Editorial Review:

Amazon.com:
At age 64, Sinatra recorded this three-LP (now two-CD) epic, a grandiloquent statement which attempted to sum up his career, as well as pay tribute to his status as America's greatest living singer. The result is at turns sublime, awful, and just plain bizarre; 'Reflections on the Future in Three Tenses,' Gordon Jenkins's bombastic suite that covers the last third of the set, almost gets over on camp value alone. Covers of such contemporary hits as Billy Joel's 'Just the Way You Are' and Neil Diamond's 'Song Sung Blue' don't really work, but 'The Theme from New York, New York' is classic Sinatra all the way. If the Chairman of the Board never made another record, this would at least have made for a suitably larger-than-life exit. --Dan Epstein

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Disc 1:

1. The Song Is You - Frank Sinatra, Hammerstein, Oscar
2. But Not for Me - Frank Sinatra, Gershwin, Ira
3. I Had the Craziest Dream - Frank Sinatra, Gordon, Mack
4. It Had to Be You - Frank Sinatra, Jones, Isham
5. Let's Face the Music and Dance - Frank Sinatra, Berlin, Irving
6. Street of Dreams - Frank Sinatra, Lewis, Sam M.
7. My Shining Hour - Frank Sinatra, Arlen, Harold
8. All of You - Frank Sinatra, Porter, Cole
9. More Than You Know - Frank Sinatra, Eliscu, Edward
10. They All Laughed - Frank Sinatra, Gershwin, George
11. You and Me (We Wanted It All) - Frank Sinatra, Allen, Peter
12. Just the Way You Are - Frank Sinatra, Joel, Billy
13. Something - Frank Sinatra, Harrison, George [1
14. MacArthur Park - Frank Sinatra, Webb, Jimmy [1]
15. Theme from New York, New York - Frank Sinatra, Ebb, Fred
16. Summer Me, Winter Me - Frank Sinatra, Bergman, Alan
17. Song Sung Blue - Frank Sinatra, Diamond, Neil
18. For the Good Times - Frank Sinatra, Kristofferson, Kris
19. Love Me Tender - Frank Sinatra, Matson, Vera
20. That's What God Looks Like to Me - Frank Sinatra, Irwin, Lois

Disc 2:

1. What Time Does the Next Miracle Leave? - Frank Sinatra, Jenkins, Gordon
2. World War None! - Frank Sinatra, Jenkins, Gordon
3. The Future - Frank Sinatra, Jenkins, Gordon
4. The Future (Continued): I've Been There - Frank Sinatra, Jenkins, Gordon
5. The Future (Conclusion): Song Without Words - Frank Sinatra, Jenkins, Gordon
6. Before the Music Ends (Finale) - Frank Sinatra, Jenkins, Gordon

Rating: - Prompt service
I purchased this as a gift so as far as the content of the CD I cannot attest. However, the shipment was prompt and well packaged and there were no complications with this order.

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Rating: - Great Service
This is a great CD with a lot of different Frank Sinatra songs that you haven't heard him sing before. Also has the Song You and Me on it, we were looking for this song for a while... good CD!

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Rating: - A Twilight Masterpiece
If ever Frank Sinatra demonstrated his amazing artistry, it is on the ambitious 106 minutes of music which spans the iconic chapters of his career, with a solid stride into the future.

Originally released in 1980, it produced yet another Sinatra vocal masterpiece, Theme from New York, New York, but each section has collaborations - The Past, Billy May; The Present, Don Costa; The Future, Gordon Jenkins - that are welcome additions to his vast performance library.

The standards are from legendary songwriters like George & Ira Gershwin, Jerome Kern & Oscar Hammerstein II, Irving Berlin and Cole Porter, with the pop material selected from the works of such contemporary stars like Billy Joel, George Harrison, Neil Diamond and Kris Kristofferson. But it's the 39-minute, free-form suite - The Future - written by Jenkins that is the cornerstone to this 2-CD set, which was initially issued on three albums.

This was Sinatra's first studio release since the 1974 Some Nice Things I've Missed. That he elected to tackle this project shows Sinatra again forging a new path and delivering a twilight masterpiece.

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Rating: - Bad Service
Took three tries to get the Sinatra Trilogy set. 1st time got disc 1. Returned and then rcvd disc 2. Returned that and finally 3rd delivery, got 2 discs. Still no boxed set as ad promised. Now Amazon email threatens to charge me a second time for unreturned earlier disc which went out with their label and return authorization? Totally screwed up!

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Rating: - The Best Effort Of Frank's Post Retirement Period.
Frank Sinatra hadn't released an album in almost five years when he began working in "Trilogy" in August of 1978. It was his most ambitious project to date: three dsics, with three different arrangers, each covering a different theme. The three themes were Past, Present, and Future, with songs correlating to each time period.

Upon its release, it greatly overwhelmed and polarized fans, especially the third section, a concept album of sorts that had Frank speculating about his nearing winter years and fantasizing about what the future holds for him. This section got the brunt of most journalists' criticisms, including several who referred to it as pompous and self-indulgent.

Nearly 30 years later, however, "Trilogy" has aged excellently, and as far as I'm concerned is his best effort from 1973 onward (along with 1981's "She Shot Me Down"). Each section of the album has its share of excellent material, even The Future, which is far as I'm concerned is an artistic triumph for Frank as well as arranger Gordon Jenkins.

