Various Artists – A Very Special Christmas 2 (1992)

A very special Christmas compilation:

A Very Special Christmas 2 is the second in the A Very Special Christmas series of Christmas-themed compilation albums produced to benefit the Special Olympics. The album was released on October 20, 1992, and production was overseen by Jimmy Iovine, Vicki Iovine and Robert Sargent Shriver for A&M Records. Tupac Shakur was supposed to be featured on the album, but due to legal trouble his song was dropped.

On December 7, 2001, A Very Special Christmas 2 was certified Double Platinum for shipment of two million copies in the United States since its 1992 release.[1] As of November 2014, it is the 21st best-selling Christmas/holiday album in the United States during the SoundScan era of music sales tracking (March 1991 – present), having sold 2,200,000 copies according to SoundScan. (wikipedia)

The follow up to the original, this collection in many ways surpasses the initial effort. Duets seem to rule here, with Cyndi Lauper and Frank Sinatra double teaming on “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,” while the irrepressible Ronnie Spector shares the mic with Darlene Love for a resplendent “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” and Heart’s Ann and Nancy Wilson give “Blue Christmas” a steamy and sizzling once-over. Vanessa Williams stops the disc, though, with her simple yet stunning rendition of “What Child Is This.” The then-sign-of-the-times inclusion, Michael Bolton, offers a forgettable “White Christmas,” but it’s the only real clunker in the bunch. Always just a tad too country to make it as a cross-over artist, Randy Travis still makes “Jingle Bell Rock” his own in his smooth way. (Steve Gdula)

The value of the “A Very Special Christmas” albums is at least partly to be found in the knowledge that the albums raise money for the eminently good cause of Special Olympics. Accordingly, one can feel good about buying this album, whether for others or for one’s own collection, knowing that the money is going in a socially positive direction, in the spirit of the Christmas season. The first album set the bar quite high, with exceptional contributions by U2, Bruce Springsteen, the Pretenders, John Mellencamp, and Bob Seger, among others, and the second album in the series, logically called “A Very Special Christmas 2,” generally holds up to the high standards set by its predecessor.

The album starts off very well, with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ “Christmas All Over Again.” This energetic, cheerful song benefits from the manner in which the distinctive clang of Petty’s Rickenbacker guitar, particularly on the solo, takes on a bell-like sound that blends well with the bells in the background. (I’m not sure why Petty, heard sotto voce in the background at the end of the song, asks Santa for a new Rickenbacker; the old one sounds excellent.) This album dates from 1992, when Randy Travis was the king of country music, so it’s no surprise that he was asked to contribute his own version of “Jingle Bell Rock.” This Nashville-tinged version of the song is fine, if relatively conventional, and taking it up half a step at the end really doesn’t do much to change things.

I like Luther Vandross’s “The Christmas Song.” It has a mellow, optimistic feel, and really takes off when the saxophone comes in. Frank Sinatra and Cyndi Lauper then pair up for a retro-jazz-flavored rendition of “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town.” Both are in fine voice, though Cyndi almost sounds a bit star-struck in the presence of the man from Hoboken. I’m glad that Frank got the chance to contribute to one of these albums before his 1998 passing. Frank and Cyndi are followed by Boyz II Men’s “The Birth of Christ,” a smooth and atmospheric narrative song of Jesus’ birth, sung a-cappella with no accompaniment except for finger-snapping — stylish and effective.

Jon Bon Jovi, who seems to be a really good sport about contributing to lots of holiday albums (along with a wide range of other philanthropic activities as well), provides a fine rendition of Charles Brown’s “Please Come Home for Christmas,” with a nice guitar solo at the end. I’m partial to the Eagles’ version of this song myself, but JBJ does a good job here. Paul Young’s “What Christmas Means to Me” features upbeat delivery with a Motown sound. Aretha Franklin’s “O Christmas Tree” is slow, stately, and horn-based, and is also distinguished by a spoken-word interlude in which the Queen of Soul takes pains to remind us, “in our gift-giving and our merriment,” of “the real and true meaning of Christmas — the birth of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” How you feel regarding Ms. Franklin’s exhortation may depend upon your own religious and philosophical beliefs. On a less serious note, Ronnie Spector and Darlene Love follow with a fine duet on “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” featuring a 1950’s sound and some lovely saxophone work. Ms. Love’s Christmastime performances on David Letterman’s late-night talk shows have been a holiday staple for many years now, and therefore her presence on this album is doubly welcome.

