Sinatra Sings Great Songs From Great Britain is an album by Frank Sinatra, arranged by Robert Farnon and recorded in London in 1962. It was released on LP in Great Britain but not in the United States. The stereo version was eventually released in the U.S. on compact disc in the early 1990s, and all stereo tracks were made available on The Complete Reprise Studio Recordings CD box set.
Background
Sinatra recorded the album, a collection of all-British material, in June 1962 towards the end of a...
Sinatra Sings Great Songs From Great Britain is an album by Frank Sinatra, arranged by Robert Farnon and recorded in London in 1962. It was released on LP in Great Britain but not in the United States. The stereo version was eventually released in the U.S. on compact disc in the early 1990s, and all stereo tracks were made available on The Complete Reprise Studio Recordings CD box set.
Background
Sinatra recorded the album, a collection of all-British material, in June 1962 towards the end of a long tour raising money for children’s charities. That tour kicked off in April 1962 and included performances in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Tel Aviv, Rome, Athens, Milan and Madrid. Great Songs was the only studio album he recorded outside the United States. It was recorded at CTS Recording Studio 49-53, Kensington Gardens Square, and Sinatra spent three nights in the Bayswater studio. Sinatra had made his first visit to the U.K. in the summer of 1950 when he topped the bill at the London Palladium and enjoyed playing in Britain. When he toured Britain in 1953, at venues that ran from Tooting Granada to Blackpool Opera House, his star had been fading. But by 1962 and the time of this recording, he was a record label owner, and his career was still riding high.
Allmusic review
“Sinatra Sings Great Songs From Great Britain is one of the oddest albums in Sinatra’s catalog. Recorded in the summer of 1962 and available only in the U.K. for a number of years, the album consists of songs by British composers, performed with British musicians, and recorded in Britain while Sinatra was on tour. As it happened, Sinatra was tired and worn out during the sessions, and arranger/conductor Robert Farnon had written a set of charts that were ambitious, lush, ornate and sweeping. Although the arrangements are provocative– occasionally they are more interesting than the actual songs– Sinatra was simply not in good shape for the sessions, which is clear from his thin, straining singing. As such, Great Songs From Great Britain isn’t much more than a curiosity.”
Regarding “Roses Of Picardy”
“Roses Of Picardy” was not included on the original album. It was added as a bonus track to the first CD issue in 1992 and has appeared on subsequent reissues ever since.
Track listing
01 -- “The Very Thought Of You” (Ray Noble) – 3:42
02 -- “We’ll Gather Lilacs” (Ivor Novello) – 3:15
03 -- “If I Had You” (Jimmy Campbell, Reginald Connelly, Ted Shapiro) – 4:10
04 -- “Now Is The Hour” (Maewa Kaihan, Clemnet Scott, Dorothy Stewart) – 2:51
05 -- “The Gypsy” (Billy Reid) – 3:22
06 -- “A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square” (Eric Maschwitz, Manning Sherwin) – 3:57
07 -- “A Garden In The Rain” (James Dyrenforth, Carroll Gibbons) – 3:27
08 -- “London By Night” (Carroll Coates) – 3:25
09 -- “We’ll Meet Again” (Hughie Charles, Ross Parker) – 3:47
10 -- “I’ll Follow My Secret Heart” (Noël Coward) – 3:20
Personnel
Frank Sinatra – Vocals
Robert Farnon – Arranger, Conductor
Album Notes
Released: November, 1962
Recorded: June 12–14, 1962, London
Genre: Vocal Jazz
Length 35:14
Label: Reprise (Reprise R-1006)
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