Sinatra & Swingin Brass
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 theBatmanTV 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