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| Artist: Frank Sinatra
Label: Reprise / Wea
Category: Music
List Price: $18.98
Buy New: $7.99
You Save: $10.99 (58%)
New (50) Used (15) Collectible (4) from $7.98
Rating:  63 reviews
Sales Rank: 136
Format: Original Recording Remastered
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.3 x 4.8 x 0.6
MPN: 438652
UPC: 081227993689
EAN: 0081227993689
ASIN: B0013L5M08
Release Date: May 13, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Mellow music June 11, 2008
I really enjoy this CD, maybe because I'm four years away from being 60. I find myself singing the songs long after listening to them.
 This CD is a must June 11, 2008
I am 50 yrs old, Frank was before my time. But this CD is a must in any collection. The songs selected for this are right on. I also needed something my mom would enjoy on a road trip, she was even snapping her fingers. Buy it you won't regret it.
Everything Is Simply Beautiful! June 11, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
"Frank chose quality material and great musicians. He had an innate talent within himself and unbelievable musical instincts." ~ Neal Hefti ~
What's so special about this CD?
There is something new
As well as something old
There is something poignant
As well as something blissful
But everything is simply beautiful.
When I think of this newly-released compilation Frank Sinatra CD, "Nothing But The Best," I think of one of my favorite quotes that aptly describes this music - it is from a German poet, playwright, novelist, philosopher from the Romantic Era, Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe, and I quote:
"The effects of good music are not just because it's new; on the contrary music strikes us more, the more familiar we are with it."
The songs here are some of the most familiar Frank Sinatra music that we have been enjoying all these years, with the exception of a previously unreleased track, a heart-rending, poignantly beautiful song from a trio of songwriters Johnny Green, Edward Heyman and Robert Sour, "Body And Soul." This is an old classic song that is widely-recorded amongst singers and instrumentalists, but the novelty of this version alone is enough reason to own this compilation CD. Kudos to Torrie Zito for the exquisite and lush strings chart arrangement with a classical touch, and to Frank Sinatra, Jr. as well for ably conducting the orchestra. Mr. S sings it with heartfelt emotion and tender perfection that is almost impossible not to be deeply moved by it. The vocal session was recorded in New York City in 1984 and the orchestra session was recorded in Hollywood late last year. To my ears, this is absolutely the best vocal interpretation ever produced.
This tasteful collection has been carefully selected from different recordings that were conducted by some of the most brilliant breed of arrangers and orchestrators whom I call "The Elite Sinatra Arrangers" - Nelson Riddle, Gordon Jenkins, Claus Ogerman, Billy May, Don Costa, Quincy Jones, Ernie Freeman, Billy Strange, Skip Martin and last but not least, Torrie Zito. All the songs are true representations of the Chairman's exceptional vocal flair that speaks of timeless elegance and sheer perfection. My choicest cuts include my all-time favorites "Moonlight Serenade," "The Way You Look Tonight," "The Girl From Ipanema," "Fly Me To The Moon" and Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen's "Come Fly With Me."
"Come fly with me, let's float down to Peru
In llama land there's a one-man band
And he'll toot his flute for you
Come fly with me, let's take off in the blue."
This is one of the best compilations CDs ever produced, and a worthy addition to your Sinatra collection. If you're happy with this new compilation, you'll also enjoy The Great American Songbook, and two newly-released compilation CDs: Beautiful Ballads & Love Songs and Sinatra At the Movies.
A beautiful CD to enjoy forever and a day.
His Way June 11, 2008
On May 13th the U. S. Postal Service issued a commemorative stamp honoring Frank Sinatra on the 10th anniversary of his death. A week later, Sinatra was at number two on the Billboard 200 thanks to a new 22-song compilation called Nothing but the Best.
One can easily quibble as to whether or not this CD really contains the best of Ol' Blue Eyes--it only covers his work for Reprise, the label he founded himself, from the `60s onward. Nonetheless, it's a marvelous sampling that highlights many of the musical peaks from the third half of his career.
There are the obvious monster hits: the poignant "It Was a Very Good Year," issued as the singer turned 50 in 1965; "Strangers in the Night," with its silly "dooby dooby doo" coda from 1966; the Dean Martin-ish "That's Life" from the same year; the ultimate statement from the Chairman of the Board, Paul Anka's "My Way" from '68; the last biggie, his cover of the theme from "New York, New York," released in 1979.
Those are all well remembered milestones in pop music's final showdown with rock and roll. Timeless, swingin' performances of "Luck Be a Lady," "Nothing but the Best," "The Way You Look Tonight" and "My Kind of Town" are among the finest of his career. And few musical moments can match his teaming-ups with the Basie band, represented here by the smoldering "The Best is Yet to Come" and the groovin' "Fly Me to the Moon."
Compared to the smooth perfection of his `50s Capitol recordings, Frankie's voice has a smokier depth on these tracks, with just a hint of gravelly roughness. But the entertainer's ability to inhabit the lyrics and literally define the melodies presents the artist as master of his craft.
There is one previously unreleased cut-and-paste take, "Body and Soul," with a vocal from 1984 grafted onto an orchestral arrangement laid down in 2007. There's also the aptly titled "Somethin' Stupid" duet with daughter Nancy, a kitsch classic.
I can only imagine how difficult it was to sift the finished product down to a single-disc package--for instance, the inclusion of just one song ("The Girl from Ipanema") from the magnificent album Sinatra did in `67 with Antonio Carlos Jobim must've been a particularly tough call. Even so, Nothing but the Best succeeds in presenting Hoboken's most famous native son in top form.
While one can partially attribute this disc's sales success to the public's hunger for memorable songs in an era where melody seems to have vanished from popular music, it is also a statement confirming the lasting power of America's greatest "saloon singer."
copyright 2008 Jim Newsom/Port Folio Weekly. Used by Permission.
Originally published in Port Folio Weekly 6/10/08.
Great Memories Of Days gone by. June 9, 2008
This CD contains some of the greatest song by a great musician - when we play it seems like he's in my living room. Way to go "OL'Blue Eyes"
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