There can be no doubt that Sinatra reached his peak with the recordings he made for Capitol with Nelson Riddle and Gordon Jenkins in the 1950s. But a case can be made that his voice was already in decline by then and thus that the singing in these earlier performances is superior. Everything about the Dorsey output was masterful, coupling brilliant orchestrations with flawless performances. Sinatra’s poise was incredible and the superb backing he gets from Dorsey’s trombone and the Pied Pipers vocal group (with Jo Stafford’s beautiful voice to the fore) completes the magic in classics like I’ll never smile again, Without a song and Stardust.
The ASV set documents Sinatra’s switch from Dorsey and RCA to Columbia, who had to be sure that there was no drop in quality. They were not helped by the fact that the first five tracks were made during a 1943 union ban and the accompaniment is by a vocal group without instrumental support. It makes no difference to Sinatra. The remaining 17 titles have backing by Axel Stordahl’s lavishly string-laden orchestra. Noting that ASV incorrectly attribute Yank Lawson’s trumpet solo on Stormy weather to Billy Butterfield, one laments also the omission of the best of the Columbias, Sinatra’s I’ve got a crush on you which featured the cornet of Bobby Hackett. However, these are fine performances and the songs are all good ones, even though You’ll never walk alone conjures up a ridiculous picture of Sinatra with a red scarf and a rattle.SV