A collection of Frank Sinatra music cds and videos as well as compilation of his greatest hits.
Encouraged by the massive sales of 1993′s Duets, Capitol went back to the well a year later for a sequel. The pairings are a little more inspired this time around, with Willie Nelson (“A Foggy Day”), Lena Horne (“Embraceable You”), Chrissie Hynde (“Luck Be a Lady”) and Antonio Carlos Jobim (“Fly Me to the Moon”) all turning in satisfying performances. Unfortunately, there’s also a heaping helping of forgettable cuts (including duets with Luis Miguel, Jimmy Buffett, Jon Secada, and Lorrie Morgan), and Phil Ramone’s arrangements continue to grate. And the overwrought duet with Neil Diamond on “The House Live In (That’s America to Me)” has to be heard to be believed. Hardly a necessary addition to your Sinatra collection. –Dan Epstein
If you thought "Duets" was embarrassing, wait until you hear this equally fraudulent 1994 sequel. Perhaps the concept might have worked if Frank Sinatra shared studio time with his fellow artists - instead of relying on electronic deception. Perhaps it was too late for the aging Voice to rise to the occasion. Perhaps if Sinatra were in his prime, he might have selected more compatible singing partners than Neil Diamond, Willie Nelson and Jimmy Buffett. (On the other hand, an entire album with Frank and Chrissie Hynde could have been a real blast.) Not surprisingly, the tone-deaf Grammy committee gave "Duets II" a 1995 award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance - the same organization that honored Alvin and the Chipmunks more than Elvis Presley! Though Sinatra's final studio album managed to sell another million copies, it added nothing to his remarkable legacy. -- More Karaoke With Sinatra
good but not as good as the first one because of the song selections and I had not heard of some of the artists Sinatra was singing with. -- How I feel about Duets II
I bought this Duets II because I always liked Frank Sinatra. In this case, I was especially interested in listening as many times as I want to Come Fly With Me, duet recorded with my favorite singer: Luis Miguel. It is a fresh, clean, both with voices of this great song. It leaves me with a happy feeling. I recommend this CD to those persons who enjoy variety, it contains other songs sung with other artists and all of the interpretations are worth the money paid for it. I hope Luis Miguel soon decides to record in English and allow other people to enjoy of his great voice and interpretative talent. Thanks. A. Cortes -- Duets II - Frank Sinatra and invited artists
Love Sinatra and most of the song selections. But, as others have said, the (so-called) "duets" have a few problems--some related to the concept of mixing two singers' separate recordings together and some related to Sinatra being at the end of his career.
Re: the first problem, personally I disagree with the Amazon.com review by Dan Epstein. Generally, I preferred the singers who made an effort to sing WITH Frank (for example, Luis Miguel, Frank Jr.) than those who seemed to be trying to harmonize or jazz it up without any cooperation from their partner (Patti LaBelle, Gladys Knight). The music director should have had a firm hand--really guided the actual production of MUSIC, not just the mixes--especially as Frank recorded first, and alone. I know he supposedly chose all the song partners, but I'm not at all sure that he knew (or perhaps, cared) whom he was going to be paired with at the time he sang the song. (I think it sounds like he thought about the partner on a FEW songs--like "Fly Me to the Moon" with Joabim. But on many others...no). If so, that's really really unfortunate.
On some of the "duets" I also wondered how familiar the other singers had gotten with the lyrics, arrangement and Sinatra's vocals before recording. Because for some, the answer seemed, "Not very". I think there was a lot of "record the whole thing and let them fix it as a duet later in the studio." The orchestral accompaniment is precise and amazingly executed, technically. Creative/stylistically, the blending of vocal styles is not so impressive.
Some, like Linda Ronstadt, out-sang him, but also seemed to be doing their own recording, just like Sinatra was. (even though, knowing her work ethic, I'm sure Ronstadt was very familiar with his version). He sounds pretty weary on parts, and its possible she was just trying to boost the musicality and cover the weaknesses (which, on "Moonlight in Vermont", were many).
I give some credit to those like Luis Miguel who actually sang along WITH Sinatra (well, after the fact) rather than repeating or echoing/backphrasing as so many others did.
And Steve Lawrence/Edyie Gorme also tried to cover for his vocal limits, especially with Steve's similar-ish voice bringing a bit more on-key robustness and Edyie injecting some needed vitality.
Which leads to Problem #2: Sinatra. He sounds old in some songs (such as the Lena Horne duet) and weary. He talks his way through at least 60% of the lyrics. Sometimes this adds a little poignancy to a song and doesn't really detract too much. Other times, you wish the mixers who decided which parts to leave in from which singers had left a few more of his out.
Special mention to the pairing of Frank and Frank Jr. on "My Kind of Town". I don't know what happened to Frank Sr. on this recording but he's got some voice and, suddenly, great vitality. Since Frank Jr. is a fine stylist in his own right (and understands his father's style, including its affect from aging, so well) their duet actually "swings" and is quite fascinating for the vocal blend that seems like a similar but different Sinatra dueting with himself. Frank Jr. saves the song and makes his father shine in a way that no one else did on this CD.
As for the concept, some songs work and some don't but they just aren't "duets". They are "mixes". I think that would have been a better title, since this CD is really as much a result of technology and editing as it is actual singing. If it always worked, I wouldn't really care. But, imo, it just doesn't (My opinion didn't keep it from becoming #9 on Billboard, though).
Some good moments with some other legendary performers (and a nifty cover painting by Leroy Neiman), but musically just extremely inconsistent. -- Not Bad, But Justifiably Controversial
I bought this CD for the "Mack the Knife" adaptation by Frank Sinatra and Jimmy Buffett. It was not possible to find the single available on its own, so at least the price of the whole CD wasn't too much. The other songs aren't bad, but I wouldn't have gotten them if I didn't have to. -- Good compilation, really only wanted one song.
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