Frank Sinatra - Nice 'n' Easy (2020 Mix)

[mjzee]

Release date June 5:

In celebration of the 60th Anniversary of Frank Sinatra's Nice 'n' Easy, the album will be remastered and released on June 5th. Features the original 12 tracks like "The Nearness of You", as well as full sessions of "I've Got A Crush on You" and "Nice 'n' Easy" that include previously unreleased alternate takes and reveals Sinatra studio chatter.

[JSngry]

That's one of my Favorite Frank Records, bar none. Gorgeous arrangements, impeccable vocals, damn near perfect in every way.

Don't know how into it at this point I would be to go in for all this, but it's a damn great record, and if you've never heard any Sinatra session tapes, you owe it to yourself to remedy that. All the talk about how the guy could hear everything and make adjustments (including/especially to his own place in the chart) on the fly is totally legit. I have played other such session tapes for people who thought that all that talk was hype, and they've all pulled it back, like WHOA! Ok, yeah, alright, I GET it now. Taste is of course subjective, but skills be skills, period.

Hell, I'm talking myself into buying it. STOP!!!!

Oh hell yeah, just 1 CD at a good price? The one have now done been clicked.

https://www.amazon.com/Nice-n-Easy-2020-Mix/dp/B0863VPRRK

[gmonahan]

There's a wonderful section in the second volume of Kaplan's massive biography where Sinatra has hired Johnny Mandel to arrange the first album for Reprise, and Mandel describes working with Sinatra in the studio. In particular, he remembers with crystal clarity that Sinatra could listen to a complex arrangement once and know exactly what he was going to do with it, making detailed suggestions--well, orders--so it would be perfect. Pp. 358-362, if anyone is interested. I guess I'll get this one at some point. I have everything else.....

 

 

gregmo

[JSngry]

29 minutes ago, gmonahan said:

There's a wonderful section in the second volume of Kaplan's massive biography where Sinatra has hired Johnny Mandel to arrange the first album for Reprise, and Mandel describes working with Sinatra in the studio. In particular, he remembers with crystal clarity that Sinatra could listen to a complex arrangement once and know exactly what he was going to do with it, making detailed suggestions--well, orders--so it would be perfect. Pp. 358-362, if anyone is interested. I guess I'll get this one at some point. I have everything else.....

 

 

gregmo

That's the Rinaadiningadinkadoo record, right?

Some pretty comprehensive sessiontapes are out there for those, and yeah, amazing to listen to, not as a "record", but just as work.

And he was harder on himself than he was on anybody else.

[Big Beat Steve]

9 minutes ago, JSngry said:

That's the Rinaadiningadinkadoo record, right?

 

That doesn't quite sound like Frank Sinatra but more like Jimmy Durante.

[gmonahan]

Well, Jim *was* close! Just being goofy! It is Ring-a-Ding-Ding. Which, even unchanged, is a silly name for a pretty good album! 

 

 

Edited May 9, 2020 by gmonahan

[Teasing the Korean]

I have lots and lots of Sinatra, but I never fully gave this album a chance. I always lumped it with the final Capitol contractual obligation albums. I need to spin it soon.

[JSngry]

45 minutes ago, Teasing the Korean said:

I have lots and lots of Sinatra, but I never fully gave this album a chance. I always lumped it with the final Capitol contractual obligation albums. I need to spin it soon.

noooooo,,,,,

Point Of No Return is the only one of those that even comes close (and it comes pretty close on some tracks).

[Teasing the Korean]

2 hours ago, JSngry said:

noooooo,,,,,

Point Of No Return is the only one of those that even comes close (and it comes pretty close on some tracks).

I'll spin it this weekend and report back.

[Teasing the Korean]

On 5/9/2020 at 7:40 PM, gmonahan said:

Well, Jim *was* close! Just being goofy! It is Ring-a-Ding-Ding. Which, even unchanged, is a silly name for a pretty good album! 

Both "Ring a Ding" and "Swingin' Brass" (with Neal Hefti) easily rank among my 10 favorite Sinatra albums, and they may even crack the top 5, depending on my mood that day. 

Edited May 12, 2020 by Teasing the Korean

[Teasing the Korean]

This was one of six or seven Sinatra albums my Dad owned. For some reason, I spun this less than the others, and as a result, I'm less familiar with it. 

There are a few reasons: First, the cover art always looked cheap, especially coming from a label known for its gorgeous cover art. Second, I was somewhat put off by the cutesy title tune. (Sammy Cahn runs hot and cold for me; I am happy to discuss in a separate post if anyone cares.) And third, I found out later that this was one of the final four Capitol albums, all recorded after Reprise was established or at least in motion. 

So yesterday, I listened to "Nice n Easy" for the first time in probably decades, skipping the title track, forgetting the lousy cover art, and attempting to receive it as the concept album it was originally meant to be. 

It was interesting to hear a Sinatra album of all ballads celebrating love rather than mourning its loss. "Close to You" is the only other Capitol album in this category, and even that contains a few tunes with a love lost theme. 

Sinatra seems to be in good voice here.  Nelson, on the other hand, feels like he is collecting a paycheck. Nothing wrong with his arrangements, but they are not really inspired either. Lots of footballs in the string and woodwind charts. The few times the arranging caught my attention, he seemed to be referencing a previous arrangement in a less effective manner.

The best tracks for me are "That Old Feeling," "Fools Rush In," "She's Funny That Way," and "Mam'selle."

Overall, I would say that this is a good album, but lacking the electricity and excitement of his best albums. If I had an hour to kill in a bar and this was playing, I would be grateful, but I probably wouldn't reach for it at home. 

Where would I rank it among Frank's vast catalog? Middle of the pack. And among Frank's Capitol albums? When you eliminate the comps, the musicals, and the Christmas album, there are 15 Capitol albums. I would easily place this in the bottom third. That ranking says less about this album's liabilities than the others' strengths. 

