It has been suggested that Duets: 20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since September 2024. |
Duets | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | November 2, 1993 | |||
Recorded | 1992 – 1993 | |||
Studio | Capitol, Los Angeles | |||
Genre | Traditional pop | |||
Length | 45:44 | |||
Label | Capitol | |||
Producer | Phil Ramone, Hank Cattaneo | |||
Frank Sinatra chronology | ||||
|
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Music Week | [2] |
The Village Voice | C [3] |
Duets is an album by American singer Frank Sinatra, released in 1993. Recorded near the end of Sinatra's career, it consists of electronically assembled duets between Sinatra and younger singers from various genres. The album was a commercial success, debuting at No. 2 on the Billboard albums chart, reaching No. 5 in the UK, and selling over 3 million copies in the US. It is the only Sinatra album to date to achieve triple platinum certification.
The album received mixed reviews from critics, with complaints stemming from Sinatra's specified style of isolated performance wherein he was never joined by his duet partners in the studio, an artificial method of record production which lacked the elements of personal collaboration and spontaneity. The guest singers had been directed to sing along to his pre-recorded vocal parts, and to make their performances complement his. [4]
The cover art displays a specially commissioned painting of Frank Sinatra by LeRoy Neiman. Its sequel, Duets II , was released the following year. Both albums were packaged together in a "90th Birthday Limited Collector's Edition" released in 2005; North American pressings added an unreleased duet recording of "My Way" with Willie Nelson, while international pressings have him singing with Luciano Pavarotti.
Sinatra was approached in 1992 with the idea of making an album of duets. [5] : 5 Phil Ramone, Sinatra's manager Eliot Weisman and the Capitol executive producer Don Rubin discussed the details at Sinatra's house in Palm Springs, California. [5] : 5 Ramone felt that Sinatra's classic songs would be brought to new, younger listeners by way of the Duets project. [5] : 6
For duet partners, Sinatra suggested Ella Fitzgerald but she was not well enough to participate. [5] : 6 Other artists, younger than Sinatra, were put on the list of potential partners. [5] : 6 Sinatra specified that the duet partners must not be in the studio when he was singing his part. [5] : 6
The project was pushed forward by Charles Koppelman, the CEO of EMI Records Group North America. [6] An orchestra was rehearsed at Capitol Studio A in Los Angeles, where Sinatra had recorded many times, the orchestra using classic Nelson Riddle arrangements. [5] : 1-2 Sinatra showed up for the first two days of intended tracking sessions but begged off laying down any vocals the first day because he did not like being isolated in a vocal booth as intended by recording engineer Al Schmitt. [5] : 4, 7-8 On the second day, Hank Cattaneo (co-producer), suggested to Ramone, Schmitt and Pat Williams, that they create a small elevated stage set-up for Sinatra to stand on, and to place Bill Miller and his piano adjacent to Frank within the open-air stage/booth to make the recording session feel more like a live performance. [5] : 8 However, Sinatra said his voice was not in optimal condition. [5] : 9 At this point, about $350,000 had been spent to put the project together. [5] : 7 Ramone and Capitol were worried the record would never be completed. [5] : 7 Ramone spoke to Hank Cattaneo, his co-producer, about his concern. [5] : 7 It was suggested that since Cattaneo was Frank's production manager and close friend, that he stay near Frank to assist in the sequence of songs and detail to Frank when the takes were acceptable and a retake was not required. Cattaneo further suggested to Ramone and Schmitt that they record with the wireless microphones that Frank was accustomed to using in live performances. Nine songs were recorded in five hours, beginning with "Come Fly with Me". [5] : 10-11 Capitol Records A&R chief Don Rubin was in attendance at the recording session. [5] : 2
The various duet partners were invited to participate remotely, their recordings sent to Capitol by way of ISDN digital telephone lines connected by EDnet to the digital recording equipment. [5] : 7 Bono and Aretha Franklin asked that Ramone fly out to appear in person at their local studios to strengthen the connection to Sinatra and the project. Bono recorded his part to "I've Got You Under My Skin" while standing on a couch in the STS Studios control room in Dublin, singing into a handheld microphone. [5] : 89 After Franklin recorded her part to "What Now My Love" in Detroit, she recorded a personal message to Sinatra, thanking him for the opportunity. [5] : 264 The duet of “My Way” with Luciano Pavarotti was not recorded in time to make the primary release of Sinatra's Duets. It was placed on the Sinatra 80 album and then added to subsequent pressings of Duets as a bonus track addition. Hank Cattaneo produced and recorded this segment in Pavarotti's summer villa in Pesaro, Italy.
