New music: 'Frank Sinatra Collection,' Chris Fullerton, GospelbeacH, John Williams & Simone Pedroni

A mix of old and new treasures play out via several legendary television specials featuring many of the greatest singers of the 20th century, a collaboration between composer John Williams and classical pianist Simone Pedroni, and two new albums featuring outstanding emerging artists.  

Title: The Frank Sinatra Collection; The Timex Shows Vol. 1 & Vol. 2
You might like if you enjoy: Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Lena Horne, Bing Crosby, Elvis Presley, Ella Fitzgerald
Tell me more: The four hour-long episodes that play out across volumes 1 and 2 of "The Frank Sinatra Collection" are true time machines. Volume 1 features two episodes of the Sinatra series, including the first episode broadcast on Oct. 19, 1959 and featuring guests Dean Martin, Bing Crosby and Mitzi Gaynor. The second episode (broadcast in late 1959) is highlighted by several appearances by legendary singer Ella Fitzgerald, including the beautiful "There's a Lull in My Life." 

Kicking off the second volume is an early 1960 episode titled "To The Ladies" featuring Sinatra joined by guests Lena Horne, Mary Costa, Juliet Prowse and former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The final episode serves as a tribute to Elvis Presley, with Sinatra and a cast of notables welcoming home Presley when he returned from his U.S. Army service in March 1960. But that episode also features Ol' Blue Eyes delivering a stirring live version of "Witchcraft" while Sammy Davis Jr. sings "Come On Bess" from "Porgy and Bess"; the show comes to a dramatic close with several performances featuring the King of Rock and Roll including Sinatra and Presley joining forces for a medley "Witchcraft" and "Love Me Tender." The comedy and music across the two discs is top-rate, and the episodes really serve as a time machine for the style of musical variety programming that graced the airwaves in television's formative years. Information: eagle-rock.com.

Artist: Chris Fullerton
Title: Epilepsy Blues (Eight 30 Records)
You might like if you enjoy: Corb Lund, Michael Ubaldini, Townes Van Zandt
Tell me more: Austin-based singer-songwriter Chris Fullerton is the rare modern-day artist able to tap into the traditional sounds personified by Hank Williams and Hank Snow while delivering wry and insightful lyrics that capture life's myriad of of challenges and joys in the here and now. The title of Fullerton's new album Epilepsy Blues is not merely a clever phrase; Fullerton has epilepsy and that reality informs many of the songs on the 10-song disc. "Bad Winds" is delivered with minimal accompaniment, Fullerton's deep baritone deciphering the pain of dark places; the title track chronicles the struggles of his condition, including enduring epileptic seizures as he sings: "The first time's bad but the second time it's worse / the third time's sad and the fourth time it just hurts / but it's all downhill from there, it don't get no worse." Elsewhere the magic of life plays out in sharp contrast to the bad times. The sparse "Float On Up & See" is as beautiful and affecting as any love song released in memory, and the acoustic ballad "Come On In" is almost equal to that master stroke with its quiet power. Information: chrisfullerton.com.

Artist: GospelbeacH
Title: Another Summer of Love
You might like if you enjoy: Dawes, Simon and Garfunkel, Tom Petty, Beachwood Sparks
Tell me more: While it has been 50 years since the original Summer of Love enraptured the world in 1967, the Brent Rademaker-fronted troupe GospelbeacH conjures up that mythical season on its aptly-titled disc Another Summer of Love. With a shimmering sound that recalls the Laurel Canyon sound of the late 1960s and early 1970s, Rademaker's pleasing voice and acoustic guitar is adorned with lush arrangements that make for folk rock that is melodic and ambitious. The breezy "In the Desert," driving "California Fantasy," alt country-spirited "You're Already Home" and "The City Limits," and Byrds-meets-Tom Petty gem "(I Wanna See U) All the Time" featuring Jason Soda's 12-string guitar textures. Other musicians whose notable contributions help create the beautiful soundscape that helps define Another Summer of Love include keyboardist Jonny Niemann, drummers Derek Brown and George Sluppick, bassist Ben Reddell, backup singers Miranda Lee Richards and Pearl Charles. Information: Alive-Records.com.

