How well a singer transfers to the live arena is the litmus test for any artist. With various forms of technological trickery, the studio is the singer’s friend, but the stage is where crooner’s live and die, where the wheat is separated from the chaff. Thankfully, it was an environment where Frank Sinatra thrived as recordings such as At The Sands and The Main Event attests. However, what has been missing from his discography is an official live album from his early years and that’s finally arrived in the shape of At The Hollywood Bowl 1943-1948, a collection of 18 tracks that finds “Ol’ Blue Eyes” at his very best.

At the period to which this live set pertains, Frank Sinatra was still something of a singles artist (his first album didn’t drop until ‘46) and was beloved of the “bobby soxers”. His classic conceptual albums (Come Fly With Me, Only The Lonely) were still a decade away and this might give the impression that his early career was without substance and vitality, and that’s an assertion this collection puts to rest. Featuring rare and unreleased recordings that have been lovingly restored, At The Hollywood Bowl finds Frank at the top of his game and that’s best exemplified by opening song ‘Long Ago And Far Away’. Introduced by his characteristic humour, his voice is lacking that whiskey-soaked authority that personified his later recordings, yet it is as expressive as ever, his range is wide and extracts the full emotional content of these songs.

The tracks comprising At The Hollywood Bowl are largely show tunes and cinema scores, lacking the trademark big band swing of his Reprise years. Full of lush strings and orchestral arrangements, songs such as ‘Ol’ Man River’ are the perfect vehicle for Frank and put his voice centre stage, and let’s face it, that’s exactly where his voice should be. He brings to life the likes of ‘The Girl That I Marry’ in the way only he can and makes the characters who inhabit them living and breathing and three-dimensional. Many people will be familiar with the swing versions of ‘Night And Day’ (in particular, Ella Fitzgerald’s masterly recording), but here a different facet of the song is revealed and one which places the song in a whole new light.

The age and sources of these recordings can often seem rudimentary, especially when compared to modern techniques, yet they’ve been mastered very well. In fact, my only (minor) gripe with this set is the fading between songs; that’s understandable considering the different concerts from which they’re culled, yet it would have been nice if the songs ran into each other like an actual concert, because that’s how this disc has been sequenced. But this is a timeless recording from a timeless artist.

• Live At The Hollywood Bowl 1943-1948 is released via SING on 23rd October 2025.

Track List:

1. Long Ago And Far Away
2. I Should Care
3. What Makes The Sunset
4. If I Loved You
5. Ol’ Man River (1945)
6. Jack Haley Introduction / Time After Time
7. The Girl That I Marry
8. Soliloquy
9. Ol’ Man River (1943)
10. Night And Day
11. You’ll Never Know
12. Embraceable
13. She’s Funny That Way
14. All Or Nothing At All
15. The Song Is You
16. Frank Sinatra Closing Remarks
17. Sunday Morning Or Always
18. In The Blue Of Evening