Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Best Selling in CDs
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Save on CDs
The ultimate Sinatra box set, lavishly illustrated and the incomparable music of Frank at his absolute best, with a voice that defies description in its tone and expression. 285 reminders on 12 cds as to why there will never be another singer like this again. I know there are many who prefer the Sinatra of the capital years, and they were great and stand on their own in brilliance, but the Columbia Frank had his voice at its purest and it is on full display in this set. The sound quality is excellent throughout and whether the listener prefers the ballads or the swinging up tempo numbers, this collection delivers it to the hilt. Twenty five previously unreleased gems along with a nice selection of alternate takes makes this an absolutely marvelous nine year musical journey with the greatest at his greatest. It is indispensable Sinatra and Columbia has done itself proud with this magnificent collection.Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
Nothing exemplifies why Sinatra is called the Voice better than these recordings. And nothing represents the emotions of an era better than these ballads. I have always felt the most wonderful music came from the period 1943 - 1952. I totally agree with Frank's daughter, Nancy, when she said, “My own favorite recordings are those from the Columbia period. The up-tempo numbers are great, but if given the chance, I’d listen to only ballads from this era. Once I get started listening to Axel (Stordahl) and Pop, I don’t want anything interfering with those sweet, beautiful classic songs! We were fortunate that Dad was a part of a time that was undoubtedly the best period in American music, and without those records, he wouldn’t have become known." I can't say enough about the quality of these digital discs. They are so beautifully recorded and transcribed so that to my ear, I'm in the recording studio of some 66 years ago. I feel very fortunate to own this music.Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Granted the item was used but by looking at it it looks almost new. I've checked some of the CD's and some do have scratches but, what do you expect from a used item?. I haven't had a chance to play any of the CD's but I honestly don't expect any problems. I plan on ripping them and putting them back in their cases The book that came with the set looks as if it hasn't even been opened and the glass cover? is in really great shape. All in all, I would say it was a really good buy. Can't complain.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Best possible Sinatra Columbia isues are this big blue box and it's really nice hard cover book. While some previous reissues were better than others, all the Columbia releases prior to this set were largely inferior, with significant filtering, added reverb/"360 sound" and in one case bongos? A generally murky sound altering the original recording was most of what you could get. These discs represent an amazing attention to detail and very careful mastering. 1st released in 1993 and basically now only through collector sales, ebay etc... appear to remain unequaled as of today, with really clean and true / unaltered original source mastering, amazing fidelity and a necessary and forgivable amount of original source background noise on some tracks-this is amazingly limited. That some of these sound as they do will blow your mind if you have not already heard them, and everything Sinatra did is here-they used the best source available-some safety masters with an alternate take even. Columbia had recorded Sinatra from 1943 on at 33 1/3 onto 16 inch optically flat aluminum and lacquer masters, which was a leap ahead of others in the industry and largely why these have such great fidelity. It's puzzling why so many previous issues were so murkey and flat-maybe they used old 78's but these are very clean, rich and best of all they were not altered with fake stereo or added reverb. The material from 1949 on starts to see the intro of magnetic tape recording and some of those tracks have even better sound, though amazingly some of the disc transfers sound so good you'd think it was hifi sound which was not really available until about 1954. Long and short, there is no equal in terms of quality and completeness to match this set currently. And it's hard to imagine these sounding as good as they do, you'll have to get your own to find out though.Read full review
Superior remastering of 78s and early mono tapes of Frank Sinatra. Individual CD cases per CD which is a bonus. Nice book and full recording information. Not all the songs are great though, lots of duds but at least 50% are worthwhile and worth hearing multiple times. I also have some of the 78s and they often sound thick, bloated, smeary, etc. compared to these exquisite remasterings (much like Andreas Meyer's Legacy Sinatra CD reissues.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned