Bad Sinatra Vol. 1
Bad Sinatra - Get it?
Frank Sinatra has more than one box set of recordings that consists of over a dozen CDs. This is a staggering amount of recordings, even for one of America's most beloved entertainers. The duration of his career would be similar to Michael Jordan pressing on for eight more seasons with the Wizards, or a desperate Ray Manzarek trying to dig up Jim Morrison's body and attaching strings to it to perform a reunion tour Weekend At Bernie's style. Some things just go on for too long, or are so sprawling and prolific, that there are bound to be some missteps.
So to capitalize on this, every time my iTunes shuffle hits up on a particularly lousy Sinatra song, of which there are far too many as it is on my computer, I've been dragging it over to a Bad Sinatra playlist. It is ever growing, and I'm always amazed to see some of the territory he thought it natural or necessary to venture into. Disco, Cartoon songs, Neil Diamond...But as bad as it all is, a lot of it has its own unique charm, and that's what makes it worth sharing. So stay tuned for future installments, but check out these for now:
-Until The Real Thing Comes Along : This was the first one on my playlist. Upon listening to it again just now I thought I might have made a mistake , but in the last minute or so, Mr. Sinatra makes a reference to a 80s pop culture icon (Hint: It is Mr. T) that just vaults it into the realm of "rewind...oh my god, that's what I thought he said!"
-The Coffee Song : Sinatra rhymes Tomato with Potato. Date her with Perculator. He sings "They put coffee in the coffee" and "Coffee pickles well outsell the dill". As obviously slapped together quickly by Sinatra, and apparantly Dr. Seuss' retarted stepson, as "The Coffee Song" is, the band still manages to bring it, breaking for an extended solo passage, and Sinatra sings with highly caffeinated enthusiasm. This is "Good" bad.
-Bein' Green : This is "Bad" bad. Unlistenable. And yes, it's that Bein' Green song.
-Mrs. Robinson : You can just imagine Frank going into the studio, angry at these disrespectful rock and rollers for climbing the charts without regard for how to actually sing a song, thinking "I'm gonna show them how to sing a song." And then emerging from this recording session thinking he had done just that, while his cronies slapped him on the back and said "You done it Frank, these kids'll never last." You can also imagine the failed inventor, sitting at home alone and miserable hearing this song and deciding that a fantastic product called "Karaoke" needed to be unleashed upon the world.
And just becuase it obviously isn't all bad, here's one of the best: The Most Beautiful Girl In The World.
Comments
Hey! Sinatra's version of "Bein' Green" isn't THAT bad.
Posted by: wardo | May 5, 2006 03:58 AM
Yeah, I know you say the Coffee Song is "good" bad, but really, I think it's just plain good. In a hilariously dorky sorta way. But it's a catchy tune, the band definitely does bring it, and what can ya say, the kid was young then (or at least my version is -- it's one some Early Disc cd...)
Nice post tho...
Posted by: J | May 7, 2006 10:05 PM
Ah, I see -- this is a different, and yes, fairly bad version.
The one I like is from 'The Essential Frank Sintra: The Columbia Years'
It is a good deal better, imo...
Posted by: J | May 7, 2006 10:10 PM
great post.
Posted by: Dave | May 10, 2006 12:28 AM