Finally, I will add that among those last four Capitol albums, my favorite by far is "Point of No Return," with Axel Stordahl, although all four albums have their peaks. But I think Frank's energies at that point were directed to his early Reprise albums. 

 

Edited May 17, 2020 by Teasing the Korean

[JSngry]

1 hour ago, Teasing the Korean said:

...the concept album it was originally meant to be. 

It was interesting to hear a Sinatra album of all ballads celebrating love rather than mourning its loss.

That is the concept!

Riddle's just fine here, imo. Footballs, yeah, but, so? It works with those tempos and those songs, and it totally is in sync with the concept. If it's Joe Comfort on bass, his time, his pocket, is exactly where it needs to be for those tempos (and those "in-between" tempos are the toughest, always). This record has a pocket!

I think it's a great album, really, or if you don't want to do great, then unique. It's Sinatra at the peak of his vocal prowess, with absolutely zero angst, bluster, or brashness.

It is nice, it is easy, and against possibly all (and at least some) odds, it's musically and emotionally rich because of that, not in spite of it.

[Teasing the Korean]

7 minutes ago, JSngry said:

That is the concept!

Riddle's just fine here, imo. Footballs, yeah, but, so? It works with those tempos and those songs, and it totally is in sync with the concept. If it's Joe Comfort on bass, his time, his pocket, is exactly where it needs to be for those tempos (and those "in-between" tempos are the toughest, always). This record has a pocket!

I think it's a great album, really, or if you don't want to do great, then unique. It's Sinatra at the peak of his vocal prowess, with absolutely zero angst, bluster, or brashness.

It is nice, it is easy, and against possibly all (and at least some) odds, it's musically and emotionally rich because of that, not in spite of it.

I get what the concept is, but the concept was watered down with the title track. 

Nelson's arrangements are fine but IMO not even close to his work on "Swingin' Affair" or "Wee Small Hours."

[JSngry]

1 hour ago, Teasing the Korean said:

Nelson's arrangements are fine but IMO not even close to his work on "Swingin' Affair" or "Wee Small Hours."

I think they're better, actually. Obviously not as obviously brilliant, but...they're perfect for the set.

Sacrilege time - I think that Wee Small Hours is an immature record for Sinatra, all things considered. I mean, I get it, but it sounds immature emotionally to me, like he's still "acting" the songs rather than getting the all the way out of the gut like he later would. It's Only The Lonely for people who find Only The Lonely too dark. That would not be me.

Swingin' Affair is fine, of course, but Sinatra "swinging" is always going to come with qualifications of one kind or another. Sinatra singing ballads will not.

[Teasing the Korean]

12 minutes ago, JSngry said:

I think they're better, actually. Obviously not as obviously brilliant, but...they're perfect for the set.

Sacrilege time - I think that Wee Small Hours is an immature record for Sinatra, all things considered. I mean, I get it, but it sounds immature emotionally to me, like he's still "acting" the songs rather than getting the all the way out of the gut like he later would. It's Only The Lonely for people who find Only The Lonely too dark. That would not be me.

Swingin' Affair is fine, of course, but Sinatra "swinging" is always going to come with qualifications of one kind or another. Sinatra singing ballads will not.

We all have our preferences. Spinning this album yesterday reminded me of why it has been collecting dust for so long. Between Capitol and Reprise, there are probably 25 Sinatra albums I will reach for before "Nice n Easy." It is a good album for what it is, but it just doesn't do it for me.

[JSngry]

3 minutes ago, Teasing the Korean said:

We all have our preferences. Spinning this album yesterday reminded me of why it has been collecting dust for so long. Between Capitol and Reprise, there are probably 25 Sinatra albums I will reach for before "Nice n Easy." It is a good album for what it is, but it just doesn't do it for me.

25 is a bit high for me? It's in my top 10(ish). Not Top 5, though.

I'm with you on Point Of No Return, though, that one is quite good, and seemingly woefully underrated. Stordahl creates a nifty parallel universe for a Capital Sinatra World that is meatier than Jenkins, softer-edged than Riddle, and Billy May not even in the equation (thankfully).

That's one of those things that is easy to yawn on unless/untill you start paying attenttion to the detais, and then it's like oh, yeah. really?

[Teasing the Korean]

4 minutes ago, JSngry said:

25 is a bit high for me? It's in my top 10(ish). Not Top 5, though.

I'm with you on Point Of No Return, though, that one is quite good, and seemingly woefully underrated. Stordahl creates a nifty parallel universe for a Capital Sinatra World that is meatier than Jenkins, softer-edged than Riddle, and Billy May not even in the equation (thankfully).

That's one of those things that is easy to yawn on unless/untill you start paying attenttion to the detais, and then it's like oh, yeah. really?

OK, 25 is a little high, maybe more like 18 or 20 for me.

Completely agree with your assessment of the space Stordahl may have musically occupied with Sinatra in the 1950s. I suppose we are fortunate to have that one album, considering that Stordahl was dying of cancer and Frank had all but tossed in the towel on his Capitol sessions by that point. 

Years ago, in another thread, you'd asked about the arranger behind Peggy Lee's TV performance of "Baubles, Bangles, and Beads." I indicated that it was Stordhal, and that he basically used that same arrangement on his 1960 instrumental "Jasmine and Jade" LP on Dot. That is a gorgeous album, and it has since been posted on YouTube. "Baubles" comes in at around the 2:38 mark.

 

[Teasing the Korean]

It is interesting in retrospect that for those final few Capitol albums, Sinatra didn't knock out a piano session  with Suntan Charlie, or a jazzy session with Red Norvo. 

Also interesting that they never paired Sinatra with George Shearing.