Cheap Frank Sinatra - In Concert at Royal Festival Hall (DVD) (Frank Sinatra) Price

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Customer Reviews of Frank Sinatra - In Concert at Royal Festival Hall

Sinatra at his best despite some silly songs
Ths concert is one of Sinatras best for the time it was done. He was at the height of his power and popularity in Europe. The only thing I found wrong with it was the song , and the introduction of the song, " I will drink the wine ". I could not understand why a man with such an impeccable repertoire could record such a ridiculous song. His delivery of" I get along without you very well " was wonderful. He had the hall at his feet and you could hear the proverbial pin drop. Even though he fluffed the lyrics slightly he turned that beautiful song into the poem that it is.
The concert was spontaneous bright and classic Sinatra. I watch it very often,

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That means go baby!
In 1994, before leaving for school, I caught the last fifteen minutes of this 1971 TV special and was really amazed of what I had heard. The memory was then tucked away until recently when I bought this DVD.

This might not be Sinatra at his best, but he opens with his standard trademarks (with the exception of George Harrison's "Something," sings some sad tunes, tries out some unusual or new songs, and finishes off with both an timeless and modern trademark of his.

His first six numbers were his trademark songs, plus the Beatles "Something." It was all good, with "I Got You Under My Skin" being his weakest of the night when he almost messes up the timing. He does mess up lines of a few songs, but as a first time listener, I really didn't notice it that much and the guy quickly jokes out of it. Not perfect, but I've seen worse from other performers.

The second half of his show was called "Songs for Losers" and the only one I really enjoyed of those three was "One for my Baby." "Didn't We" was okay, but I couldn't stand "I Get Along Without You Very Well" at all.

The final half of the show has Sinatra doing a new number called "I'll Drink The Wine." Since I didn't have time to just transcribe the "true meaning" of the song, I just enjoyed it for the tune. It was a very good tune. The song "I Have Dreamed" only brought back memories of me as a teenager turning on A&E in 1994 and seeing Sinatra singing this. The ending is pretty cool.

Then Sinatra does "My Kind of Town" and finishes off with a cool version of "My Way." It isn't perfect, but Sinatra doesn't joke his way out of this song, as he had done with the others. Instead he makes some great covers that a first time listener would accept as the true lyrics. For example, "make it clear" actually sounds better than "say it clear" and "I grew tall, through it all" just sounded so cool to me. Like it was meant to be sung that way. Another performer had the same way about him when he changed the words to "I stood tall, when I went bald."

This might not be Sinatra at his best, but if you can accept a guy that has a great talent, that goofs off a little bit, then this should be part of your collection, even if you are a first time Sinatra-fan.

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Too many miles on the clock
This was a concert for charity, something Sinatra did a lot of in his later years. From the start it is obvious that he is coasting. There are periods when he concentrates on what he is doing, but most of the time he is too busy Being Sinatra, winking at pals in the audience like Grace Kelly and Tony Bennett, making all the same worn gestures (pointing at the audience, rolling his hand forwards, raising his shoulder). Early on in "The Lady is a Tramp" he seems to forget a line but just shrugs it off and in "You Make Me Feel So Young" he sings "spring to be sprung" instead of "fling to be flung", which he corrects second time around, not that it matters much.

The Rat Pack cool pose that worked so well in the 50s sits badly on a aging man. Little things give the lie to this pose: his terrible hairpiece, the fact that each time he tries to lean on the piano his arm slips. It brings to mind the notorious "Welcome Home Elvis" tv show he recorded in the 50s, during which he sang a skit of "You Make Me Feel So Young" with daughter Nancy. Frank's part was "You Make Me Feel So Old", and he would have done better to sing that during this London concert.

Having said that, if you are a Sinatra fan then this is a fun DVD to own. It's good to see him singing My Way, the tape is in colour and he is not yet at the stage where he struggles for breath and goes purple on high notes. Grace Kelly is far too mannered in her introduction and her "amusing" story about Christmas in Africa with Frank and Ava Gardner goes down like a brick with the audience (an astoundingly poor choice of story since that was the pre-From Here to Eternity time when Frank's career had hit its lowest point and Ava was constantly humiliating him).

Interesting to compare this tired performance to video recordings from the 50s or 60s when his powers were strong and he didn't need those irritating gestures because his voice and his eyes were compelling and hypnotic. The Man and His Music DVDs are a better buy than this one, but I am glad that I have this one in my collection.