Sinatra - The Classic Duets (2003) Review

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(More customer reviews)Let's face it. The greatest entertainer-artist of the 20th century was no match for the diminutive television screen, which seemed made to order for the non-threatening, comfortably regular visits of Perry, Andy, and Dino. Nor was he especially suited for singing duets (give the advantage to the adaptable Bing). Nevertheless, these highlights from Sinatra's short-lived '50's television series are admittedly welcome watching, especially for those of us who remember the original moments.
Perhaps the most successful of all the duets is Cole's "You're the Top," with Frank and the brassy Ethel Merman. Hers is one of the few voices that stands up to the incisive edge in the Chairman's timbre.
While the performances here are more "classic" than those from Sinatra's two "Duets" albums from the nineties, the relative brevity of the program (it would easily fit on a CD) raises the question of why the producers of this DVD didn't include any of the solo performances from the same series. And the interspersed commentary by Nancy, Tina, and Frank Jr., while palatable and diverting, is predictable and uninformative ("Dad enjoyed working with Elvis," "Sammy always brought out the best in Dad").
If you're looking for Sinatra on television, a better bet is the specials (with Ella, Jobim, Diahann Carroll) from the 60's and 70's. Or, if you can swing it, the complete programs from which these highlights were extracted.

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Frank Sinatra "Classic Duets" features an incredible roster of many of the greatest and most influential jazz and pop singers of all time. Compiled from SinatraTV specials that originally aired between 1957-1960, this highly collectable program includes complete musical performances and special interviews and commentary from the Sinatra family, Tina, Nancy and Frank Sinatra Jr.Highlights include Frank Sinatra performing with Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, Louis Armstrong, Dean Martin, Bing Crosby,Lena Horne, Nancy Sinatra, Elvis Presley and more.

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