First purchased a copy of this LP back in the early eighties now scratched to hell, have been searching for a copy on CD for a number of years and now my joy is complete. The title track sounds as good, if not better, than it did all those years ago. L A's answer to
New York New York and my all time favourite version of the 'standard' they call 'Mack the Knife'
The man from Hoboken NJ certainly cuts all the right grooves on this album along with the tightest production & arrangements from the great Quincy Jones. Some would say not as good as his classic years, then who is or was. It doesn't matter coz I LOVE IT!!

I first came across this album sometime back in the 1980s and just the thought of these two legends working together was an immediate sell for me - the album cover too. Quincy was in pop overdrive then - not that those weren't blisteringly hot, they were! - but I needed something to reconnect to his jazz/big band basics. This was definitely two and more for the price of one. I recently saw a tribute to Quincy documentary on the BBC and I had to get this album. Sorry Frank, RIP, but for me this is all about the man called Q - and the most outstanding group of session musicians ever assembled in one (or several as the case may be) recording studios.

Frank Sinatra was always hip, but reuniting with Quincy Jones for his last solo album put some hop in the arrangements and production; the sound is fresh, but built on the foundation of old-school.

Released in August 1984, the golden gem is the title track, though each song is impressive, with the standouts being Mack the Knife, Until the Real Thing Comes Along and Stormy Weather. In 1986, Sinatra re-recorded his vocal on Mack the Knife for the CD.

With a lineup that features the talents of so many phenomenal musicians - the Brecker Brothers, Lionel Hampton, Marcus Miller, Urbie Green, Steve Gadd, George Benson, Jon Faddis and Lee Ritenour - this is truly a celebration of an American icon.

The last time Sinatra worked with Jones was in 1964 - for the album, It Might as Well Be Swing. The waiting was the hardest part, but well worth it.

LOS ANGELES GETS A THEME SONG,
I BOUGHT THIS WHEN IT FIRST CAME OUT, YOU HAVE TO GO BACK IN TIME, CD'S WOULDN'T BE OUT FOR ANOTHER YEAR, OF COURSE THERE WERE RECORDS & CASSETTE'S, BUT THE REAL "IN" THING WERE "VCR'S" EVERYONE HAD ONE, SURE YOU COULD WATCH & RECORD MOVIES WITH THEM. BUT THE NEWER MODELS WERE NOW IN HI-FI DOLBY STEREO, PEOPLE STARTED TO NOTICE THAT MUSIC NOT ONLY SOUNDED GREAT, YOU COULD NOW CAN "SEE" YOUR FAVORITE ARTIST SINGING THE SONGS YOU LOVE... SO WHEN I BOUGHT THIS, IT WAS ON A (VCR) VIDEO CASSETTE AND IT WAS CALLED THE MAKING OF AN ALBUM. IT WAS VERY UNIQUE AND ALLOWED A RARE LOOK AT A CASUALLY DRESSED FRANK SINGING HIS HEART OUT. THERE'S A FEW MISHAPS... YOU KNOW THE TRAILS AND TRIBULATIONS OF EACH TAKE, THEN THEY SHOW YOU THE REAL SONG, AND TO SEE FRANK'S FACE LIGHT-UP, WHEN HE AND THE BAND NAIL IT, IT'S A REAL TREAT! THIS CD ALSO NICKED NAMED "THE BEST OF EVERYTHING", AS THEY PUT IT, "Thanks to New York's & L.A.'s finest who gave their hearts & talents...to make it that way."

FRANK HAD BIG HITS WITH, "New York, New York" & "Chicago"... Tony Bennett, HAD, "I Left My Heart In San Fransico". BUT WHAT ABOUT L.A. BAY-BEE ? SHOULDN'T LOS ANGELES HAVE A THEME SONG TOO ? WELL WHO BETTER TO TAKE A SHOT AT IT THAN MR."S" HIMSELF ? THE OTHER SONGS ARE GREAT, BUT THE ONE SONG, "L.A. Is My Lady", WHICH WAS TO BE LOS ANGELES'S THEME SONG...WELL THAT'S THE REAL REASON TO OWN THIS CD. I'M NOT SURE WHY THE SONG WASN'T MORE POPULAR. MAYBE BECAUSE Randy Newman's, HIT "I Love L.A." WHICH CAME OUT JUST THE YEAR BEFORE, AND PEOPLE HAD ALREADY STARTED SAYING, "THAT WAS L.A.'s THEME SONG". OR MAYBE IT JUST NEVER GOT THE "AIR-PLAY" NEEDED, TO REALLY "TAKE-OFF"... EVEN THOUGH FRANK ALSO RELEASED A MUSIC VIDEO OF "L.A. Is My Lady"... AND THEY PLAYED IT, RIGHT ON "MTV"! I'VE ONLY SEEN IT TWICE, (it's not on the video cassette) BUT I REMEMBER IT HAD LOTS OF MOVIE STARS IN IT, AS IT TOOK YOU FROM LOS ANGELES LANDMARK, TO LANDMARK ...NOW IF ANYONE KNOWS HOW TO GET HOLD OF THAT LITTLE GEM, WELL I'D BE YOUR BEST FRIEND, Ace.

P.S. ONE REVIEWER, SAID HE REALLY LIKED "THIS" VERSION OF "Mack The Knife", BUT WONDERS IF FRANK DID, BECAUSE HE NEVER SANG IT THAT WAY AGAIN. WELL FRANK IS MERELY PAYING TRIBUTE TO THE GUYS IN THE BAND, THE LATER VERSIONS OF THE SONG DIFFER, BECAUSE HE'S NOT SINGING WITH THESE ARTIST ON THOSE RECORDINGS, DIG? Ace Out

Already owning the 20-CD Reprise set, I purchased this CD hoping for the original (1984) version of "Mack the Knife," as found on the vinyl LP. But it's not here, it's been replaced with the 1986 version (from the 20-CD set). Maybe Frank wanted the original version destroyed!

It's still a fine album, maybe not his best, but worth owning.