Unlimited Music Downloads – Download Music And Music Videos Online For Free

Frank Sinatra And Nelson Riddle: How It Happened

Frank Sinatra is rightful known today as an entertainment icon, but many forget that there was a time when he was just another washed up teen idol trying to reinvent himself artistically and revive his career. After his teen idol stardom ended, Sinatra went through a rough period that he described as ‘all Monday’s’ when his personal life was in shambles, his professional prospects non-existent and his financial status in ruin.

To make things even worse, his bosses at Columbia Records were mis-managing his talent in an ill-advised effort to make him a ‘novelty singer’. This included a short lived pairing with Mitch Miller–the very low point of which was a horrible record called ‘Mama Will Bark’. Here the greatest voice of the 20th Century recorded a duet with a busty actress named Dagmar and a dog impersonator barking and howling in the background. These records were poorly received by the public–not a surprise in retrospect–and in 1952 Columbia Records dumped Sinatra.

In 1953, June Hutton and Jo Stafford brought him to the attention of Capitol Records A&R man Dave Dexter, Jr. This led to a deal with the label, which began an era that many ‘Sinatra-philes’ consider his best work. Frank worked with Axel Stordahl (June Hutton’s husband, with whom he had worked at Columbia) and these sessions produced some decent recordings, including “I’m Walking Behind You” and “Lean Baby”, but nothing incredibly significant. Dexter wanted Frank to try something different, and with Stordahl leaving to accept a job with Eddie Fisher in New York, he agreed reluctantly to a pairing with Nelson Riddle.

To say that the first Sinatra/Riddle session was a success is an understatement, and “I’ve Got The World On The String” is somewhat of a ‘shot heard round the world’ for Sinatra’s career and popular music in general. The Ted Kohler/Harold Arlen song is given new vibrancy with Riddle’s buoyant arrangement and Sinatra’s new found vocal maturity. The song was a modest commercial success at the time, reaching #14 on the single charts, but became a classic. It was also a favorite of Sinatra himself, and he continued to perform the song live, frequently as a show opener, for the rest of his life.

When examined in a modern context, Sinatra’s career ‘reinvention’ is almost mind boggling. It’s difficult to envision a star of today popular with the teenage set–like The Jonas Brothers for example–becoming accepted as a serious vocalist for adults. Sinatra not only became a critical and popular sensation, but would go down in history as arguably the most important entertainer ever in American popular culture. None of this would have happened were it not for the magical pairing of Sinatra with Nelson Riddle.

Posted in Music | No Comments »

Frank Sinatra Goes Bossa Nova With Antonio Carlos Jobim

One of the frequently heard criticisms of Frank Sinatras work is that he was essentially a one trick pony. He is often accused of not being a technically adept vocalist, and simply reworking a formula over and over again. While Sinatra certainly knew what worked for him, and what kind of songs and arrangements he liked this assertion is patently unfair and displays a profound ignorance of the entire body of his work. If you dig deeper in the Sinatra oeuvre, youll find some amazing examples of vocal prowess. Perhaps his best work in this regard came from his collaboration with legendary Brazilian guitarist Antonio Carlos Jobim.

Jobim is often credited with popularizing Bossa Nova music outside of Brazil. He worked with Sinatra on an album of samba tinged standards entitled Francis Albert Sinatra and Antonio Carlos Jobim. The work was a critical and commercial success, and Sinatra would hold Jobim in very high regard for the rest of his life”both as a musician and as a friend. After Jobim entered a semi-retirement in the 1970s and 1980s where he did little collaboration with other artists, Sinatra would often introduce his performances of Jobim songs live by remembering his Brazilian colleague in very fond terms or expressing the hope that the two men could work together in the future.

“Wave”, written by Jobim and arranged by Eumir Deodato, is arguably the best of all of the Sinatra/Jobim collaborations. It features some great singing by Sinatra, including perhaps the lowest notes ever recorded by “The Voice”. Years later, during his periods of ‘retirement’ it is said that Sinatra would listen to “Wave” just to hear how good he sounds hitting the bass notes.