Artists: John Williams, composer; Simone Pedroni, piano
Title: John Williams: Themes and Transcriptions for Piano (Varèse Sarabande Records)
You might like if you enjoy: John Williams, Simone Pedroni
Tell me more: Composer John Williams and famed classical pianist Simone Pedroni have joined forces for one of the more interesting and successful collaborations in memory. Williams and Pedroni each transcribed about half of the pieces included on John Williams: Themes and Transcriptions for Piano, with Williams' own piano suites from his "Lincoln" and "The Book Thief" among the highlights. All of the piano-only arrangements dazzle thanks to Pedroni's incredible talents at the Steinway Concert Grand piano. Fans of Williams' enduring "Star Wars" and "Harry Potter"-related scores, as well as his soundtrack for "Schindler's List" and others will find this a dynamic listening experience allowing Williams' timeless compositions to be rediscovered. Information: VareseSarabande.com.

Robert Kinsler

The Frank Sinatra Collection "The Timex Shows Vol. 1 & Vol. 2' coming to DVD, digital formats

Fans of Frank Sinatra will obviously be interested in getting these treasured television specials originally broadcast in 1959 and 1960. As if getting to see Sinatra perform wasn't treat alone, some of the era's other greats such as Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Ella Fitzgerald and Elvis Presley are also featured...

EAGLE ROCK ANNOUNCES THE NEXT ENTRIES IN

THE FRANK SINATRA COLLECTION

THE TIMEX SHOWS VOL. 1 & VOL 2.

~ON DVD AND DIGITAL FORMATS ON MAY 19, 2017~

New York, NY (March 6, 2017)-- On May 19, 2017, Eagle Rock Entertainment will release another pair of titles in The Frank Sinatra Collection on DVD and digital formats. On license from Frank Sinatra Enterprises (FSE), the definitive collection pulls together some of the finest performances on television and in concert from the greatest entertainer of the 20th century.

The Timex Shows Vol.1 
The Frank Sinatra Timex Show / An Afternoon With Frank Sinatra

The Frank Sinatra Collection brings together some of Frank Sinatra’s finest performances on television and in concert. This release combines his first two Timex TV shows from the late ‘50s.

THE FRANK SINATRA TIMEX SHOW – First broadcast by ABC on October 19, 1959. This was the first of four Timex-sponsored television specials that Sinatrahosted. It’s a fun and energetic show that captures Frank Sinatra at the top of his game. Guests include Dean Martin, Mitzi Gaynor and Bing Crosby, who join forces for an opening rendition of “High Hopes” and later Jimmy Durante makes a surprise appearance.

AN AFTERNOON WITH FRANK SINATRA – First broadcast by ABC on December 13, 1959, ‘An Afternoon With Frank Sinatra’ was the second of Sinatra’s four Timex television specials. The show includes guest appearances from Peter Lawford, Hermione Gingold, The Hi-Lo’s, Red Norvo’s jazz combo, dancer Juliet Prowse and the incomparable Ella Fitzgerald. Sinatra sings such hits as “I’ve Got The World On A String,” "I'll Never Smile Again" and duets on "Can't We Be Friends" with Ella.

The Timex Shows Vol.2 
To The Ladies / Welcome Home Elvis

This release combines his two final Timex TV shows from 1960.

TO THE LADIES – First broadcast by ABC on February 15, 1960, ‘To The Ladies’ surrounded Frank Sinatra with a host of wonderful female performers for his third Timex-sponsored television special. It’s a mix of comedy, opera, dancing and great songs. Guests include Lena Horne, Mary Costa, Barbara Heller, Juliet Prowseand special guest star Eleanor Roosevelt.

WELCOME HOME ELVIS – First broadcast by ABC on May 12, 1960, ‘Welcome Home Elvis’ was Frank Sinatra’s fourth and final Timex special. It marked Elvis Presley’s first TV appearance after coming home from military service. Elvis performs “Fame And Fortune” and “Stuck On You” then Presley and Sinatra join forces on great renditions of “Witchcraft” and “Love Me Tender.” Joining in the fun is Nancy Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop.

FULL TRACKLISTING INFORMATION

‘THE TIMEX SHOWS VOL. 1’