And then there is Michael Bolton’s “White Christmas.” What can I say? “Must…not…be…mean…” Mr. Bolton and his work have been so mercilessly savaged by so many critics for so many years that I do not feel inclined to pile on. Besides, doing so would *not* be in the holiday spirit. Therefore, I will simply say that Mr. Bolton’s rendition of this song is not to my taste, and leave it at that. It does sound like something that might have been sung on a 1960’s Christmas variety special — “Rowan and Martin’s Christmas,” “Sonny and Cher’s Christmas,” that sort of thing. If such is your musical inclination, perhaps you will enjoy it.

Run-D.M.C.’s fun and energetic “Christmas Is” reminds me that these hip-hop artists who got their start in the early 1980’s have shown a remarkable degree of staying power. “Give up the dough on Christmas, yo!” After that, Extreme, with “Christmas Time Again,” provides what might be termed a Christmas power ballad. With piano, church organ, and synthesizer being layered atop rich harmonies, it definitely has that big-hair 1980’s “wall of sound” quality, with the band’s request that the listener “pretend that it’ll last all year,” and a bit from “The First Noel” at the end.

I like Bonnie Raitt and Charles Brown’s “Merry Christmas Baby.” It unfolds slowly, with a fine bluesy quality. Both artists are in excellent voice and seem to be having fun, and blues piano and electric guitar provide effective supporting texture. And considering how many, many artists have covered this Charles Brown song, it’s great to hear Mr. Brown singing it himself. Tevin Campbell then offers a relatively gentle, muted, straightforward delivery of “O Holy Night,” something that I appreciate considering how many artists seem to treat this song as an excuse to indulge in high-register wailing until windows start to break.

Former teen-pop star Debbie Gibson’s “Sleigh Ride” has a definite Phil Spector Christmas-album sound to it. Vanessa Williams offers a clear and direct, slightly jazzy delivery of “What Child Is This?” Ann and Nancy Wilson then provide a fine, country-tinged rendition of “Blue Christmas” where piano and slide guitar work well together. I’m not sure why they didn’t call themselves Heart for this recording; was it that their usual backup musicians were not around, or were they concerned that Heart fans would expect a version of “Blue Christmas” that sounded like “Barracuda” or “Crazy on You”? Hard to say.

Just writing the name “Wilson Phillips” puts one back in the world of early-90’s pop. I wasn’t expecting much from their version of “Silent Night,” but it has clear harmonies and more of a rock-ish sound than I would have expected from Wilson Phillips; so, good for them. A real highlight of the album, for me, is its final song, Sinéad O’Connor’s “I Believe in You.” Recall that this album was released in the same year, even the same month (October 1992), in which O’Connor created controversy by tearing up a picture of Pope John Paul II on “Saturday Night Live” as a protest against sexual abuse within the Catholic Church; consequently, many listeners in the time of the album’s release may not exactly have been listening to it in the full Christmas spirit. That being said, I think O’Connor does a very fine job with this Bob Dylan song. The delivery of the song’s graceful melody is stark, simple, and honest — just O’Connor and a piano, with a clarinet coming in quietly at the end. There’s a fine quality of emotion in the way O’Connor delivers lines like “I believe in you, even though I’ll be outnumbered.” It’s a good way to end the album.

