Frank Sinatra- Point Of No Return
(Numbered Hybrid SACD)
Track List
1. (Ah, the Apple Trees) When the World Was Young
2. I’ll Remember April
3. September Song
4. A Million Years Ago
5. I’ll See You Again
6. There Will Never Be Another You
7. Somewhere Along the Way
8. It’s a Blue World
9. These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You)
10. As Time Goes By
11. I’ll Be Seeing You
12. Memories of You
Frank SinatraPoint of No Returnon Numbered Edition Hybrid SACD from Mobile Fidelity
Memories of You: Sinatra Waves Farewell to Capitol on Elegantly Dressed Standards Set from 1961
Mastered from the Original Master Tapes: Mobile Fidelity Hybrid SACD Captures Gracefulness of Ornate Orchestrations
Sinatra Reunited With Arranger Axel Stordahl, Collaborator That Spearheaded the Voice’s Rise in the 1940s
Nobody says goodbye like Frank Sinatra. For his final album with Capitol,Ol’ Blue Eyeselected to croon an unforgettable selection of farewell songs marked with longing, sadness, and poignancy. To make the occasion even more special, he teamed with arrangerAxel Stordahl, the virtuoso that helped launchSinatra’s star at Columbia during the 1940s.The results amount to one of the finest send-off statements in history.
Mastered from the original master tapes, Mobile Fidelity’s numbered-edition hybrid SACD presents the songs as they should be experienced: In rich, lush, front-to-back sound in which the strings soar and literally inhale and exhale.Sinatra’s singing, as good as it’s ever been during his career, comes across with unfettered transparency and tonal purity. Such is the fidelity, the music turns into aural poetry, rendering completely fluid and tube-amp warm the rushes of strings, words, and structures.
Sinatrafans continually debate which of the artist’s albums rank as his best, but there’s no doubting the status attached toPoint of No Return. Unquestionably the most overlooked effort in theChairman’s Capitol catalog, it defies common expectation that it was made haphazardly to simply fulfill a contractual obligation.Sinatra’s presence alone guarantees that isn’t the case, yetStordahl’s involvement ensures this 1961 set is something very special indeed.
The chemistry between the old collaborators is immediately evident.Sinatra inhabits every phrase, feeling, and expression conveyed on the dozen standards, achieving an intimate connection with Stordahl’s instrumental accents. Akin to the downbeat moods he casts on the immortalIn the Wee Small HoursandOnly the Lonely, the vocalist keeps calm and cool,yearning and reflecting as if he’s strolling a barren downtown after midnight, a man left alone with his thoughts and memories. Somber, wistful, meditative, teary-eyed sentimental&mdashSinatrapaints each song with the emotions they need, nothing more and nothing less.
From regal (“These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You)”) to nostalgic (“I’ll Be Seeing You”), relaxed (“September Song”) to dramatic (“When the World Was Young”),Stordahl’s treatments blush with natural ease and instinct, setting up Sinatra for countless moments of sublime beauty. Vocal pop aficionados, you don’t want to miss this classic.