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KEELY SMITH
Keely Sings Sinatra (Concord Jazz)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale
This album was conceived and recorded during Frank Sinatra's final months, and when it was complete, Keely Smith withheld it to avoid being lumped into the flood of "tributes" that exploited his passing. This was, after all, a project that had the Chairman's blessing, including his input into track selection and his assessment of the cuts he heard before his death. Keely Smith, who joined Louis Prima's band as a girl singer in her teens, had been a Sinatra friend for nearly 50 years, and did not want to dampen the heartfelt affection that these recordings reflected with an untimely release.
Well, the time is right and the album is right on. Accompanied by drummer Frankie Capp's 33 piece big band, Smith has gathered up 18 songs from the Sinatra book, along with some incidental material that includes birthday wishes to Sinatra from the band (the recordings commenced on his last birthday) and an introduction and closing tribute from Frank Sinatra, Jr. Smith's vocals are as strong today at 68 as they were when the Rat Pack would catch her and Prima in the late show in the Sahara lounge in the 50s. With a set of arrangements (including a quartet by Billy May) designed to evoke the sound of Sinatra in a Vegas showroom and her stellar chops, Keely Smith has made a tribute album in the finest sense of the term.
Though she can appropriate Sinatra's phrasing seemingly at will, she brings her own perspective to much of the material, especially to the ballads, which have always been her particular strong suit. On last year's "comeback" release, Swing, Swing, Swing, she reprised some of the hard swing and jump blues associated with Prima, and did so credibly, but the music on Keely Sings Sinatra is generally better suited to her talents.
It's a joy to find Keely Smith active again, and an even greater joy to find that her talents are undiminished, even enhanced, with the passing of time. Keely Sings Sinatra is a credit to both of the artists in the title.
Track List:
Intro * South Of The Border * I've Got A Crush On You * Night And Day * A Lovely Way To Spend An Evening * Come Rain Or Come Shine * The Music Stopped * I'll Never Smile Again/Dream * I've Got You Under My Skin * Angel Eyes * Happy Birthday, Frank * New York, New York * Without A Song * All The Way * This Love Of Mine * Until The Real Thing Comes Along * Goodbye * It Was A Very Good Year * My Way * Closing Tribute
© 2001 - Shaun Dale