This album has more of a pop quality when compared with the original, more rock-oriented “A Very Special Christmas” from 1987. I’m more of a rock fan, and therefore I tend to like the first album better. Nonetheless, this album will sound fine in the background during your family’s future holiday celebrations, and it is comforting to know that the money goes to help people with intellectual disabilities — something much more important than whether I liked this song or didn’t like that song. (Paul Haspel)

Personnel:
see booklet

Tracklist:
01. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Christmas All Over Again (Petty)  4.14
02. Randy Travis: Jingle Bell Rock (Beal/Boothe) 4.00
03. Luther Vandross: The Christmas Song (Tormé/Wells) 4.29
04. Frank Sinatra & Cyndi Lauper: Santa Claus Is Coming to Town (Coots/Gillespie) 2.36
05. Boyz II Men: The Birth Of Christ (Morris/Stockman) 2.49
06. Jon Bon Jovi: Please Come Home For Christmas (Brown/Redd) 2.52
07. Paul Young: What Christmas Means To Me (Gaye/Story/Gordy) 2.53
08. Aretha Franklin: O Christmas Tree (Anschütz) 3.34
09. Ronnie Spector & Darlene Love: Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree (Marks) 2.48
10. Michael Bolton: White Christmas (Berlin) 3.38
11. Run-D.M.C.: Christmas Is (Simmons/McDaniels) 3.19
12. Extreme: Christmas Time Again (Bettencourt/Cherone) 5.06
13. Charles Brown & Bonnie Raitt: Merry Christmas Baby (Baxter/Moore) 4.32
14. Tevin Campbell: O Holy Night (Adolphe/Adam/Dwight) 2.45
15. Debbie Gibson: Sleigh Ride (Anderson/Parish) 3.12
16. Vanessa Williams: What Child Is This? (Traditional) 4.09
17. Ann & Nancy Wilson: Blue Christmas (Hayes/Johnson) 3.48
18. Wilson Phillips: Silent Night (Mohr/Gruber) 3.03
19. Sinéad O’Connor: I Believe In You (Dylan) 5.38

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Willie Nelson- My Way (2018)

A Country singer can´t sing Frank Sinatra …no ! But if a Country is Willie Nelson … yes !

My Way is the sixty-eighth solo studio album by Willie Nelson. It was released on September 14, 2018, by Legacy Recordings. The album is a tribute to Frank Sinatra, who was a close friend of Nelson’s. The album received the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album, marking Nelson’s 13th career Grammy win.

Nelson first teased the album on April 27, 2018, while promoting his album Last Man Standing in an article published by Variety, saying that the Great American Songbook “is a deep well, because good songs never die. If it was good a hundred years ago, it’s still good today.”

The album was formally announced on July 19, 2018. It is a collection of songs closely associated with Frank Sinatra, whom Nelson first heard at 10 years old when Sinatra joined the radio program Your Hit Parade. Nelson and Sinatra were close friends and mutual admirers of each other’s work. In the 1980s, the pair performed on the same bill at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas and appeared together in a public service announcement for the Space Foundation.

The album’s first single, “Summer Wind”, was released on the same day, along with its accompanying music video.

On August 24, 2018, “I’ll Be Around” was released as the album’s second single, with its music video premiering the same day.

The third single from the album, “One for My Baby (And One More for the Road)”, was released on September 10, 2018, along with its music video. (by wikipedia)

Ever since 1978’s Stardust, standards albums have been part of Willie Nelson’s arsenal, but 2018’s My Way presents a twist on this shopworn tradition: it’s designed as a tribute to Frank Sinatra. Album-long tributes to Sinatra aren’t uncommon — Bob Dylan devoted much of the 2010s to recording a series of tributes to him — but My Way stands apart from the pack by capturing both the rakish charm of the Chairman of the Board and Nelson’s sly elegance. Nelson balances standards from the Great American Songbook (“A Foggy Day,” “Blue Moon,” “Night and Day,” “Young at Heart”) with songs written with Sinatra in mind (“Fly Me to the Moon,” “Summer Wind,” “It Was a Very Good Year,” “My Way”), which brings My Way closer to the essence of Frank Sinatra than Dylan’s stylized saloon records. This is light and breezy, music that suggests the swinging heyday of Sinatra without ever quite sounding like a dusty old Capitol LP, not even the horns are sighing and blaring. Chalk that up to Nelson, who sounds limber if a bit scraggly, both in his voice and on his guitar. There’s a wry, insouciant charm to his performances: he knows how to ratchet up the drama in “It Was Very Good Year,” realizes “My Way” is irresistible hokum, and slides into the calming melody of “Summer Wind.” Unlike Summertime: Willie Nelson Sings Gershwin, Nelson’s limitations aren’t a hindrance, and the arrangements aren’t excessively polite, which means My Way is an appealingly light record: it’s performed with more affection than reverence. (by Stephen Thomas Erlewine)