The album was advertised as "The Recording Event of The Decade". [7]
Some observers were not satisfied with its recording process. [8]
Unless otherwise indicated, Information is based on Liner notes [9]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Duet with | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "The Lady Is a Tramp" (Arranged by Billy Byers) | Richard Rodgers (music), Lorenz Hart (lyrics) | Luther Vandross | 3:24 |
2. | "What Now My Love" (Arranged by Don Costa) | Gilbert Bécaud (music), Carl Sigman (English lyrics), Pierre Delanoë (French lyrics) | Aretha Franklin | 3:15 |
3. | "I've Got a Crush on You" (Arranged by Patrick Williams) | George Gershwin (music), Ira Gershwin (lyrics) | Barbra Streisand | 3:23 |
4. | "Summer Wind" (Arranged by Nelson Riddle) | Hans Bradtke (German lyrics), Johnny Mercer (English lyrics), Heinz Meier (music) | Julio Iglesias | 2:32 |
5. | "Come Rain or Come Shine" (Arranged by Don Costa) | Harold Arlen (music), Johnny Mercer (lyrics) | Gloria Estefan | 4:04 |
6. | "New York, New York" (Arranged by Don Costa) | Fred Ebb (lyrics), John Kander (music) | Tony Bennett | 3:30 |
7. | "They Can't Take That Away From Me" (Arranged by Patrick Williams) | George Gershwin (music), Ira Gershwin (lyrics) | Natalie Cole | 3:11 |
8. | "You Make Me Feel So Young" (Arranged by Quincy Jones) | Mack Gordon (lyrics), Josef Myrow (music) | Charles Aznavour | 3:05 |
9. | "Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to Dry" / "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning" (Arranged by Nelson Riddle) | Sammy Cahn (lyrics), Jule Styne (music) / Bob Hilliard (lyrics), David Mann (music) | Carly Simon | 3:57 |
10. | "I've Got the World on a String" (Arranged by Nelson Riddle) | Harold Arlen (music), Ted Koehler (lyrics) | Liza Minnelli | 2:18 |
11. | "Witchcraft" (Arranged by Nelson Riddle) | Carolyn Leigh (lyrics), Cy Coleman (music) | Anita Baker | 3:22 |
12. | "I've Got You Under My Skin" (Arranged by Nelson Riddle) | Cole Porter | Bono | 3:32 |
13. | "All the Way" / "One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)" (Arranged by Patrick Williams and Nelson Riddle) | Sammy Cahn (lyrics), James Van Heusen (music) / Harold Arlen (music), Johnny Mercer (lyrics) | Kenny G | 6:03 |
ChartsWeekly charts
Year-end charts
| Certifications and sales
|
On 25 November 1994, Sinatra recorded a television special which aired on CBS, titled Sinatra: Duets. This was intended to promote both the album Duets as well as its successor, Sinatra's last studio recording, Duets II . [52] [53]
Nelson Smock Riddle Jr. was an American arranger, composer, bandleader and orchestrator whose career stretched from the late 1940s to the mid-1980s. He worked with many vocalists at Capitol Records, including Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, Judy Garland, Dean Martin, Peggy Lee, Johnny Mathis, Rosemary Clooney and Keely Smith. He scored and arranged music for many films and television shows, earning an Academy Award and three Grammy Awards. He found commercial and critical success with a new generation in the 1980s, in a trio of Platinum albums with Linda Ronstadt.
Edward William May Jr. was an American composer, arranger and trumpeter. He composed film and television music for The Green Hornet (1966), The Mod Squad (1968), Batman, and Naked City (1960). He collaborated on films such as Pennies from Heaven (1981), and orchestrated Cocoon, and Cocoon: The Return, among others.
That's Life is a 1966 album by Frank Sinatra, supported by a studio orchestra arranged and conducted by Ernie Freeman. The album is notable for its title song, "That's Life", which proved to be a top five hit for Sinatra at a time when rock music dominated the music charts. That's Life was released on CD in October 1986.
