Album Review

Stephen Thomas Erlewine [allmusic.com]

Recorded with Billy May, Sinatra Swings was Frank Sinatra's first straight swing album for Reprise Records. In terms of content and approach, the record is remarkably similar to his final Capitol swing effort, Come Swing with Me. In fact, Capitol thought the album, originally titled Swing Along with Me, was so close in its sound and title that they sued Sinatra. The record label won the suit, and the singer had to change the name of his Reprise album to Sinatra Swings. Of course, that didn't change the actual content of the record. Even though the tone was similar, there were some differences from Come Swing with Me -- the ballads have strings, there are saxophones on the record, and the material is more lighthearted on Sinatra Swings, much like the songs on Come Fly with Me. The restored sense of humor makes Sinatra Swings preferable to Come Swing with Me, even if it doesn't have the concentrated precision of the first two Sinatra/May sets.