It’s about the band here, also. That driving, fat bass by David Piltch, who gives these straight-forward arrangements a strong foundation. The sparse, but so distinctive piano phrases by Matt Rollings (Lyle Lovett’s long time band member), who did the arrangements in a delightfully direct, fresh way. The tiny whiny harmonica occoupying the upper range. Some subtle guitars by Dean Parks and the master himself. Precise horns and a topping of strings if needed. All the schmalz is gone here, remains all the the fresh wind and this very unique Willie Nelson way of blowing the dust off these old songs. (Alexander Ziemann)

Personnel:
Jay Bellerose (drums)
Jeff Coffin (saxophone)
Paul Franklin (pedal steel-guitar)
Barry Green (trombone)
Mike Haynes (trumpet)
Chris McDonald (trombone)
Doug Moffet (saxophone)
Willie Nelson (guitar, vocals)
Dean Parks (guitar)
Steve Patrick (trumpet)
David Piltch (bass)
Mickey Raphael (harmonica)
Matt Rollings (keyboards)
Denis Solee (saxophone)
+
Norah Jones (vocals on 09.)
+
strings:
Monisa Angell – Janet Darnall – David Davidson – Conni Ellisor – Alicia Enstrom –
Anthony La Marchina – Betsy Lamb -Carole Rabinowitz – Sari Reist – Kristin Wilkinson – Karen Winkelmann

strings arranged by Kristin Wilkinson

Tracklist:
01. Fly Me To “he Moon (Howard) 2:44
02. Summer Wind (Meier/Mercer) 3:23
03. One For My Baby (And One More For The Road) (Arlen/Mercer) 3:59
04. A Foggy Day (G.Gershwin(I.Gershwin) 2:57
05. It Was A Very Good Year (Drake) 3:56
06. Blue Moon (Rodgers/Hart) 2:37
07. I’ll Be Around (Wilder) 2:59
08. Night And Day (Porter) 2:48
09. What Is This Thing Called Love? (Porter) 2:27
10. Young At Heart (Richards/Leigh) 2:46
11. My Way (Anka/François/Revaux) 4:49

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VA – Good Time Gold – Christmas (2002)

Okay, it´s christmas time again:

Christmas, a Christian holiday honoring the birth of Jesus, has evolved into a worldwide religious and secular celebration, incorporating many pre-Christian and pagan traditions into the festivities.

Christmas is a Christian festival celebrating the birth of Jesus. The English term Christmas (“mass on Christ’s day”) is of fairly recent origin. The earlier term Yule may have derived from the Germanic jōl or the Anglo-Saxon geōl, which referred to the feast of the winter solstice. The corresponding terms in other languages—Navidad in Spanish, Natale in Italian, Noël in French—all probably denote nativity. The German word Weihnachten denotes “hallowed night.” Since the early 20th century, Christmas has also been a secular family holiday, observed by Christians and non-Christians alike, devoid of Christian elements, and marked by an increasingly elaborate exchange of gifts. In this secular Christmas celebration, a mythical figure named Santa Claus plays the pivotal role.

And I will bring during December a lot of christmas music from all over the world.

And I beginn with a real nice Chritmas sampler from Time Life … with a lot of old fashioned christmas tunes … I guess you´ll know most of them.

And I hope you like it, like me.

