Roughly four years ago, the Impex label revisited Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra in both hybrid mono SACD and deluxe LP formats.  The 1950 album was a landmark in the legendary vocalist's career.  After he released the very first pop long-playing record with Columbia's 1948 reissue of The Voice of Frank Sinatra, he took advantage of the format with Sing and Dance.  Initially available as a set of four 10-inch 78s or a single 33-1/3 RPM record, the album saw Sinatra at the dawn of his transformation from the bobbysoxers' idol to the sophisticated swinger who would jolt the music industry with his game-changing series of concept albums at Capitol Records.  Now, Sing and Dance is returning anew in Impex's lavish 1STEP vinyl format, pressed on 180-gram VR900 Supreme Vinyl at 45 RPM and limited to 5,000 units.  In addition, two previously unreleased bonus tracks and one extended track with never-before-heard material will premiere on this edition.

Over the course of his long and storied career, Frank Sinatra was most often at the vanguard.  Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra was his first fully-formed big band album to make use of the long-playing format; at Capitol, he would perfect the concept album.  The effervescent material on Sing and Dance, arranged by the all-too-unsung George Siravo, has proven timeless, with evergreens from Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart ("Lover"), Cole Porter ("You Do Something to Me"), Richard Whiting and Walter Donaldson ("My Blue Heaven"), and Harold Arlen, E.Y. "Yip" Harburg, and Billy Rose ("It's Only a Paper Moon").  Though Sinatra's tone and style would change and deepen, the singer's unmistakable gift for lyric interpretation and seemingly effortlessly cool are all on display here.  It would turn out to be his final album for Columbia, with his next LP not arriving until 1954.  That, of course, was the landmark Capitol release Songs for Young Lovers.  On that album, Nelson Riddle conducted arrangements by George Siravo.  (Riddle supplied one chart himself, for "Like Someone in Love.")  Its DNA can be traced directly to Sing and Dance.

Each format of Impex's Sing and Dance reissue has featured a unique track listing with curated bonus cuts, and this is no exception.  The original eight-song album has been joined by eight bonuses, including the previously unissued backing track of "American Beauty Rose" and an alternate version of "Meet Me at the Copa."  An extended alternate of "It All Depends on You" brings the listener into the studio with Sinatra, who's serving as de facto producer of the session with remarkable attention to every musical detail.  It's a true fly-on-the-wall experience with previously unreleased material within the track.

The 1STEP edition is released in conjunction with Legacy Recordings and was produced by acclaimed Sinatra historian Charles L. Granata.  The music has been restored and remastered by Chris Bellman and Andreas Meyer from the original analog mixdown tapes; new lacquers were cut after each run of 500 pressings.  The lavish slipcased packaging includes a 36-page tip-in booklet with rare photos, an expanded essay from Granata, and a heavyweight two-stock Monster Pack jacket by Stoughton Printing. In short, one likely isn't to find a better-sounding, better-annotated, and altogether more deluxe release of any Sinatra title than this stunning new iteration of Sing and Dance.  (And that's coming after the acclaimed SACD and LP releases.)  For those interested in this upgrade, it's available now for pre-order from Elusive Disc at the link below.

Frank Sinatra, Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra (originally Columbia 10" set C-218, 1950 - reissued Impex, 2024)

Side One

1. Lover (Rodgers-Hart)
2. It's Only A Paper Moon (Rose-Harburg-Arlen)
3. My Blue Heaven (Whiting-Donaldson)
4. It All Depends On You (DeSylva, Brown & Henderson)
5. You Do Something to Me (Porter)
6. Should I (Freed-Brown)

Side Two

1. The Continental (Magidson-Conrad)
2. When You're Smiling (Fisher-Goodwin-Shay)
3. You Do Something to Me (Porter) (Orchestral Backing Track/False Starts/Alternate Vocal Take)
4. It's Only a Paper Moon (Rose-Harburg-Arlen) (Alternate Take)

Side Three

1. Farewell, Farewell to Love ("Barbecue Riffs") (Siravo-Wolf) (feat. Harry James & his Orch.)
2. Deep Night (Henderson-Vallee) (feat. Harry James & his Orch.)
3. American Beauty Rose (David-Altman-Evans) (Orchestral Backing Track) (*)
4. American Beauty Rose (David-Altman-Evans) (Vocal Take)
5. Meet Me at the Copa (Cahn-Stordahl) (*)

Side Four

1. It All Depends On You (DeSylva-Brown-Henderson) (Includes Previously Unreleased Session Material) (*)

(*) includes previously unreleased material