Personnel includes: Frank Sinatra (vocals); Nelson Riddle (arranger, conductor).
Recorded between May 1953 and March 1960. Includes liner notes by Pete Welding.
All tracks have been digitally remastered.
This is part of Capitol Records "Entertainer Of The Century" series.
Personnel: Frank Sinatra (vocals); Nelson Riddle (saxophone).
Liner Note Author: Pete Welding.
Recording information: 03/01/1960-03/13/1960.
Arranger: Nelson Riddle.
This is the sound of an artist in his prime, enjoying his success and expanding on his already impressive accomplishments. By the time of NICE 'N' EASY's release in 1960, Sinatra had established himself as one of the definitive voices in popular music, and in these recordings, rather than coast on that success, he uses it as an inspirational springboard. With the exception of the title song, each cut here is a newly recorded version of a song he tackled earlier in his career, most of them originally recorded by Sinatra in the '40s.
It's in the comparison between the new and old versions of the tunes that artistic achievements are most easily seen, in the maturity of both his voice and his singing style. One of the more romantic of his late '50s/early '60s recordings, NICE 'N' EASY is composed mostly of soft, sensual love ballads such as "I've Got A Crush On You" and "Embraceable You." The tunes are given heady, lighter-than-air arrangements by Nelson Riddle.
Professional Reviews
Mojo (Publisher) (2/01, p.105) - "...Riddle providing some of his warmest ballad arrangements as Sinatra mainly revived great evergreens that he had sung many times in the past..."