Tracklist:
01. Bing Crosby: White Christmas (Berlin) 3.04
02. Frank Sinatra: Silent Night (Mohr/GRuber) 3.18
03. Perry Como: Jingle Bells (Pierpont) 3.00
04. Gene Autry: Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer (Marks) 3.13
05. Judy Garland: Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas (Martin/Blane) 2.39
06. Dick Haymes: Christmas Dreaming (Gordon/Lee) 2.41
07. Doris Day: The Christmas Song (Torme/Wells) 3.16
08. Bing Crosby: God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman (Traditional) 2.19
09. Dinah Shore: O Little Town Of Betlehem (Redner) 2.10
10. Frank Sinatra: Adeste Fideles (O Come All Ye Faithful) (Traditional) 2.39
11. The Andrews Sisters: Christmas Island (Moraine) 2.39
12. Nelson Eddy: The First Noel (Traditional) 1.49
13. Vera Lynn: The Little Boy That Santa Claus Forgot (Corner/Carr/Leach) 2.54
14. Vaughn Monroe: Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! (Cahn/Styne) 3.13
15. Judy Garland: Merry Christmas (Spielman/Torre) 2.46
16. Gene Autry: Here Comes Santa Claus (Autry/Haldeman) 2.33
17. Perry Como: I’ll Be Home For Christmas (Kent/Ram/Gannon) 2.56
18. Frank Sinatra: Santa Claus Is Coming To Town (Gillespie/Coots) 2.35
19. Mel Tormé: What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve? (Loesser) 3.01
20. Bing Crosby: Let’s Start The New Year Right (Berlin) 2.37

 

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Frank Sinatra & Count Basie – An Historic Musical First (1963)

Sinatra–Basie: An Historic Musical First (a.k.a. Sinatra-Basie) is a 1962 studio album by Frank Sinatra, arranged by Neal Hefti.

This was the first recording that Sinatra made with the Count Basie Orchestra. In 1964, Sinatra and Basie would make a final studio recording, It Might as Well Be Swing, orchestrated by Quincy Jones, and Sinatra’s first live album, Sinatra at the Sands (1966) would feature the Basie band.

Sinatra appeared on an episode of The Dinah Shore Show that aired on December 9, 1962, the day before Sinatra-Basie was released, and performed the album’s arrangement of “Please Be Kind”.

According to Will Friedwald’s book, Sinatra! The Song Is You, “Basie didn’t play piano on several of the tracks: ‘The day before the first date, we rehearsed all day, all night’, said Bill Miller, officially serving as contractor. ‘Everybody also came in an hour before so we could go over them again.’ As Joe Bushkin has pointed out, ‘The Basie guys could read as well as any studio band’, but to help them nail the charts even tighter, Sinatra and Miller brought in ace lead trumpeter Al Porcino. Basie was a capable but not an expert reader, Miller continued, ‘and he was very slow to learn new tunes, so on a couple of the songs, he said, “You play it.”‘ Long story short, Bill Miller played piano on ‘Pennies from Heaven.'” (by wikipedia)

The long-awaited first collaboration between two icons, Count Basie and Frank Sinatra, did something unique for the reputations of both. For Basie, the Sinatra connection inaugurated a period in the ’60s where his band was more popular and better-known than it ever was, even in the big-band era. For Sinatra, Basie meant liberation, producing perhaps the loosest, rhythmically free singing of his career. Propelled by the irresistible drums of Sonny Payne, Sinatra careens up to and around the tunes, reacting jauntily to the beat and encouraging Payne to swing even harder, which was exactly the way to interact with the Basie rhythm machine — using his exquisite timing flawlessly. Also the members of the Basie band play a more prominent role than usual on a Sinatra record, with soloists like Frank Wess — in some of the finest flute work of his life — and tenors Frank Foster and Eric Dixon getting prominent solo opportunities on several of the tracks. The record was criticized by some as a letdown when it came out, probably because Neal Hefti’s charts rarely permit the band to roar, concentrating on use of subtlety and space. Yet the record’s restraint has worn very well over the long haul — it doesn’t beat you into submission — and it concludes with its best shot, a wonderfully playful treatment of “I Won’t Dance.” (by Richard S. Ginell)

Personnel:
Al Aarons (trumpet)
Count Basie (piano)
Buddy Catlett (bass)
Sonny Cohn (trumpet)
Henry Coker (trombone)
Eric Dixon (flute, saxophone)
Frank Foster (saxophone)
Charlie Fowlkes (saxophone)
Freddie Green (guitar)
Thad Jones (trumpet)
Bill Miller (piano)
Sonny Payne (drums)
Al Porcino (trumpet)
Benny Powell (trombone)
Flip Ricard (trumpet)
Marshall Royal (clarinet, saxophone)
Frank Sinatra (vocals)
Rufus Wagner (trombone)
Frank Wess (flute, saxophone)

