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Frank Sinatra: A Voice on the Air, 1935-1955. Columbia/Legacy 88875099712 (4 CDs).
In the arena of pre-rock American popular music, few names mean as much as Frank Sinatra's - even for those of us who are respectful non-fans (as I am), Sinatra's achievements as a vocalist are arguably without equal. Preceded on the musical scene by Al Jolson, Bing Crosby, and a few lesser lights, Sinatra's only true equal, at least in regard to the volume and quality of recordings, is Crosby. Sinatra made no fewer than 1,200 commercial recordings (compared to Crosby's 1,700), and despite successes in movies (winning a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for From Here to Eternity in 1954, which revived his flagging career), and in radio, television, and on nightclub and concert stages, Sinatra's prominence today (he died in 1998) has everything to do with his remarkable recorded legacy.
The Sinatra legacy has been preserved on compact disc in a brace of single and multiple disc sets, with Sinatra's long-term labels, Capitol and Reprise, providing comprehensive coverage of the singer's work in their studios in sets featuring alternates and outtakes along with the released tracks. Though these recordings provide an impressive archive of Sinatra's work as a vocalist, he was in fact an entertainer as well as a singer, and his live recordings display that certain element of his personality and vocalizing. Columbia/Legacy's four-disc compendium, Frank Sinatra: A Voice on the Air, 1935-1955, offers a flavorful sampling of Sinatra the entertainer, as he serves as a host for his own radio shows and as a guest on other programs. Featuring 100-plus rarely heard and, in many cases, previously unreleased radio performances by Sinatra, this set stands out for both its unique focus on one aspect of his multi-faceted career, and in presenting Sinatra at his most relaxed and spontaneous. Even with scripted radio banter, Sinatra embroiders, charms his guests, and shows unexpected modesty in the face of the adoration of his screaming fans. His vocalizing of both familiar Sinatra songs and previously unheard items displays a playful and lighthearted Sinatra, and in the case of introspective tunes, he often delivers them with an unguarded intimacy.
Discs One and Two contain the most historically significant material, including Sinatra's earliest recorded vocals...