History will see this from different angles. The Reprise sessions aren't as dynamic or as memorable as the Capitol or even some of the later Columbia's but I love these two.
8. Sinatra Sings Great Songs from Great Britain. Reprise 1962 arr. Bob Farnon.
Farnon, one of the great British (actually Canadian although he did work in GB for many years) arrangers, never quite hit the jackpot for Sinatra like Riddle or Stordahl did. Farnon's forte was the light, flighty orchestral pieces that were ever a feature of afternoon broadcasts on the BBC Light Programme and, although many of his contemporaries considered him as amongst the greatest composers/arrangers ever, I'm keeping my options open.
What is beautiful about this album is the material. Eleven songs composed by British composers that bear comparison with their American counterparts.
Garden in the Rain is terrific and is credited to Carroll Gibbons - 'ang on, wasn't Gibbons born in Massachusetts? Poetic licence I suppose as he was resident bandleader at the Savoy Hotel in London for many years which, back then, was second only to being Master of the Queen's Music at Buck House. It's a great tune, a great track and, had Sinatra been British would have probably earned him a knighthood or at least breakfast with a minor royal.
Only our man from Hoboken could have thought up such a conception - it would have been lunacy to think otherwise but, 'ang on, didn't Mel Tormé have the same idea five years earlier when he recorded Swingin' on the Moon?
Damn! Mel's album blows Frank's into outer space! Well, Mel did have Marty Paich in his corner and Don Fagerquist and Bud Shank blow some tasty solos...
Still I guess musical bigamy is acceptable!
Lance
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