Sinatra & Swingin Brass

Japanese only SHM paper sleeve pressing. The SHM-CD [Super High Material CD] format features enhanced audio quality through the use of a special polycarbonate plastic. Using a process developed by JVC and Universal Music Japan discovered through the joint companies' research into LCD display manufacturing, SHM-CDs feature improved transparency on the data side of the disc, allowing for more accurate reading of CD data by the CD player laser head. SHM-CD format CDs are fully compatible with standard CD players.

This 1962 album was arranged and conducted by Neil Hefti, and the biff-bang-pow nature of the music will come as no surprise to those who recall that Hefti also scored the Batman TV series. In truth, the record is far more rambunctious than it needs to be. An arrogant-sounding Sinatra teams up with a relentless horn section to bulldoze their way through the likes of "I Get a Kick Out of You," "They Can't Take That Away From Me," and "Tangerine;" it's fun, but only in a clenched-teeth sort of way. As a bonus track, the CD includes the gruesome novelty "Everybody's Twistin'," which is really more of a sociological artifact than an actual "bonus." --Dan Epstein