Frank Sinatra – Ol’ Blue Eyes Is Back (Album Review)

Having recorded 59 studio albums, Frank Sinatra has one of the most extensive back catalogues to explore and while I implore you to take the time to listen to all his releases, outside of his most successful 50s era recordings, I’d be remiss if I didn’t point you in the direction of Ol’ Blue Eyes Is Back for it is a recording that lives up to its name. 

Despite Sinatra’s short-lived retirement in 1971, by 1973 he had returned to the studio and was in fine form, sounding the best he had in years. While the orchestral elements are spectacular in their own right, Sinatra’s vocal soars above and beyond the musicality with a mix that is utterly perfect. While Ol’ Blue Eyes Is Back may have flown under the radar, especially in recent years, it is one of Sinatra’s greatest works.

Ol’ Blue Eyes Is Back, I believe, would have sounded magnificent on vinyl, but there, unfortunately, hasn’t been a vinyl reissue of this masterpiece in decades. Hence, modern music lovers will need to track down a copy on CD or stream it via a service such as Apple Music. While the Apple Music stream is delivered via a lossy codec, it sounds magnificent and if you close your eyes and simply enjoy the music, you’ll quickly forget that you’re listening to a streaming version for the overall recording and mastering is nothing short of spectacular with a warm analog-like soundstage that will encapsulate you in the performance. 

You Will Be My Music is a lovely opener that sets the tone for the entire album, even if the song is a little slow to get started. That said, the closing moments are spectacular, signalling that Blue Eyes is most certainly back!

You’re So Right (For What’s Wrong In My Life) is such a relaxing tune and while it isn’t anything to write home about, it is one song that works well within the creative body of work that is Ol’ Blue Eyes Is Back.

Winners showcases Sinatra in fine form and while his voice was a little sibilant on You’re So Right (For What’s Wrong In My Life), it is crystal clear here and is simply beautiful with an impressive orchestral element.

Nobody Wins is easy listening 101; sometimes that is all you need. 

Send In The Clowns (From ‘A Little Night Music’) is one of the greatest songs ever written and Sinatra performs it masterfully. I could listen to it on repeat indefinitely and as beautiful as I consider Barbra Streisand’s rendition to be, no-one does it better than Sinatra.

Dream Away is a lovely tune with a beautiful story to tell. Without a doubt, it’s one of Sinatra’s greatest recordings and is a simply stunning song from the songwriting duo of John Williams and Paul Williams. 

Let Me Try Again (Laisse Moi le Temps) is an incredible song and I don’t know about you, dear reader, but as lovely as the A-Side’s are on Ol’ Blue Eyes Is Back, the B-Side’s are simply spectacular. 

There Used To Be A Ballpark is another easy listening tune that, while not a standout, is thoroughly enjoyable. 

Noah closes out the album perfectly, and while it could be suggested that it is overproduced, especially for a Sinatra song, it is thoroughly enjoyable nonetheless and compels me to listen to the album again. 

Ol’ Blue Eyes Is Back is fantastic from start to finish; an absolute musical masterpiece that feels fresh and inviting and while it may not be seen as a Sinatra classic, I consider it to be one of his greatest. 

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Barbra Streisand – Higher Ground (Album Review)

Released in 1997, Higher Ground was Barbra Streisand’s twenty-seventh studio album and despite selling over 5 million copies, I completely overlooked this release at the time. Thankfully, due to the flexibility of streaming, I’ve been able to enjoy this masterpiece in recent years and consider it amongst Streisand’s greatest recordings as each song is worthy of inclusion. 

Listening via Apple Music, Higher Ground is presented as an Apple Digital Master; a mastering process that aims to deliver studio-quality sound. Even if I wanted to listen to the album via the CD-quality offered by TIDAL Hi-Fi, Higher Ground is sadly absent from that platform but as the Apple Digital Master often trumps the CD-quality stream, such an omission is only disappointing because it deprives music-lovers of experiencing all there is to offer from an artist’s collection. Nevertheless, the Apple Music stream delivers a soundstage that is enveloping, ensuring the album can be thoroughly appreciated as you get a sense of Streisand being in the room with you as the speakers disappear and you’re at one with the music.

I Believe/You’ll Never Walk Alone is a lovely melody-based opener that immediately captivates the soul from the very first note and highlights Streisand’s gorgeous vocal. That said, as much as I enjoy the melody aspect, both songs in their own right are exceptional, I wonder if the transition could have been a little more seamless as it almost sounds as if they are two separate tracks, just  without the 2-second pregap. 

Higher Ground is a stunning title track that is unassuming and thoroughly relaxing.

At The Same Time is a song I love, although I must admit that I would have left the children’s vocal choir out of the mix as it detracts from the musicality. Yes, I acknowledge the connection to the lyrical element, I just feel the mix wasn’t right. Perhaps it could have been corrected in the studio, but the choir’s inclusion simply sounds detached. 

Tell Him (Duet With Celine Dion) is an absolute masterpiece!

On Holy Ground is a beautiful song, but it could be argued that any song would have suffered following Tell Him. It is a case of incorrect sequencing, in my opinion, but I’m the type of person that would suggest a song like Tell Him would be best served as being the final song on the album as to not detract from any other song. 

If I Could is a lovely tune. 

Circle is simply magnificent and while I don’t normally appreciate music for its lyrical interpretation, instead considering the vocal as an instrument, lyrics are difficult to ignore in Streisand’s works as she pronounces every word so perfectly and the meaning behind the song is touching and remains even more relevant today than it arguably did when it was originally recorded. 

