1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: 85. Francis Albert Sinatra and Antoñio Carlos Jobim – Self Titled (1967)

 

Here’s yet another version of The Girl From Ipanema, but since it was written by Jobim I can forgive its inclusion on this album. Of all versions, it’s probably either the Sinatra one or the Astrid Gilberto one that people will think of first. Sinatra makes it a bit more swing and a bit less bossa nova, but it works well for his style, I think.

Also previously seen on Getz/Gilberto is Corcovado (a.k.a. Quiet Night of Quiet Stars) which was a stand-out track on that album, and is good here (although I prefer Astrid’s vocals to Frank’s). The other tracks are all bossa nova done Sinatra style, and as I assume Sinatra thought when he decided to make this album, the laid back Latin beat of bossa nova matches his swing vocals pretty well, making something smooth and relaxing, albeit not far adjacent to elevator/hold/test card music.

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