THE FRANK SINATRA TIMEX SHOW 
1) High Hopes (Bing Crosby/Dean Martin/Mitzi Gaynor) 2) Day In, Day Out (Frank Sinatra) 3) Together, Wherever We Go (Frank Sinatra/Bing Crosby/Dean Martin) 4) Hurricane (Mitzi Gaynor) 5) Talk To Me (Frank Sinatra/Mitzi Gaynor) 6) Cheek To Cheek (Bing Crosby/Dean Martin/Mitzi Gaynor) 7) Wrap Your Trouble In Dreams (Dean Martin 8) Medley: Good Old Songs/Down By The Old Mill Stream/The Old Gray Mare/In Shade Of The Old Apple Tree/That Old Feeling/Down The Old Ox Road/Old Rockin’ Chair/Old Devil Moon/You’re An Old Smoothie/My Old Flame/Ol’ Man River (Frank Sinatra/Bing Crosby/Dean Martin) 9) High Hopes (Frank Sinatra) 10) Medley: Just One Of Those Things/Angel Eyes/The Lady Is A Tramp (Frank Sinatra) 11) Medley: Start Each Day With A Song/Inka Dinka Doo/Baby, Won’t You Please Come Home (Frank Sinatra/Bing Crosby/Dean Martin/Mitzi Gaynor/Jimmy Durante)

AN AFTERNOON WITH FRANK SINATRA 
1) Spend The Afternoon With Me (Frank Sinatra) 2) I’ve Got The World On A String (Frank Sinatra) 3) The Desert Is Calling (The Hi-Lo’s) 4) Comes Love (Hermione Gingold/Peter Lawford) 5) There’s A Lull In My Life (Ella Fitzgerald) 6) It’s All Right With Me (Frank Sinatra) 7) Juliet Prowse Dance Routine 8) Too Marvelous For Words (Frank Sinatra/Red Norvo Quintet) 9) Here Is That Rainy Day (Frank Sinatra/Red Norvo Quintet) 10) Just You, Just Me (Ella Fitzgerald) 11) I’ll Never Smile Again (Frank Sinatra/The Hi-Lo’s) 12) Can’t We Be Friends (Frank Sinatra/Ella Fitzgerald) 13) Puttin’ On The Ritz (Hermione Gingold/Peter Lawford/Juliet Prowse) 14) He Loves And She Loves (Ella Fitzgerald) 15) Love Walked Right In (The Hi-Lo’s) 16) Our Love Is Here To Stay (Frank Sinatra) 17) Love Is Sweeping The Country (Frank Sinatra/Hermione Gingold/Peter Lawford/Juliet Prowse/Ella Fitzgerald)

‘THE TIMEX SHOWS VOL. 2’

TO THE LADIES 
1) Here’s To The Ladies (Frank Sinatra) 2) I’ve Got You Under My Skin (Frank Sinatra) 3) Ouvre Ton Coeur (Mary Costa) 4) By Strauss (Barbara Heller) 5) Ring The Bell (Lena Horne) 6) Come Cha Cha With Me (Juliet Prowse) 7) It’s A Lonesome Old Town (Frank Sinatra) 8) But Beautiful (Lena Horne) 9) From This Moment On (Lena Horne) 10) Harold Arlen Medley: As Long As I Live/It’s Only A Paper Moon/One For My Baby/Accentuate The Positive/Stormy Weather/Get Happy/Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea (Frank Sinatra/Lena Horne) 11) My Heart Stood Still (Frank Sinatra) 12) Yours Is My Heart Alone (Mary Costa) 13) Afraid Of Love (Barbara Heller) 14) My Heart Belongs To Daddy (Lena Horne) 15) My Funny Valentine (Juliet Prowse) 16) High Hopes (Eleanor Roosevelt) 17) Here’s To The Ladies (Frank Sinatra)

WELCOME HOME ELVIS 
1) It’s Nice To Go Trav’ling (Frank Sinatra/Joey Bishop/Sammy Davis Jr/Nancy Sinatra) 2) It’s Nice To Go Trav’ling (Frank Sinatra/Joey Bishop/Sammy Davis Jr/Nancy Sinatra/Elvis Presley) 3) Witchcraft (Frank Sinatra) 4) Come On Bess (Sammy Davis Jr) 5) Oriental Dance (Leona Irwin & The Tommy Hansen Dancers) 6) Gone With The Wind (Frank Sinatra) 7) Uh Oh! (Nutty Squirrels) 8) All The Way (Sammy Davis Jr) 9) Shall We Dance (Sammy Davis Jr/Peter Lawford) 10) Fame And Fortune (Elvis Presley) 11) Stuck On You (Elvis Presley) 12) Medley: Witchcraft/Love Me Tender (Frank Sinatra/Elvis Presley) 13) Medley: Witchcraft/Love Me Tender - Reprise (Frank Sinatra/Elvis Presley) 14) You Make Me Feel So Young (Frank Sinatra/Nancy Sinatra) 15) Let’s Dance (Nancy Sinatra)

