Frank Sinatra's Robin & The Seven Hoods
(Score from the motion picture, LP, Reprise, 1964; CD, DCC, 2000)
Releases in 1964, The movie Robin and the 7 Hoods was produced by Frank Sinatra, and starred himself, Dean Martin, Bing Crosby, and Sammy Davis Jr. (Peter Falk was also on board and attempted – and failed – to sing.) The storyline is... well, mildly entertaining, but this isn’t a movie review. Let me just explain that what we have here are four of the greatest male musical entertainers of the previous century, all of which were arguably at or reasonably near the height of their vocal powers. And the orchestration was done by Nelson Riddle, who was INarguably one of the greatest band leaders of that rapidly receding century. So with this cast what could go wrong? Possibly a lot, but nothing did. This, ladies and gentlemen – and audiophiles – is indeed a classic.
This is not actually the soundtrack used in the movie itself. Sinatra was reportedly not happy with the limitations of the sound that was that was recorded during the filming – and he still owned a third of the Reprise record label, so... This was recorded in studios after the movie had wrapped, and released in the same month as the movie. This result of that approach attests to the fact that this was an excellent judgement call on his part.
All of the four stars of course have star turns in songs, and they do not disappoint. Sinatra demonstrates why many still regard him as the greatest-ever American popular singer, turning in notable versions of “My Kind of Town” and “I Like to Lead When I Dance.” Crosby’s career had passed its peak when this was recorded, but you can’t tell that from the vocal chops he displays in “Don’t Be a Do-Badder” and the memorable “Mr. Booze.” Great performances are also in evidence from Deano and Sammy D. When they all team up in the aforementioned “Mr. Booze” the result seems to demonstrate that they were all genuinely having a great time.
The LP is one version, the CD is quite another.
Dunhill Compact Classics (aka DCC, 1986-2001) was a company dedicated to producing audiophile CDs, often in the form of remastered gold discs. In cooperation with Sinatra’s estate they released an audiophile version of Robin in 2000, remastered from the original master tapes by the well-known audio engineer Steve Hoffman using all-tube equipment. Despite my belief in vinyl as generally the superior medium, this is the version I have to highly recommend. It may have a slightly less dynamic sound than the LP, but the CD sound is excellent – full, natural, and detailed. (And of course, free from the hash and surface issues that might come with used LPs from the ‘60’s.) AND It also includes some entertaining between-song banter between the stars which is not on the LP. It is a delight.
Most, or possibly all, of the discs that DCC produced are “collectors’ items,” commanding prices that while not exactly stratospheric are more than many of us are willing to pay. The price on Discogs for this gem has actually come down on this from what it was just a couple of years ago – from $65 + to a more reasonable $30 or so. A decent copy of the LP can be had for $10-15. Either version is well worth it!