Music Monday #46: My Way (The Best Of Frank Sinatra)

From one legend to another, both artists created music that feed the soul.  I couldn't let this list pass without featuring an artist that had a music career that spanned six decades before his death and that has had a legacy that persists beyond it.  When it comes to the greatest artists of all time, there can be no question that Frank Sinatra has secured his place at the table for evermore.  I could not pick a single album from a single decade so instead I have chosen to go with 'My Way (The Best Of Frank Sinatra)' released in 1997 because it covers most of what I want to talk about.

People have a lot to say about Frank as a person, his life, his legacy, and in some respects the politics attached to him and his fame.  Frank Sinatra died in 1998 when I was just 10 years old, I didn't get to live through his rise and witness his career for myself first-hand.  I can't attest to his life because I know very little of it beyond his music and I don't trust second-hand accounts especially those from decades passed when the media was much more heavily controlled and independent voices were not so loud, today anyone with a twitter account can sound off, this has its positives and its negatives admittedly but it does achieve the objective of making censorship almost redundant.  There are still problems with social media and the internet in general but it's important to recognise that Frank's career took place in a time before it was ubiquitous and if the way the media interprets and misinterprets people today is anything to go by, everything should be taken with a pinch of salt.

I want to focus on the music itself and abandon everything else because Frank Sinatra's music catalogue is extensive, includes covers by other artists, and has gone on to be covered many times, and has even been used to create posthumous duets which I touched on when I mentioned Celine Dion's 'One Heart' album.  Sinatra undoubtedly provided inspiration to countless artists and left behind a legacy that not many can even begin to challenge.

The very first track on this compilation is the title track 'My Way' a track that has gone on to become an anthem to one and many, originally released in 1969 itself an English translation reworking of 'Comme d'habitude' by french artist Jacques Revaux.  My Way has become a cliché in some regards, its overuse over the decades in countless movies and TV shows have led it to become the de facto track to epitomise struggle and triumph in the end, not surprising then that all clichés considered this song has been something of an anthem to me and many others in their journey to accept who they are, with the ultimate verse of the song the lyrics read "For what is a man, what has he got?  If not himself, then he has naught, To say the things he truly feels, And not the words of one who kneels, The record shows I took the blows, And did it my way" speaks to this feeling of empowerment, to not be oppressed or subjugated, not to kneel in servitude but to stand in defiance and live your truth without apology, with complete pride.

Frank Sinatra's cover of 'Moon River' originally recorded in 1964, a cover of the original released in 1961 written and performed by Audrey Hepburn for the movie 'Breakfast At Tiffany's' a movie that I find adorable.  The lyrics are brief which wasn't uncommon of the time period, but they read "Moon river, wider than a mile, I'm crossing you in style someday, Oh, dream maker, You heartbreaker, Where ever you're going I'm going your way" these lyrics to me represent life, the journey we take, and the inevitable crossing being the moment when we reach the other bank and that journey comes to an end.  This imagery of life as a river, filled with dreams, is one that I touched on when I spoke about Billy Joel and his song 'The River Of Dreams' this is an image I return to often when I try to make sense of life, to think of the rushing waters as the turbulence that life creates and the stream that flows creating a current that you can either fight against or give in and enjoy the ride.

Some of my other favourite tracks include 'Love And Marriage' which will forever remind me of the TV sitcom 'Married... With Children' starring Ed O'Neill and Katey Sagal, 'Somethin Stupid', 'My Kind Of Town', 'I've Got You Under My Skin', 'That's Life', and 'The Best Is Yet To Come' all of which I love, but there are two tracks above all others that are my all time favourite Sinatra tracks and I can't choose between the two.  The first is 'Fly Me To The Moon' and the second is 'Come Fly With Me'.

'Fly Me To The Moon' also known as 'In Other Words' was originally recorded by Kaye Ballard and released in 1954, only to be covered by Sinatra 10 years later in 1964.  The lyrics "Fly me to the moon, Let me play among the stars, And let me see what spring is like, On a-Jupiter and Mars, In other words, hold my hand, In other words, baby, kiss me" the imagery here is what I love more than anything, the portrayal of love being something so intoxicating and elevating that a mere kiss can send you to the moon and back, lift your spirit up so high it flies across the cosmos.  This is one thing I love in particular about music from this era, the music itself was easy listening but it was often little more than a recurring beat in the background with the artistry coming mainly from the lyrics and the imagery that they inspired.  Many people criticise the progression of the music industry over the decades that have passed and cite lyrics like these as being much more substantial than those written today and whilst I see merit in that criticism I do believe that music has a life of its own, a life that must grow and evolve with time.  Music in many ways is a reflection of us and our society, our mindset, how we think and feel, in all honesty my retort to those that make this criticism is simply to say the music isn't the problem, it's nothing more than a mirror, if you want music that reflects something different then change what you put in front of that mirror.

'Come Fly With Me' was first released in 1958 and stays with the theme of flight, something which isn't surprising given the growth of the aviation industry at the time, the fascination with aircraft and soaring through the clouds would reach its zenith 11 years later when Man would walk on the Moon for the first time.  The song itself in its lyrics "Come fly with me, let's fly, let's fly away, If you can use some exotic booze, there's a bar in far Bombay, Come fly with me, let's fly, let's fly away" captures the dreamlike fantasy of jetting off to far off lands and forgetting about life.  Not surprising this song has been used in countless travel promotions and tourist campaigns over the years even today.  The song itself reflects a time when air travel was aspirational and still considered exotic, that opening riff for many still captures that feeling, air travel today is however an industry that is mired in controversy with the conflicting and often competing views of those who still want to travel and see the world in a convenient way set against those who consider it one of the most destructive and polluting industries we have in the world today.

Come Fly With Me, for me always inspired imagery of escape, relaxation, and letting go.  I still listen to it every now and then when I want to imagine myself somewhere, anywhere else.  It has gone on to be covered many times but I would like to make particular note of Michaal Bublé's cover which I think stays true to the original and still manages to put his own spin on it with his vocal styling.