That Face!

by Frank Sinatra, Jr.

Overview

The elephant in the room is a whole lot bigger than it's ever been on Frank Sinatra, Jr.'s first studio album in ten years. While he's never really attempted to shed his birthright, claiming to be happy to stand in the shadow of his legendary father, neither has Sinatra Jr. ever deliberately attempted to mimic his dad as closely as he does on this collection of Tin Pan Alley-type classics and wannabe classics. Arranged in the big-band style of Sinatra Sr.'s greatest Capitol and Reprise works, That Face! is billed as a tribute to that era and, if one can resist being too analytical (or cynical) of the results -- on the surface, at least -- it lives up to that hype. It's not a difficult listen, and is at times rather enjoyable. For one thing, the famous Sinatra phrasing technique has been passed down to the progeny: Jr., who served as his father's musical director, learned plenty from his teacher. And he's got taste, too. In his early sixties at the time of this recording, Jr. leaves no doubt that his song preferences mirror the old man's. Although he cut one original composition here and tossed in a Barry Manilow-penned track as well, the best material comes from a handful of songwriting teams dating to the Sinatra Sr. era: Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen, Mack Gordon and Harry Warren, Sigmund Romberg and Oscar Hammerstein II, and Neal Hefti and Bobby Troup, whose "Girl Talk" features a vocal duet with jazz vocalist Steve Tyrell. Jr. is at home with these songs, and this familiarity isn't necessarily something to hold against him: if Frank Sinatra was your pop, and your genes happened to gift you with vocal qualities remarkably similar to his, chances are you wouldn't join a punk band either. Jr. leaves nothing to chance here, even calling upon the arrangements of Nelson Riddle and Don Costa (among others), regulars on his father's album credits. That said, there's no denying that, try hard though he might, Jr.'s chops ultimately fall far short of Dad's. While his tasteful delivery of standards such as "Cry Me a River" and "What a Diff'rence a Day Made" is laudable, one can't help but feel that the singer here is a lesser talent, a weaker, less original interpreter than his father and an artist short on ideas. The voice is thinner, the tonal qualities narrower, the intuitiveness not as pronounced. Sinatra Jr. himself has admitted that he was unhappy with his vocals on this set, stating that they were recorded while he was undergoing treatment for prostate cancer. While no one will fault him for making the effort during such trying times, and all will applaud him for his survival, That Face! probably should have waited an additional year or so, until the singer was up to the task. Pleasurable though it is at times, That Face! will never convince hard-liners that the "kid" is his dad's equal. ~ Jeff Tamarkin

Product Details

Release Date:	06/06/2006
Label:	Rhino
UPC:	0081227001728

Tracks

1. That Face
2. I'm Afraid the Masquerade Is Over
3. Feeling Good
4. I Was a Fool (To Let You Go)
5. Spice
6. Girl Talk
7. Cry Me a River
8. What a Diff'rence a Day Made
9. You'll Never Know
10. Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise
11. Trouble with Hello Is Goodbye
12. Walking Happy
13. The People That You Never Get to Love

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Frank Sinatra, Jr.   Primary Artist,Vocals
Steve Tyrell   Primary Artist
Gary Foster   Sax (Tenor)
Terry Anthony   Sax (Alto),Sax (Alto)
Mike Smith   Sax (Alto)
Bob Chmel   Drums,Drums
Jim Fox   Guitar
Jeff Morrison   Piano
Carl Fontana   Soloist,Trombone
Lee Callet   Sax (Baritone)
Dennis Karmazyn   Celli
Emil Richards   Percussion
Snooky Young   Trumpet
Terry Woodson   Conductor
Bob McChesney   Trombone
Marilyn Baker   Viola
Bob Sheppard   Woodwind,Saxophone
Bill Miller   Piano
Irving Cottler   Drums
Jack Nimitz   Woodwind,Saxophone
Jack Sheldon   Trumpet
Jeff Clayton   Woodwind,Saxophone
Gene Cipriano   Sax (Tenor)
Warren Luening   Soloist,Trumpet,Flugelhorn
Wayne Bergeron   Trumpet
Ron Anthony   Guitar
Harry Shirinian   Viola
Liane Mautner   Violin
Buddy Childers   Soloist,Trumpet
Dan Higgins   Woodwind,Saxophone,Sax (Tenor)
John Krovoza   Celli
Assa Drori   Violin
Don Palmer   Violin
Berj Garabedian   Violin
Jennifer Walton   Violin
Paul Rostock   Bass
Jennifer Munday   Violin
Dana Kelley   French Horn
Johana Krejci   Violin
Irina Voloshina   Violin
Jim Atkinson   French Horn
Julie Berghofer   Harp
Peter Kent   Violin
Armen Ksadjikian   Celli
Bill Watrous   Soloist,Trombone
Billy May   Conductor
Charles Loper   Trombone
Gayle Levant   Harp
Jim Hughart   Bass
Plas Johnson   Soloist,Woodwind,Saxophone,Sax (Tenor)
Larry McGuire   Trumpet
Todd Hemmenway   Celli
Mark Converse   Percussion
Gordon Marron Strings   Violin
George Roberts   Trombone
Tina Soule   Celli
Yan To   Violin
Shari Zippert   Violin
Ronald Folsom   Violin
Raymond Tischer   Viola
Isabelle Daskoff   Violin
Eddie Morgan   Trombone
Becky Bunnell   Violin
Walt Johnson   Trumpet
Joseph Goodman   Violin
Steven Becknell   French Horn
Reginald Hill   Violin
Raymond Kelley   Celli
Michael Nowak   Viola
Phillip Teele   Soloist,Trombone (Bass)
Billie Rogers   Conductor

Technical Credits

Terry Woodson   Audio Production,Producer
Charles Pignone   Audio Production,Producer
Don Costa   Arranger
Mack Gordon   Composer
Oscar Hammerstein II   Composer
Joe Soldo   Associate Producer
Barry Manilow   Composer
Bobby Harrison   Arranger
Jake Holmes   Composer
Torrie Zito   Arranger
Steve Woolard   Project Assistant
Marilyn Bergman   Composer
Hugh Brown   Cover Photo
Bobby Troup   Composer
Leslie Bricusse   Composer
Lew Spence   Composer
Sam Donahue   Arranger
James Van Heusen   Composer
Neal Hefti   Composer
Nelson Riddle   Arranger
Jim Czak   Engineer
Rupert Holmes   Composer
Alan Bergman   Composer
Dave Grusin   Composer
Sigmund Romberg   Composer
Allie Wrubel   Composer
Frank Sinatra, Jr.   Composer,Liner Notes
Stanley Adams   Composer
Anthony Newley   Composer
Steve Genewick   Assistant Engineer
Billy May   Arranger
Larry Walsh   Engineer
Frank Sinatra   Composer
Arthur Hamilton   Composer
Al Schmitt   Mixing,Engineer
Herbert Magidson   Composer
Harry Warren   Composer
Sammy Cahn   Composer
Sheryl Farber   Project Assistant
Dan Steinberg   Photography
Jimmy Edwards   Executive Producer
Hank Cattaneo   Associate Producer
Daniel Hersch   Mastering
Andy Strauss   Cover Photo
Maria Grever   Composer
Billie Rogers   Arranger
Martin Panzer   Composer