"I've Got You Under My Skin" is a song written by American composer Cole Porter in 1936. It was introduced that year in the Eleanor Powell musical film Born to Dance in which it was performed by Virginia Bruce. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song that year but lost out to "The Way You Look Tonight". Popular recordings in 1936 were by Ray Noble and his Orchestra and by Hal Kemp and his Orchestra.
September of My Years is a 1965 studio album by American singer Frank Sinatra, released on Reprise Records in August 1965 on LP and October 1986 on CD. The orchestral arrangements are by Gordon Jenkins, their fifth album collaboration. It peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart.
Songs for Swingin' Lovers! is the tenth studio album by American singer Frank Sinatra, and his fourth for Capitol Records. It was arranged by Nelson Riddle and released in March 1956 on LP and January 1987 on CD. It was the first album ever to top the UK Albums Chart.
Songs for Young Lovers is the seventh studio album by Frank Sinatra and his first on Capitol Records. It was issued as an 8-song, 10" album and as a 45rpm EP set, but it was the first Sinatra "album" not to have a 78rpm multi-disc-album release. In 2002, it was one of 50 recordings chosen that year by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry.
American vocalist Frank Sinatra recorded 59 studio albums and 297 singles in his solo career, spanning 54 years.
A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra is a Christmas album by American singer Frank Sinatra, originally released by Capitol Records in 1957.
This Is Sinatra! is a compilation album by Frank Sinatra, released in 1956.
Softly, as I Leave You is a 1964 studio album by American singer Frank Sinatra. Arranged by Ernie Freeman, several tracks such as "Softly, as I Leave You", "Then Suddenly Love" and "Available" departed from Sinatra's signature vocal jazz style by flirting with a more contemporary pop sound. The rest of the album is pieced together with leftovers from various early-'60s sessions, from many different arrangers and conductors.
The World We Knew, also known as Frank Sinatra, is a 1967 studio album by American singer Frank Sinatra.
Duets II is the fifty-ninth and final studio album by American singer Frank Sinatra. It was released in 1994, and was the sequel to the previous year's Duets. Phil Ramone and Hank Cattaneo produced the album and guest artists from various genres contributed their duet parts to Sinatra's already recorded vocals. Though not as commercially successful as Duets, it still rose to #9 on the Billboard albums chart and sold over 1 million copies in the U.S. It also peaked at #29 in the UK.
The Complete Capitol Singles Collection is a compact disc box set by the American singer Frank Sinatra, released on Capitol Records in 1996. The four-disc set contains all 45 singles released by Sinatra during his tenure at the label between 1953 and 1961. Of those, 25 made the Top 40 on the Billboard singles chart. It does not include releases specifically for jukeboxes or for extended play singles, with one exception. The original tapes were digitally remastered by Bob Norberg.
Duets: An American Classic is a studio album by Tony Bennett, released in 2006 via Columbia label.
Nothing but the Best is a 2008 compilation album by American singer Frank Sinatra. All the tracks on this album are recordings made when Sinatra was on his own Reprise label, thus the first track, "Come Fly with Me" is not the 1957 Capitol version. Other notable differences are "Strangers in the Night" has an extended fade out and the first cymbal hit is cut from the beginning of the "Theme from New York, New York".
Sinatra 80th: All the Best is a double compilation disc album by Frank Sinatra. On the final track, "The Christmas Song" is recorded both by Sinatra and Nat King Cole. The title, like the previous album, was released and named to coincide with Frank Sinatra's birthday, as he was celebrating his 80th at the time.
Sinatra: Best of the Best is a 2011 double compilation album by American singer Frank Sinatra.
Ultimate Sinatra is a 2015 compilation album by American singer Frank Sinatra released specifically to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of his birth. The collection consists of songs recorded from 1939 to 1979 during his sessions for Columbia Records, Capitol Records, and Reprise Records. The 4-CD set consists of 100 songs, plus a never before released bonus track of a rehearsal recording of "The Surrey with the Fringe on Top" from the musical Oklahoma! This edition also features an 80-page booklet with a new essay by Sinatra historian and author Charles Pignone, as well as rare photos and quotes from Sinatra, his family members and key collaborators.
That's Life is the 71st solo studio album by Willie Nelson. It was released on February 26, 2021, by Legacy Recordings. A tribute to Frank Sinatra, it represents the second volume of Nelson's Sinatra collection, following 2018's My Way.
{{cite book}}
: |work=
ignored (help){{cite book}}
: |work=
ignored (help)