As the repository of the earliest phase of
Frank Sinatra's solo career, 1943-1952, Columbia Records is usually thought to be at a disadvantage against the more accomplished work the singer recorded for Capitol Records and his own Reprise imprint. But in two albums released on the same day in 2003,
Sinatra Sings Cole Porter and
Sinatra Sings Gershwin, Columbia's Legacy division expands on its studio recordings of
Sinatra by borrowing airchecks from the collection of Charles L. Granata, and thereby improves its holdings.
Sinatra would not seem at first blush to be the ideal interpreter of
Porter, if only because his rough-and-tumble background is always visible beneath his careful intonation, while
Porter's lyrics are redolent of wealth and comic condescension. But
Sinatra sang "Night and Day" in his first solo session in 1942 and went on to perform
Porter throughout his career, often achieving near-definitive readings. The ground on which they met was intellectual rather than social:
Porter was at heart a wit, and
Sinatra understood the jokes, while emphasizing what emotional content there was, giving it a greater sincerity than the songwriter might have intended. This collection effectively mixes a bunch of studio recordings with previously unreleased radio performances that find
Sinatra ranging over many different
Porter moods. The singer can be appropriately smoldering on "I Concentrate on You" just after turning in a version of "Don't Fence Me In" for Your Hit Parade that captures its rambunctious mood even as he stumbles over the rapid-fire lyrics and shouts, "Too many words!" Equally playful (and wordy) is his duet with
Rosemary Clooney on "Cherry Pies Ought to Be You," a piece of
Porter patter that should be known better. This album is an excellent addition to Columbia's underrated
Sinatra archive and a gift to the singer's fans. The sound quality is iffy on some of these aging tracks, but the material makes the release worthwhile. ~ William Ruhlmann