This song was to have been a featured track on a second collection of Sinatra/Jobim collaborations, but for some inexplicable reason it was never released as such. The story that has circulated over the years is that the Sinatra/Jobim album was all set to be released, and for some reason it was put on the back burner so that Reprise could release the concept album “Watertown” instead. As an artistic decision, it’s tough to fathom the rationale if this is the case. “Watertown” sold fewer copies than any other Sinatra release on Reprise, and to call it an “acquired taste” is being charitable. Another story is that Sinatra himself nixed the release because he didn’t like the cover art. The braintrust that came up with the idea of photographing the Chairman of the Board wearing a windbreaker and standing in front of a Greyhound bus could have been responsible for depriving the world of a second sublime collection of Sinatra with a bossa nova twist.

“Wave”, along with the majority of the songs intended for the “Sinatra/Jobim” album finally surfaced on “Sinatra and Company” in 1970. The “b” side is some of Sinatra’s ill-fated attempts to cover popular songs of the day (“Close To You”, It’s Not Easy Being Green”, “Leaving On A Jet Plane”). These are recordings that even the most devoted Sinatra-philes collect for the sake of completing a collection only, and a stark contrast to the masterful work with Jobim on the album’s “A” side. “Wave” also appeared on the Reprise box set and of course of the “Complete Reprise Recordings” suitcase collection.

Will Friedwald, in his book on Sinatra’s music “Sinatra: The Song Is You” described the songs from the Sinatra/Jobim sessions as having “flexibility and delicacy, as if they could be blown about by a soft Brazilian breeze”. They remain among the most listenable and romantic work of Sinatra’s epic career, as well as representing perhaps his finest vocal effort.

Posted in Music | No Comments »

Best Games for PS3

With console gaming, one does not only want a superior system equipped with the best graphics or the best processor, or console to heighten their gaming experience. What is comes down to in the end is having an excellent selection of games available that the gamers can really enjoy.

If you are the owner of a PS3 gaming system, you are most likely thinking of what kinds of games to buy to have fun with your gaming unit and to experience the various advancements that the PS3 has to offer. They have powerful processors that are fitted with multiple core chips, enhanced motion sensitive console, and awesome graphics.

In order to find excellent games for your PS3 console, the best thing to do is to go back to the fundamentals of the gaming system, which will allow you to see its strengths and weaknesses and that will lead you to suitable games.

In regards to gaming, one of the strengths of the PS3 is the much-anticipated Reality Synthesizer Graphics Processing Unit. This new GPU has been created in joint effort with one of the biggest leaders of the graphic processing industry, Nvidia. This means that one gets images that seem like they come from the real world. Games that simulate reality such as the Getaway 3 will look spectacular in the PS3.

Other games that are well-suited to the PS3 are those that require sensitive gaming consoles. In keeping with the developments in the gaming world, Sony reformulated its console from the Dual Shock Controller to the Sixaxis controller. The shock that has irked many users has been removed and replaced instead with a controller that can detect six motion types. This means that you have greater control over your game.

Playing racing games with the Sixaxis controller is great because of the newly enriched capability to use your own movements as control for the game. You are simply able to move your controller to the left and in that way be able to move your virtual steering wheel in the same direction as well.

Knowing the basics of how to select the best PS3 game for yourself, you can now examine some of the most favored games of other gamers. Grand Theft Auto IV is one of the most popular games played on the PS3. One of the biggest improvements is the changed Liberty City, which looks better visually than in previous game versions.

An additional feature of Grand Theft Auto IV is that it comes with multi-player functions that allows up to sixteen different players to race through the city. With a better storyline, which now includes a well-written script, that is very humorous.

Metal Gear Solid 4 is another of the best games that can be played on your PS3. The game comes with a great shooting and stealth mechanics that allows players to really immerse themselves in the game. Also, the game comes equipped with one of the most compelling storytelling that a game has yet to present, and is equipped with excellent audio and visuals.

With these tips to choosing and recommended games, you can start truly enjoying your PS3 unit right after the period.

Posted in Music | No Comments »