Frank Sinatra's Concert for the Americas was recorded somewhere, presumably in South America, back in August 1982, in the final years of the great singer's career.
We say 'somewhere' because there is not one shred of information, in either the program or on its case, as to where the concert was recorded, or, more interestingly, why. I guess it coincided with one of the USA's sporadic attempts to engage with the rest of the known universe in a peaceful way - obviously that sort of history counts for nothing. Now it's just a concert.
Although this was recorded later in his career than most DVDs in the Frank Sinatra Collection from Warner Vision, most of the voice is still present. His greatest vocal period was in the 1950s as a Capitol recording artist. The early 1960s, when he switched to Reprise, still showed great artistry and engagement. But towards the end of that decade and through the 1970s he became increasingly obsessed with staying hip, in a way that slowly detached him from the core of the music and which now seems sadly dated.
But by 1982, for this concert, although the voice was getting rougher by the hour, the arch hipness of a few years earlier was being replaced by a purer, leaner approach to lyrics, in a reversion to the style of the younger Sinatra.
This concert, with featured artist Buddy Rich and his Orchestra, presents a string of classic Sinatra standards - Lady is a Tramp, I've Got You Under My Skin and so forth, along with a couple of relatively unknown catalogue entries - The House I Live In, Searching. And there's a song Frank describes as "one of the best-loved songs written in the last 50 or 100 years": George Harrison's Something.
It's appropriate that he is singing with the Buddy Rich Orchestra. More than 40 years earlier, when Frank was just starting out, Buddy Rich himself was something of a teen-idol, as the frenetic drummer with what was probably the greatest swing band of all, Tommy Dorsey's.
The concert for the most part is workman-like but not spectacular - singer and orchestra are labouring in hot and humid conditions, and the effort is apparent. It is, by Frank's standards, relatively pedestrian... until.
Until, towards the concert's close, he starts singing the Joabim song Quiet Night of Quiet Stars with guitarist Tony Mottola, and suddenly moves from that calm oasis into an upbeat, jaunty tribute to Fred Astaire, I Won't Dance.
Suddenly it's a different concert. The ingredients of band leader Don Costa, singer Frank, the wildly enthusiastic Latin American audience and the warm, muggy atmosphere finally start to gel.
When he moves from that into one of his signature songs, New York, New York, and the spine tingles begin - this now, finally, is a great performance. The last ten minutes is worth the price of admission, as the old maestro brings it all home.
It's a decent enough transfer of adequate if slightly murky video material.
The sound, although LPCM 'stereo' from a mono source, is strong and gives Old Blue Eyes great vocal presence.
There are no features worth commending. The trailer is a generic tout for the entire series; the same as found on all the others in the catalog.
The subtitles are a travesty. I've listed English only. There are also options for French, Spanish, Dutch and Italian, but they operate for only the few words between songs. English listeners are offered the lyrics while Frank sings, which is totally useless since Frank was one of the clearest enunciators in the business. The subtitles would be useful only if you were deaf - and if so, why watch the video?
The only people who might find lyrics useful would be if they'd been translated for French, Dutch, Spanish and Italian viewers - and for them, they just ain't there.
