Frank Sinatra: In Concert at Royal Festival Hall
Frank Sinatra: In Concert at Royal Festival Hall
| 04 February 1971 (USA)
Frank Sinatra: In Concert at Royal Festival Hall Trailers

Frank Sinatra: In Concert at the Royal Festival Hall was an CBS musical television special starring Frank Sinatra broadcast on February 4, 1971, of a concert given by Sinatra at London's Royal Festival Hall on November 16, 1970. The special was directed by Bill Miller, and produced by Harold Davison. Sinatra was introduced on stage by Grace Kelly. Kelly had starred alongside Sinatra in the 1956 film High Society, the last film she made before her marriage to Rainier III, Prince of Monaco. Sinatra had been follicularly challenged for many years, hence all the hats in publicity stills, album covers etc. TV directors were forbidden to photograph him from the back because of this. However, at this concert, Sinatra had completed a very successful hair transplant and deliberately turned his back on the main audience a couple of times to acknowledge the audience sitting backstage, along with running his hand over the back of his head to draw attention to his new coiffure.

Reviews
bkoganbing

Albert Hall is a place where royalty visits, it was named after Crown Prince Albert husband of Queen Victoria and it's some Hollywood who is also real royalty who begins the show. Her serene highness Princess Grace, former Kelly of Monaco who gets to introduce her former co-star from High Society Frank Sinatra who does a medley of his top tunes.One thing I've noticed about Sinatra concerts, he mixes new and old, I wish he would do some more songs identified with his career. I never hear All The Way or Young At Heart in any of the tapes of concerts. Never saw a live one, I would have to sell a kidney to have afforded a ticket.Vocal highlight is his version Rodgers&Hammerstein's I Have Dreamed from The King And I. Curiously enough Sinatra recorded this for an album The Concert Sinatra at the beginning of the Sixties. It remains the best version of the song ever done.That alone is reason enough to check out this concert.

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Tashtago

Old Blue Eyes at the peak or perhaps on the descending side of the peak but nevertheless in great form. The orchestra lacks the punch and hard swing of the Count Basie or Nelson Riddle Orchestras but that doesn't prevent Frank from turning in some top notch performances. Particularly good are several chestnuts: "Pennies from Heaven", "Lady is a Tramp", and "I've got you under my skin" he falters slightly on George Harrison's "Something" but admits that he hasn't "learned" the song yet. Praise of the highest order from one musical titan to another. Things pick up again during the slow set with a tremendous performance art rendition of "One for My Baby"; but the triumph here is Sinatra's towering interpretation of Hoagie Charmichal's "I get along without you very well" so devastating that the director cuts to a shot of a man in the crowd wiping tears from his eyes as the song closes. For Sinatra fans and TRUE music fans this is a gem that must be seen.

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