Frank Sinatra’s last studio albums will be combined for a 20th anniversary edition of ‘Duets’.
‘Duets’ and ‘Duets Vol. 2’, released in 1993 and 1994, were the first new recordings from Sinatra since his previous studio album ‘LA Is My Lady’ in 1984.
What was referred to as “The Recording Event of the Decade,” Frank Sinatra’s groundbreaking and highly successful album Duets was originally released in November 1993, bringing together an array of global superstars, including Charles Aznavour, Anita Baker, Tony Bennett, Bono, Natalie Cole, Gloria Estefan, Aretha Franklin, Kenny G, Julio Iglesias, Liza Minnelli, Carly Simon, Barbra Streisand, and Luther Vandross for an album of standards that included many songs instantly associated with the Chairman of the Board.
To commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the groundbreaking, multi-platinum selling album, Capitol/UMe will release Frank Sinatra: Sinatra Duets – Twentieth Anniversary, on November 19, 2013, bringing together the original Duets and the follow-up Duets II, together in one deluxe package. Frank Sinatra: Sinatra Duets – Twentieth Anniversary will be available in three editions:
Super Deluxe Box Set featuring Duets and Duets II 180-gram vinyl records in a gatefold LP jacket, two CDs including Duets and Duets II with bonus and unreleased tracks, a standard DVD featuring interviews, the official EPK and a promo video of I’ve Got You Under My Skin duet with Bono, plus a 20-page LP sized booklet with rare photos and new liner notes, an embossed lithograph with envelope, all housed in an elegant 12”x12” box complete with a gold foil-stamped title.
Two-CD Deluxe Edition with bonus and unreleased tracks and a 32-page booklet with rare photos and new liner notes.
Two-LP vinyl version of the original Duets and Duets II releases on 180-gram vinyl, gatefold jacket.
The Super Deluxe Edition and 2-CD Deluxe Edition releases will include two never-before-released recordings, One for My Baby (And One More for the Road) featuring Tom Scott and Embraceable You with Tanya Tucker, plus the rare bonus tracks Fly Me to the Moon with George Strait, and two versions of My Way, one recorded with Luciano Pavarotti and the other with Willie Nelson.
In addition to these three anniversary editions, Capitol/UMe will also release Best Of Duets, a 14-song, single-disc collection featuring key tracks from both Duets and Duets II and the bonus track My Way featuring Luciano Pavarotti.
Sinatra recorded his tracks “live” with a 54-piece orchestra at the Capitol studios, the way he originally recorded his classic Capitol albums. In a pioneering move for the recording industry, at various locations using digital technology, Sinatra’s ‘duet’ partners recorded their own vocal tracks to his recordings, allowing them to virtually ‘duet’ with one of the greatest entertainers of all time. Duets made history, not only for its cutting edge recording techniques, and having a renowned contemporary artist, LeRoy Neiman, specially commissioned for album artwork, but for being one of the most successful selling albums of the year, with the album shipping more than 1.3 million units and putting the 77-year-old Sinatra at the No. 2 spot on the Billboard charts, between Pearl Jam’s Vs. and Meatloaf’s Bat Out Of Hell II.
The highly successful follow-up, Duets II, was released the following year and included Jimmy Buffett, Neil Diamond, Lena Horne, Chrissie Hynde, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Patti LaBelle, Steve Lawrence & Eydie Gorme, Luis Miguel, Lorrie Morgan, Willie Nelson, Linda Ronstadt, Jon Secada, Frank Sinatra Jr., Stevie Wonder & Gladys Knight. Once again, Sinatra enjoyed a multiplatinum Top 10 record on the charts with Duets II at No. 9 on Billboard’s Top 200 Chart.
Even after 50 years of recording, Sinatra continued to blaze a trail for artists and once again cut across all musical genres. These unique recordings are tributes to his legacy and to the immeasurable impact and influence he continues to have on music today.
Track List:
Deluxe Edition
Disc 1 (Duets)
The Lady Is A Tramp – duet with Luther Vandross
What Now My Love – duet with Aretha Franklin
I’ve Got A Crush On You – duet with Barbra Streisand
Summer Wind – duet with Julio Iglesias
Come Rain Or Come Shine – duet with Gloria Estefan
New York, New York – duet with Tony Bennett
They Can’t Take That Away From Me – duet with Natalie Cole
You Make Me Feel So Young – duet with Charles Aznavour
Guess I’ll Hang My Tears Out To Dry / In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning – duet with Carly Simon
I’ve Got The World On A String – duet with Liza Minnelli
Witchcraft – duet with Anita Baker
I’ve Got You Under My Skin – duet with Bono
All The Way / One For My Baby (And One More For The Road) – duet with Kenny G
My Way – duet with Luciano Pavarotti (bonus track)
One For My Baby (And One More For The Road) – duet with Tom Scott (bonus track)
Disc 2 (Duets II)
For Once In My Life – duet with Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder
Come Fly With Me – duet with Luis Miguel
Bewitched – duet with Patti LaBelle
The Best Is Yet To Come – duet with Jon Secada
Moonlight In Vermont – duet with Linda Ronstadt
Fly Me To The Moon – duet with Antonio Carlos Jobim
Luck Be A Lady – duet with Chrissie Hynde
A Foggy Day – duet with Willie Nelson
Where Or When – duet with Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme
Embraceable You – duet with Lena Horne
Mack The Knife – duet with Jimmy Buffett
How Do You Keep The Music Playing? / My Funny Valentine – duet with Lorrie Morgan
My Kind Of Town – duet with Frank Sinatra, Jr.
The House I Live In (That’s America To Me) – duet with Neil Diamond
My Way – duet with Willie Nelson (bonus track)
Embraceable You – duet with Tanya Tucker (bonus track)
Fly Me To The Moon – duet with George Strait (bonus track)
DVD
Sinatra: Duets (Electronic Press Kit, 1993)
I’ve Got You Under My Skin – duet with Bono (Music Video)
Bonus Interviews
Read more at VVN Music
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