January 2017 marks the 50th anniversary of the release of one of popular music’s most iconic live albums … FRANK SINATRA’S ‘At The Sands’ set. The album was a faithful record of Ol’ Blue Eyes’ legendary concert at the famed Las Vegas Casino. Sinatra fans will know that what makes the album really special, aside from Sinatra being in his pomp, was that for the show he was backed by the full Count Basie Orchestra… an almost perfect musical marriage.
To commemorate the album’s anniversary, CURTIS STIGERS is all set to release his version of the show/recording. Released on January 6th, ‘One More For The Road’ sees the cross-genre musician backed by the Danish Radio Big Band and together they swing through ten Sinatra classics like ‘Come Fly With Me’, ‘The Lady Is A Tramp’ and ‘My Kind Of Town’. Naturally, the recording was a live affair and the musical arrangements are based on the original Nelson Riddle and Billy May charts.
Stigers describes the recordings as “the most fun I’ve ever had… and I think it shows on the record”. However, he’s adamant that the his album isn’t meant to be a simple recreation of the Sinatra show. Stigers has used the Sands concert as a template. Eight of the Stigers’ songs were sung at the Sands show but for his (Stigers’) concert he’s added ‘Summer Wind’ and ‘They Can’t Take That Away From Me’.
Equally, Stigers insists that his versions of the familiar songs aren’t carbon copies of the Sinatra takes; rather, he’s tried to make the songs his own. Make up your own minds when the long player is released on January 6th.