The Water Is Wide/Deep River is the second melody on Higher Ground and it doesn’t disappoint. 

Leading With Your Heart is another beautiful, unassuming, song and, if anything, Higher Ground represents a series of songs that are hidden gems and shouldn’t be overlooked. 

Lessons To Be Learned is one of Streisand’s greatest vocal performances. Yes, that could be said about so many of the songs she’s recorded over the years, but Lessons To Be Learned is a sonic joy, with a perfect mix, meaning that I often play Lessons To Be Learned as loud as comfortably possible as well as playing it on repeat. A stunning performance!

Everything Must Change is a lovely song, but there’s a little distortion in the right channel, especially noticeable when listening via headphones, that is distracting to this otherwise exceptional recording. I can’t say for certain where the distortion entered the mix as I question if it would have been overlooked in the original recording process, but the distortive element that occurs around 2:44 and again at 2:50 is also present on the Spotify stream. 

Avinu Malkeinu is a gorgeous Jewish prayer to close the album with, and while I have suggested that Tell Him would have been perfectly repositioned as the final song on Higher Ground, Avinu Malkeinu is worthy of its position and is arguably the perfect closer to one of Streisand’s greatest albums. 

Higher Ground is simply exceptional, without a B-side to be found. Having only become aware of this masterpiece in recent years, it has fast become one of my most treasured albums, for it really is that good. If you too missed checking out Higher Ground, remember that it is never too late to appreciate timeless classics such as this. 

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A-Ha – Hunting High And Low (Album Review)

Few debut albums reach the commercial success a-ha had with Hunting High And Low, yet I dismissed it as just another campy 80s synth-pop release that wasn’t worth exploring. Well, dear reader, I was wrong, but you have to promise not to tell my better half as she has always enjoyed a-ha and whenever she spoke about them my sarcastic response was a-ha, yeah, a-ha! Don’t worry, I did the same with Wham!, yet I absolutely adore their music today. Many who know me well know that I can be fickle, but I also feel that we should never be entirely closed off to experiencing new music, outside of our comfort zones, for one never knows just where that experience can lead. In this case, it has led to a true appreciation of a band that I had previously ignored. 

Thanks, in part, to streaming, one can now explore a world of music beyond their own tastes and Apple Music’s 2015 Remastered Version, also Mastered for iTunes, is sonically pleasing without a single digital artefact to worry about. Remastering often gets a bad wrap, even here on Subjective Sounds, and while I can’t comment on how the album originally sounded, this Apple Music stream sounds just right. While I’m keenly interested in picking up Hunting High And Low on vinyl, along with their career perspective, Headlines And Deadlines: The Hits Of A-Ha, I’d be perfectly satisfied with this digital stream. It’s really that good!

Take On Me may be a-ha’s most successful song, but it is also the campiest and the one which probably kept me at arm’s length for so many years. It isn’t bad, but I do feel that it has been excessively played and that can, unfortunately, create boredom and disdain for an otherwise solid song. All one needs to do is look at how loathed Celine Dion’s My Heart Will Go On and Aerosmith’s I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing are to know that overplaying of a song can ruin it. 

Train Of Thought has a great rhythm and reminds me in places of Elton John and Grace Jones. Subsequently, I love it!  

Hunting High And Low is absolutely stunning. While stylistically different from the first two tracks, Hunting High And Low sounds familiar while taking a-ha in a completely different direction musically, showing just how talented these musicians are. 

The Blue Sky returns the album to a more synth-pop styling and while solid, I’d class it as a B-side. It has a sound that is very alternative and one which I feel takes a few listens to fully appreciate. Still, it isn’t the strongest song on the album, but there is a solid tune hidden here, if only the tempo was shifted a little and the lyrical delivery was more in-line with the musicality.  

Living A Boy’s Adventure Tale is great! You’ll want to turn the volume up when listening to this. The soundstage is incredible and that initial gradual build is extremely compelling. 

The Sun Always Shines On T.V. is one of my favourite songs on the album. Yes, it is borderline campy, just as Take On Me is, but it has been played to a less excessive degree. Plus, it rocks! Turn that volume up and you’ll be amazed at just how enjoyable The Sun Always Shines On T.V. is. It’s a stadium filler if there ever was one. 

And You Tell Me isn’t a bad ballad-styled track, but I’m unsure how I really feel about it. In one way I thoroughly enjoy it, but in another I question myself as to why. I also feel it is a little too short. Nevertheless, Hunting High And Low wouldn’t be the same without it. 

Love Is Reason is a classic B-side. It isn’t bad, but that repetitive chorus does become tiresome. Great musicality, however. 

I Dream Myself Alive is a solid tune. Nothing to write home about, but worthy of inclusion.

Here I Stand And Face The Rain has a very unique opening with the vocal delivery. I do thoroughly enjoy the acoustic styling, however, when the synth elements enter the mix, they do so in a manner that is complementary, thereby ensuring fluidity. Without a doubt, Here I Stand And Face The Rain compels me to listen to Hunting High And Low again and stay within a-ha’s catalogue of music; exactly what a closing song should compel the listener to do.

Overall, Hunting High And Low is an incredible debut and an album that represents some of the very best music in both the synth-pop and new wave eras. Yes, it retains an 80s feel, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing and to be completely honest, the album hasn’t aged nearly as badly as one would have thought. 

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