About Frank Sinatra

Throughout his nine-decade career, Frank Sinatra performed on more than 1,400 recordings and was awarded 31 gold, nine platinum, three double platinum and one triple platinum album by the Recording Industry Associated of America. He extends his record to 57 for the most top 40 albums on the Billboard 200 with this year’s new Ultimate Sinatra release. Sinatra has had Top 40 hits on the charts for eight decades, which is as long as the Billboard charts have existed. He received nine GRAMMY Awards over the course of his career, including three for the prestigious Album of the Year, and an Oscar. Sinatra demonstrated a remarkable ability to appeal to every generation and continues to do so; his artistry still influences many of today’s music superstars. He also appeared in more than 60 films and produced eight motion pictures.

Sinatra was awarded Lifetime Achievement Awards from The Recording Academy, The Screen Actors Guild and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), as well as the Kennedy Center Honors, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal. Today, he remains a legend and an inspiration around the world for his contributions to culture and the arts.

About Frank Sinatra Enterprises (FSE)

Frank Sinatra Enterprises is a joint venture between the Sinatra family and Warner Music Group. FSE owns Sinatra’s recordings from the Reprise era as well as a treasure trove of films, television specials and unreleased footage, photos and audio recordings, which collectively represent one of the foremost bodies of artistic work of the modern era. FSE also owns and manages Sinatra’s name and likeness rights and represents the artist’s rights to the Columbia and Capitol catalogues. FSE pursues innovative new product and venture opportunities with respect to the legendary entertainer’s name and likeness, as well as Sinatra’s audio and visual recordings. (www.sinatra.com)

She & Him share "Happy Holiday" + Album out Oct. 28, 2016

Here is some early holiday cheer courtesy of the wonderful duo She & Him…

SHE & HIM 

SHARE TRACK "HAPPY HOLIDAY" - LISTEN HERE

CHRISTMAS PARTY 

OUT OCTOBER 28TH ON COLUMBIA RECORDS

Today, She & Him share their beguiling cover of the much-loved Bing Crosby classic "Happy Holiday." Click here to listen and post! 

She & Him's eagerly awaited new album Christmas Party is out October 28th on Columbia Records. Christmas Party is the sixth album from the duo comprised of Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward, and is the follow up to their wildly popular A Very She And Him Christmas. Christmas Party features guest appearances by Jenny Lewis, The Chapin Sisters and Sonic Youth's Steve Shelley.

Christmas Party is replete with holiday favorites - including classics like Darlene Love and Phil Spector's "Marshmallow World," Bing Crosby's "Mele Kalikimaka" and Chuck Berry's "Run Run Rudolph." But, Ward and Deschanel also may introduce listeners to the more obscure tracks such as folk-singer Vashti Bunyon's "Coldest Night of the Year" and the lesser known Sinatra track "Christmas Memories." Pop favorites such as Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You" and The Chipmunks "Christmas Don't Be Late" round out the celebration. Throughout the album is She & Him's signature organic stripped down take on production. 

Christmas Party will be available digitally, on CD and vinyl on October 28th. For more information visit www.sheandhim.com

Track Listing:

1. All I Want for Christmas Is You

2. Let It Snow

3. Must Be Santa

4. Happy Holiday

5. Mele Kalikimaka

6. Christmas Memories

7. Run Run Rudolph

8. Winter Wonderland

9. The Coldest Night of the Year

10. A Marshmallow World

11. The Man with the Bag

12. Christmas Don't Be Late

More About She & Him

Christmas Party

By Sarah Tapscott

This Christmas season, She & Him would like to invite you to a party. The start time is precisely the moment you crave holiday nostalgia and gingerbread-fueled merriment. The dress code happens to be whatever you're wearing, though flexibility is encouraged, as a desire to dance will be likely, if not unavoidable. And you're invited to bring as many loved ones along as you please. Well, except maybe that one guy - you know the one.

 

Christmas Party, She & Him's second Christmas record, is a unique gathering of friends and family, where a mixture of perennial classics, happy accidents, and friendly faces create an atmosphere where the magic of Christmas not only blossoms but is rediscovered.  

 

It was the positive experience they had recording their first Christmas record, A Very She & Him Christmas, in 2011 that brought M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel back for another round of holiday cheer. Much like their first Christmas record, She & Him bring an organic and minimalistic approach to their holiday covers. Highly produced classics get stripped down to their most fundamental elements, a style perfectly evinced on their rendition of "Marshmallow World", originally covered by Darlene Love on the Phil Spector Christmas album. In this vein, you won't find any accompanying orchestra or full-piece brass bands on Christmas Party. Instead, She & Him rely on friends and family to lend a simple and authentic holiday vibe to this album, one where the guest list speaks for itself. 