Tracklist:
01. Pennies From Heaven (Johnston/Burke) 3.30
02. Please Be Kind (Chaplin/Cahn) 2.44
03. (Love Is) The Tender Trap (Cahn/Van Heusen) 2.37
04. Looking At The World Through Rose Colored Glasses (Steiger/Mailie) 2.32
05. My Kind Of Girl (Bricusse) 4.38
06. I Only Have Eyes For You (Warren/Dubin) 3.31
07. Nice Work If You Can Get It (G.Gershwin/I.Gershwin) 2.38
08. Learnin’ The Blues (Silvers) 4.26
09. I’m Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter (Ahlert/Young) 2.36
10. I Won’t Dance (Kern/McHugh/Hammerstein II/Fields/Harbach) 4.08

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Frank Sinatra – The Voice of Frank Sinatra (1946)

The Voice of Frank Sinatra is the first studio album by American singer Frank Sinatra, released on Columbia Records, catalogue C-112, March 4, 1946. It was first issued as a set of four 78 rpm records totaling eight songs, and went to #1 on the fledgling Billboard chart. It stayed at the top for seven weeks in 1946, spending a total of eighteen weeks on the charts. The album chart consisted of just a Top Five until August 1948.

The tracks were arranged and conducted by Axel Stordahl and his orchestra, on both dates consisting of a string quartet and four-piece rhythm section, augmented by flutist John Mayhew in July, and, ironically given the part he would play with Sinatra at Columbia in the early 1950s, oboist Mitch Miller in December. Sinatra would record most of these songs again at later stages in his career.

Certain critics have claimed The Voice to be the first concept album. Beginning in 1939, however, singer Lee Wiley started releasing albums of 78s dedicated to the songs of a single writer, Cole Porter for example, a precursor to the Songbooks sets formulated by Norman Granz and Ella Fitzgerald in 1956. These may loosely be termed concept albums, although Sinatra with The Voice inaugurated his practice of having a common mood, theme, or instrumentation tying the songs together on a specific release.

It also holds the distinction of being the first pop album catalogue item at 33⅓ rpm, when Columbia premiered long-playing vinyl records in 1948, ten-inch and twelve-inch format for classical music, ten-inch only for pop. The Voice was reissued as a 10-inch LP, catalogue number CL 6001 in 1948. It was also later issued as two 45 rpm EPs in 1952 with catalogue number B-112 in 1952, a 12-inch LP with a changed running order including only five of the original tracks in 1955 with catalogue number CL-743, and a compact disc with extra tracks in 2003.

Enjoy this sentimental journey !

Frank Sinatra and Axel Stordahl at work, 1947

Personnel:
Sidney Brecher (viola)
Bill Clifton (piano)
George van Eps (guitar)
Sam Freed (viola)
David Frisina (violin)
Fred Goerner (cello)
Matty Golizio (guitar)
Ray Hagan (drums)
Jack Mayhew (flute)
Mark McIntyre (piano)
Mitch Miller (oboe)
Nat Polen (drums)
Raoul Polikian (violin)
Leonard Posner (violin)
Mischa Russell (violin)
John Ryan (bass)
Frank Sinatra (vocals)
Frank Siravo (bass)
Anthony Sophos (cello)

Alternate frontcover

Tracklist:
01. You Go To My Head (Gillespie/Coots) 3.00
02. Someone To Watch Over Me (G.Gershwin/I.Gershwin) 3.18
03. These Foolish Things (Remind Me Of You)” (Marvell/Strachey/Link) 3.08
04. Why Shouldn’t I? (Porter) 2.53
05. I Don’t Know Why (I Just Do) (Turk/Ahlert) 2.46
06. Try A Little Tenderness (Harry M. Woods, James Campbell, Reginald Connelly) — 3:08
07. I Don’t Stand a Ghost Of A Chance with You (Crosby/Washington/Young) 3.11
08. Paradise (Brown/Clifford) 2.37

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