Various Artists – “SIN-atra”

What a great concept. Take a legendary singer like Frank Sinatra and have some of the best players in the hard rock/heavy metal world reinterpret his classic tunes. Where else can you possibly hear dUG Pinnick of Kings X fame crooning on the old time standard, “I’ve Got The World On A String” or Joey Belladdona of Anthrax belting out the fan favorite, “Strangers In The Night?”

The sheer novelty of this disc is worth the purchase, but if you dig deeper there are some really ingenious reworkings of these tunes. Producers Bob Kullick and Brett Chassen have really created something special here, reworking most of the arrangements (some more than others) while still retaining the essence of the man, the myth, the legend: Frank Sinatra.

Make no mistake though, this is not a rehash of your parent’s Sinatra records, rather it’s a fresh, wildly inventive, at times heavy as hell collection of songs that are really enjoyable. I really love the idea of distortion and killer lead guitar breaks combined with horns while sung to Sinatra lyrics and melodies. I think this is brilliant! Much like Sinatra himself, the musicians assembled here are some of the best in the business. I think it’s the melding of the old with the new that really makes this disc work on multiple levels.

On a closing note, as a huge fan of Twisted Sister, I must tell you that I absolutely dig Dee Snider (Twisted Sister) singing “It Was A Very Good Year.” This one of my favorite Sinatra songs and with Dee’s reinterpretation I think it’s priceless. At the end of the day, SIN-atra is well worth the price of admission and is something that I think, ‘Old Blue Eyes’ would be proud of himself.  [ END ]

Track Listing:

01. New York, New York – Feat. Devin Townsend
02. I’ve Got You Under My Skin – Feat. Glenn Hughes
03. Summer Wind – Feat. Geoff Tate
04. It Was A Vey Good Year – Feat Dee Snider
05. Witchcraft – Feat. Tim “Ripper” Owens
06. Fly Me To The Moon – Feat robin Zander
07. The Lady Is A Tramp – Feat. Eric Martin
08. Strangers In The Night – Feat. Joey Belladonna
09. High Hopes – Feat.Franky Perez
10. I’ve Got The World On A String – Feat. dUG Pinnick
11. Love And Marriage – Feat. Ellias Soriano
12. That’s Life – Feat. Jani Lane & Ritchie Kotzen

Run Time: 48:17
Release Date: 03.28.2011