L.A. Is My Lady
This album received a lot of publicity when it came out in 1984, chiefly because of the title track, a rather obvious attempt to rack up another hit along the lines of "Chicago" and "Theme from New York, New York." Much better, however, are Sinatra's renditions of standards such as "How Do You Keep the Music Playing?," "Mack the Knife," and "Stormy Weather." Sinatra's voice is showing its age, but his masterful phrasing repeatedly saves the day. Unfortunately, the musical backing (by Quincy Jones and his Orchestra, which includes such luminaries as George Benson, Lionel Hampton, and Urbie Green) is nauseatingly slick; there's very little of the give-and-take between singer and band that marked Sinatra's finest work.--Dan Epstein