Читать книгу The Mojo Collection - Various Mojo Magazine - Страница 22

Record label: Capitol

Produced: Voyle Gilmore

Recorded: Capitol Studios, Hollywood; autumn 1957

Released: November 1958

Chart peaks: 2 (UK) 1 (US)

Personnel: Frank Sinatra (v); Billy May (ar, conductor). Orchestra includes Alvin Stoller (d); Skits Herbert (clarinet, s)

Track listing: Come Fly With Me; Around The World; Isle Of Capri; Moonlight In Vermont; Autumn In New York; On The Road To Mandalay; Let’s Get Away From It All; April In Paris; London By Night; Brazil; Blue Hawaii; It’s Nice To Go Trav’ling

Running time: 38.46

Current CD: Capitol CAP960872

Further listening: Follow-up Come Dance With Me (1959) was doubly driving and almost as good but Come Swing With Me (1961) was contractual obligation work of an artist keen to leave Capitol. Francis A And Edward K, the 1967 May–Ellington collaboration on Reprise, however, was majestic.

Further reading: Sinatra! The Song Is You: A Singer’s Art (Will Friedwald, 1995); www.franksinatra.com

Download: iTunes

As heaven-made as the Nelson Riddle/Frank Sinatra partnership was, Frank was unwilling to be too closely identified with one arranger and turned to Billy May for his travelogue album Come Fly With Me, the first of his themed records that weren’t to do with love, loss or swingin’. Working with May was likened by Sinatra to having a ‘bucket of cold water thrown in your face’, so vibrant was the Fat Man’s presence. May was already famous for his albums of exotic orchestral work featuring trademark slurping saxes and elaborate percussion and some of that colourful stuff was imported none-too-seriously onto tracks like Isle Of Capri and Brazil, on which arranger and singer are clearly having a ball. However, May had a reputation as the most versatile arranger in Hollywood and the range of his work on this one album is proof enough. Autumn In New York and Moonlight In Vermont rank among the best Sinatra ballads ever, with their sighing-for-exotic-lands arrangements and Frank in hyperaware interpretative form while Come Fly With Me is art-swing of a very high order, from the take-off expectancy of the intro to the mysterious shimmer-in-the-clouds of the final string colour. May’s favourite was the Victor Young waltz Around The World: ‘That’s a beautiful tune, and Frank sang the shit out of it too. Boy! He’s really a good singer.’

But perhaps the most startling piece is the Rudyard Kipling-inspired On The Road To Mandalay. Banned from the UK issue of the album by Kipling’s daughter (‘How dare she?’ bitched Sinatra at a 1958 concert, ‘Of course, she drinks a little bit so we’ll forgive her’), it has a bizarre ending (‘And the dawn comes up like thunder!’) that sounds like someone has prematurely lifted the needle. Originally there was a gong followed by another half-chorus, but saxist Skits Herbert recalled that ‘Billy just kind of waved his hands to signal “Don’t say anything.” And instead of going on, Frank put on his hat and threw his coat over his shoulder, like he does, and walked out of the studio! We all laughed like mad. That was the way they put it out.’