One of the things I love about Great Songs from Great Britain is its relative obscurity. Recorded in London during the summer of 1962, it was initially released the same year only in Great Britain. It was finally released stateside in 1990 on compact disc. I couldn't have gotten my copy (complete with German import sticker on it) back in 1998 if it weren't for the Internet. I seriously doubt the album or compact disc has ever sat in any of the local music stores (many of which have since closed), but obviously I could be mistaken.
Supposedly, Sinatra would not allow its release in America because he was unhappy with the quality of his voice. From the CD liner notes, written by James Isaacs:
Great Songs from Great Britain never reached the colonies -- until now. It is the only collection that Sinatra in his then-dual roles of CEO of Reprise Records and his label's meal ticket, scrubbed for domestic release while clearing it for foreign markets.
A unapologetic perfectionist, the singer felt that his voice, after a recently concluded seven-week, 30-city world tour, was in less than peak form.
And further illumination from my personal Sinatra bible, Will Friedwald's Sinatra! The Song Is You: A Singer's Art:
...the unending pastoral richness of Robert Farnon's orchestral backgrounds contrasts sharply with the startling thinness of Sinatra's voice. What's worse, both arranger Farnon and singer Sinatra has no forewarning that they should be planning the album for a vocal artist proceeding at half-steam, and the extremly slow tempos of these romantic ballads leave Sinatra with no place to hide.
So, how bad was the voice of The Voice? On the best songs, a person unaware of the background would probably have no idea the singer and voice were exhausted. I'll let you be the judge.
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