Duets II | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | November 15, 1994 | |||
Recorded | July 1, 6, 9, October 12, 14, 1993 | |||
Genre | Traditional pop | |||
Length | 52:01 | |||
Label | Capitol | |||
Producer | Phil Ramone | |||
Frank Sinatra chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
NME | 3/10 [2] |
Duets II is the 59th 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 album received mixed reviews from critics, although some viewed it as an improvement over its predecessor. However, the album won Sinatra the 1995 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance, his last competitive Grammy Award.
These would be the last studio recordings made by Sinatra, who had begun his recording career fifty-four years earlier. Both were packaged together in a "90th Birthday Limited Collector's Edition" released in 2005; North American pressings add an unreleased duet recording of "My Way" with Willie Nelson, while international pressings have him singing with Luciano Pavarotti.
Unless otherwise indicated, Information is based on Liner notes [3]
Information is based on Liner notes [3]
Production
Engineers
Assistant engineers
On 25 November 1994, Sinatra recorded a television special which aired on CBS, titled Sinatra: Duets. This was intended to promote both his previous album Duets as well as its successor, Duets II. [11] [12]
Chart (1994) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (ARIA) [13] | 16 |
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [14] | 27 |
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [15] | 21 |
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [16] | 20 |
US Billboard 200 [17] | 9 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Canada (Music Canada) [18] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
New Zealand (RMNZ) [19] | Gold | 7,500^ |
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [20] | Gold | 50,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [21] | Silver | 60,000* |
United States (RIAA) [22] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
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.
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