Before reviewing each of the three discs, one thing I would like to point out is that Frank's voice is EXCELLENT. Anyone who believes Frank never got his voice back after 1973 is sorely mistaken. Frank sounds ever bit as good here as he did in 1942, 1956 or 1963: clear, tough, dramatic, powerful, able to hit a wide range of strong notes at both upper and lower register, combined with intricate phrasing and forceful breath control. The rasp that plagued him at 1974's "The Main Event" is almost completely nonexistent on this album.

The first section, The Past, is often recorded as the best of the three, and it's definitely excellent. On this section, Frank tackles songs he either never recorded or hadn't done in years, all arranged by the wonderful Billy May, who does some of his best work with Frank on this set.

From the opening track, a brand new rendition of "The Song Is You," it is clear Frank, at 63, is still at the top of hs game. May's arrangement explodes with energy, as Frank's voice dances around a torrent of furious horn lines and swirling strings, punching out notes and lyrics as forcefully as he did in 1958 (the last time Frank had done the song, with May as well, on "Come Dance With Me"). Frank recorded this song five times, but this version is definitive.

The rest of the album upholds the quality of the first track superbly, as Frank gives off definitive readings of classics he hadn't visited or visited in awhile, including a passionate "But Not For Me," a magical "I Had The Craziest Dream," a wonderfully dramatic updating of "Let's Face The Music And Dance," a roaring "Street Of Dreams," a soaring "My Shining Hour," a sincere "More Than You Know," and a fantastic "They All Laughed."

One other track worth singling out is "It Had To Be You." Many had sung this song before Frank, and many after, but no one has ever done a lovelier, more passionate and sincere rendition than Frank did on this album. It is one of his finest love songs and best latter day recordings.

The Present is a set of contemporary material, some newly written for Frank, some covers of other artists' hits. The contemporary numbers are excellent. "You And Me (We Wanted It All)" is a singularly beautiful and heartbreaking ballad that only Frank can sing. Frank pierces the very heart and soul of this song, as he details the rsie and fall of a romance that once was "the best" as he only he can. "Summer Me, Winter Me," in contrast, is one of his best love songs ever. Tender and warm, with an evergreen reading by Frank and a soaring, atmospheric Don Costa arrangement, it is one of the most underrated Frank recordings and is one of his shining hours on record. His voice is excellent on this one, especially as he punches out the refrain after the instrumental break. Finally, there's "That's What God Looks Like To Me," about discussing the identity of our Creator to his small child. It could've come across as silly and lightweight, but Frank turns it into a sincere and beautiful performance, very gentle and moving. If you have small child who has any questions about God, play them this song.

The covers of other artists' songs go over quite well. Billy Joel's "Just The Way You Are" is turned from a plain ballad into a fiery swinger, while Elvis's "Love Me Tender" is an excellent tribute to The King. And "MacArthur Park" is simply grand and recalls the 1961 recording of "Stardust" that Frank did on his first record with Costa, "Sinatra & Strings." Some recordings don't go over quite as well: Neil Diamond's "Song Sung Blue" is ruined by unnecessary backing vocalists, and Kris Kristoferson's "For The Good Times" would've been better without the annoying Opera singer.

There are two recordings on this set, that most be singled out. One is Frank's rendition of The Beatles' "Something." Often called by Frank "The Greatest Love Song Ever Written," Frank gives one of his most soulful and haunting performances ever on this track, backed by a breathtaking string arrangement by Nelson Riddle. As much as I love The Beatles' version, Frank takes this song to a whole other level, and creates the definitive version.

The other recording worth noting is "New York, New York." Okay, so everyone knows the song, it's Frank's most popular recording, blah, blah, blah. But regardless of the fact that for many it's overplayed, it's still a landmark recording for Frank. Here's Frank The Legend sounding as good as ever, 40 years after he made it, still punching through long, furious notes like a pro, right up to the grand finale, a crashing, operatic finish that only he could accomplish. The fact that at 64, Frank could still score a song that would become among his most well known gives ample creedence to his appeal, influence and legacy.

"The Future" is a bit of a hard section to review, but I love it. Gordon Jenkins' arrangements are some of his beautiful - lush, soaring string lines, subtle, pensive horns, beautiful backing vocalist adding further atmosphere - and Frank does his best singing on this section. His voice is dramatic, grand and ascends to almost operatic peaks. His singing is not dissimilar to the style he used on his 1963 classic "The Concert Sinatra," and he sounds just as good as he did at 47 at 64. Some songs, like "World War None" are a bit too pretentious, but Frank's passion and dedication more than make up for the lack of meter. "What Time Does The Next Miracle Leave" is an epic masterwork that has Frank's storytelling abilities at their zenith, as he takes through Outer Space and back, leading us on an atmospheric journey through our Solar System. The closing "Before The Music Ends" is a magnum opus, a summation of Frank's life that will leave you breathless by the song's end, and gives a grand powerful closing to the album.

Ignore the naysayers and purchase this album. "Trilogy" is a fantastic effort, and while not as good as his Capitol material, is in the Top 20 Best Frank Albums and is an essential purchase.