to actually put the album on for some inspiration. My highly concentrated rock and funk ears were certainly not prepared for the extremely languid beauty that oozed out of the speakers. From those very first guitar notes of “Girl From Impanema” (courtesy of Jobim) I was hooked. It was so pure, and so real, I just couldn’t believe it. Sinatra wastes no time in crooning and then the band begins to surge and swell along with beautiful orchestral accompaniment from Claus Ogerman. (A special note needs to be made here that the strings throughout the album are gorgeous and pepper the songs with just the right amount of polish. More than a few times they really make the album something extra special.)
Sinatra & Jobim Original LP Back Cover
What I couldn’t get over then, and can’t get over today, is how beautiful the entire album is. It’s grand music played and sung by consummate musicians. There is a real purity there; a snapshot of times that are seemingly long gone. The brush work on the drums, the deep and nimble bass, the underlying bossa nova feel, all serve to highlight Sinatra’s vocals which seem to float over top and in between of everything. He is completely devoted to the music and at times his singing is so deeply immersed it sounds as if it’s going to be his final swan song. He uses his voice as an instrument to such satisfying effect that he could be singing complete gibberish and it wouldn’t matter. The sound, the timbre, of his voice is unparalleled and I’m not sure one could even describe it because it’s just one of those things that has to be heard to be fully appreciated.
And it’s not just Frank that makes the album. Nor is it just the aforementioned strings from Mr. Ogerman. A huge, huge part of what makes all of this work are the songs, guitar playing, and additional vocals of the supremely talented Antonio Carlos Jobim. I don’t think any performer can lay back as easily as Jobim, and his gentle guitar rhythms, and soothing Portuguese vocals, provide an excellent framework for Sinatra to work his magic over top. Taken all together, it is a truly stunning musical statement that never ceases to break through the clouds of the day. It is music, pure and simple.
Note: It seems as if, at the time of this writing, the 1998 CD remaster has been replaced by a newer remaster/mix with 10 additional tracks called Sinatra/Jobim: The Complete Reprise Recordings. This compiles the original 1967 album plus additional tracks recorded for a follow-up album that was never released. Although we do not have a copy here at Music Mook for review, our sources tell us that the new mix includes all sorts of warts and clams (mistakes) that were originally edited out of the original 1967 album. Not sure why they would have been put back in but it seems a strange addition indeed. We have also learned that the soundstage (stereo separation) has been narrowed, marring what was originally a fantastic mix. Still, until we actually hear it for ourselves we can’t say whether the upgrade would be essential or not. The original can still be downloaded here and is available as an import here.
Tracklist
- “The Girl from Ipanema” – 3:00
- “Dindi” – 3:25
- “Change Partners” – 2:40
- “Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars” – 2:45
- “Meditation” – 2:51
- “If You Never Come to Me” – 2:10
- “How Insensitive” – 3:15
- “I Concentrate on You” – 2:32
- “Baubles, Bangles and Beads” – 2:32
- “Once I Loved (O Amor em Paz)” – 2:37