 

For starters, you'll find Sonic Youth's Steve Shelley playing drums on all the tracks. Close friends and tour buddies, The Chapin Sisters, add their harmonies to back up and lead, as does indie rock darling Jenny Lewis. "She's a great singer and I'm a big fan," says Zooey. Also joining the fun are a number of Ward's friends from Portland and even Zooey's husband Jacob and their daughter Elsie. 

 

In the years between the two holiday records, She & Him released Vol. 3, an album of original songs, and kept their affection for covers alive with Classics, a compilation of covers of their favorite standards. Throughout these intervening years and albums, Zooey and Ward gradually culled a new collection of holiday songs to re-interpret, tucking them away like a stack of presents growing under a tree. 

 

It's this diverse choice of tracks that keeps Christmas Party from being a one room, one note get-together. Instead, the colorful song list takes you on a Santa-like journey, traversing the globe and dropping you down into a variety of holiday settings with friends and loved ones. The expedition kicks off with a good old-fashioned dance party where Mariah Carey's newly minted classic "All I Want For Christmas" is re-imagined and infused with a style reminiscent of the Phil Spector Christmas record. "I've always loved this song, and I was like, 'I'd love to hear it without the digital keyboards. I'd love to hear it recorded in a little more of an old school way,'" says Zooey.  

 

Shortly after, you're handed a glass of eggnog and welcomed into a group of friends in the jovial sing-a-long "Must Be Santa," where Jenny Lewis joins Zooey and Ward on lead as Ward's friends from Portland make up the "gang vocals". Voices are raised, along with glasses, in this high-energy call-and-repeat that even includes a surprise political reference sneakily hidden into the chorus, awaiting discovery, like a bright ornament hidden deep within a pine tree.  

 

Your travels continue, taking you to the warm sandy beaches of Hawaii, as The Chapin Sisters breezily harmonize with Zooey on the Polynesian favorite "Mele Kalikimaka." Next it's off to a party in the sky as you jump back on the sleigh, put on your Ray-Bans, and let Steve Shelley's drums and M. Ward's gruffy vocals kick up the cool with Chuck Berry's mad-dash anthem "Run Run Rudolph." 

 

Whether it's an unexpected guest under the mistletoe or a spit take at a drunken uncle's crazy yarn, every good holiday party has its surprises, and there's nothing She & Him love more than a happy accident. On Zooey and Jenny Lewis's Everly Brothers-influenced rendition of "Winter Wonderland," the track used is not only their very first take singing the song, but also includes a spur of the moment staccato giggle from Zooey. "It was totally spontaneous and we like that stuff," says Zooey. Another fortuitous surprise occurred during the recording of Irving Berlin's iconic "Happy Holiday." "My husband, Jacob, was playing jingle bells with Elsie in his arms when she started making a baby noise which happened to be in tune with the song." Her daughter's soft echoes, along with the organ, blend to create a familiar feeling of being at an ice rink with your family.

 

Christmas Party not only captures an organic world of sometimes unplanned whimsy, but also introduces us to new, esoteric songs and settings. "Coldest Night Of The Year" is a holiday song by folk singer Vashti Bunyan that Zooey discovered on a box set and instantly fell in love with. "Christmas Memories" is another obscure track by Sinatra that is one of Matt and Zooey's favorites."When I sing it, I think of Christmas at my grandparents' house with all my cousins and my family... I hope this can be a record that makes people feel warm and happy and think of family."

 

With every Christmas party, there comes a time, whether staring at the flames of the fire, rapt by their flickering, or gazing longingly at the snow as it shakes loose of the night sky, that you have a moment with yourself to reflect on the true meaning of the holidays. On Christmas Party this moment appropriately comes on the final track. "Christmas Don't Be Late", a song typically associated with The Chipmunks, is given new life as a quiet lullaby as Zooey plays it solo on ukulele. Ward observes, "She's bringing the song more soul than it has been brought in the past."

 

As Christmas Party comes to a close, the listener can take solace in knowing the door on this gathering is never fully shut. The sing-alongs, the happy accidents, the quiet moments with loved ones - they're all waiting for you whenever you wish to immerse yourself in the splendor of the season. As Ward himself says, "Music is one of the purest ways into Christmas."