2015 is the 100th anniversary of the birth of Frank Sinatra.  As a result, there are documentaries, books, re-releases of movies, and, of course, the heart of Sinatra’s fame, his music.  “Ultimate Sinatra” is a four CD release that divides his work up into four eras: The Big Band Years from 1939-1942, The Columbia Years from 1943 to 1952, The Capitol Years from 1953-1962, and 1993-1994, and The Reprise Years from 1960 to 1988.

 

Sinatra got his start as a band singer and his earliest recordings were with the Harry James and Tom Dorsey Orchestras.  His career as a single recording artist began in 1942 and continued with Columbia Records.  When Mitch Miller became the head of Columbia, there was a clash of musical visions and with his career on the downward slide; he re-invented himself on Capitol Records with his “concept” albums and his partnership with Nelson Riddle.

           

In the sixties, he wanted more control of his recordings and was the first major artist to create his own label, Reprise, where he released such hits as “Fly Me to the Moon,” “It Was a Very Good Year,” “That’s Life” and “New York, New York” all of which can be heard on the fourth CD in “Ultimate Sinatra.”

           

Accompanied by an eighty page booklet packed with pictures and comments from those who worked with him such as Nelson Riddle, Don Costa, Jimmy Van Heusen, Nancy Sinatra, and Quincy Jones, the collection begins with “All or Nothing at All” recorded with Harry James and his Orchestra in 1939 and ends with an unreleased rehearsal version of “The Surrey with the Fringe on Top” recorded in 1979.

           

In between there are the hits such as “My Way,” “One for My Baby,” “High Hopes,” “The Tender Trap,” “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” “Witchcraft,” “Nancy With the Laughing Face,” “I’ll Never Smile Again,” “Angel Eyes,” and “Strangers in the Night.”  And some lesser known, but just as vintage Sinatra performances including “I Concentrate on You” with Antonio Carlos Jobim, “I Get Along Without You Very Well,” “How Little We Know,” “A Cottage for Sale,” and “The World We Knew.”

           

Sinatra fans will enjoy this collection while those who only know some of the major hits will get a chance to discover his art spread over five decades.