International superstar Michael Bolton has taken on another extraordinary challenge with Bolton Swings Sinatra. The collection finds him singing classics like “New York, New York,” “Night and Day,” “My Funny Valentine,” “Fly Me to the Moon,” “Girl From Ipanema” and “That’s Life,” and bringing in special guest Nicollette Sheridan for a duet on “The Second Time Around.”
“For years I’ve kept a list of dream projects,” Bolton notes. “At the top of that list was an album of songs made famous by Frank Sinatra.”
Supervising the arrangements and orchestrations down to the last note, he’s created an affectionate, dynamic tribute to some of the greatest recordings of the 20th century. The result will be a revelation even for longtime fans – passionate, playful, boisterous, intimate and everything in between.
“It’s such an honor to have an opportunity to work with Michael Bolton,” said Glen Barros, president of Concord Music Group, in a press release. “Like all of his great recordings, it’s clear that he’s put his heart and soul into this incredible project. I’m sure it will resonate with his millions of fans and, in addition, attract an enormous group of new ones.”
Bolton is accompanied by what he calls an “A-plus musicians,” that includes 17 horns and 35 string players, and working with arrangements and audio technicians in the legendary Capitol studios where the “Chairman of the Board” and countless other icons have put down tracks. He was further aided in this endeavor by co-producer Alex Christensen, arranger Chris Walden and engineer-mixer Al Schmitt, the latter a veteran of many Sinatra sessions, among other famed recordings.
“They’re brilliant,” Bolton asserts of these aural architects. “They helped make everyone feel happy – the players loved the creative environment. Al’s like the doctor who’s delivered 200 of the most famous babies in the world,” he adds, referring to Schmitt’s extraordinary track record in the studio, which has earned him 15 Grammy trophies.
The process went so smoothly, Bolton reveals, that they finished the musicians’ parts with time to spare. “I’ve never sent string players home early,” he insists. “The album just came together so beautifully – like it was meant to be.”
Having already sold 53 million albums, scaled the Pop, R&B and Classical charts, performed at sold-out venues worldwide, sung with Luciano Pavarotti and Ray Charles, written songs with Bob Dylan, traded guitar licks with B.B. King and penned hits for Barbra Streisand and KISS, anyone but Bolton might have been tempted to rest on his laurels.
Instead, true to form, the vocalist threw himself into researching Sinatra’s life and work and preparing to put his own mark on a selection of material that the Chairman of the Board had made his own.
Of his duet with Sheridan, he relates, “Nicollette always sang around me until she thought I was listening – then she’d get self-conscious. But I always told her she had wonderful pitch and beautiful tone. I played her “The Second Time Around” and suggested she sing it with me, and she just lit up. The song just captured what we’ve been feeling – that love really is better further down the road, like the song says, with both feet on the ground.”
Still, considering Sheridan had never presented herself as a singer, the experience was a bit overwhelming. “She had to walk past the photo of Judy Garland on her way to the vocal booth,” says Bolton, laughing. “But she was just fine.” And as you can hear she did a beautiful job.
Bolton Swings Sinatra is now available at Amazon . Visit the music database for more information and a complete track listing.
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