Boy keeps swingin’…
Topped the Chart:
15th September 1957 (for seven weeks)
Seven weeks total
Sequels tend to go in one of three directions: you can either offer more of the same, or go bigger and more populist or, in fewer cases, you can make things get a bit weird. Let’s call it the Die Hard vs Star Trek vs Batman Returns rule.
Well, I’m going to call it that anyway.
Not just a sequel in spirit, A Swingin’ Affair! is one in name too (turns out at least one of those Swingin’ Lovers weren’t fully satisfied), and it’s very much a case of the first of those options. Affair carries the same formula for Frank of mixing big band and swing, but with a brasher, bolder delivery for the man himself—occasionally with mixed results. But while it might not feel as fresh as Songs For Swingin’ Lovers, Affair certainly isn’t stale. No new ground is being broken here, but much like Loving You by Elvis, the song selection is almost infallible.
Also elevating the material is the man with the baton, arranger Nelson Riddle. Without doubt, these are his most powerful arrangements for Sinatra to date, supporting the singer’s storytelling on almost every track. It’s there on I Won’t Dance, where Sinatra might be resolute, but it’s the strings and brass swirling around each other that push him towards the floor at the bridge to suggest that, actually, he just might. Meanwhile the violins on The Stars Fell on Alabama actually sound like stars falling on Alabama!
Compare Riddle’s complex work here with the anaemic Gordon Jenkins on Nat King Cole’s Love is the Thing: both rely heavily on strings but where Jenkins struggles to explore different sounds, Riddle manages to wrap brass around songs like Night and Day to add punch, using the trumpet to break I Got Plenty O Nuttin’ into full on swing mode, yet stripping things back to double bass and piano when needed on I Wish I Were in Love Again.
As great as Ol’ Blue Eyes may be, his bravado gets the better of him at times on this occasion. He’s much better when exploring quieter more subtle moments, like I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good) and The Lonesome Road. On the bigger, bolder tracks like the otherwise mighty Night and Day, he does have a tendency to honk as he strains for the bigger notes.
Sinatra might be past his second peak at this point, but he still has the perfect foil in Riddle, and now we’re just past Frank’s second peak, his work would be significantly weaker in this period without his fellow New Jerseyite.
Score: 7/10
What are your thoughts on A Swingin' Affair? How does it compare as a sequel? Let us know in the comments below...
Tracklisting:
1. Night and Day
2. I Wish I Were in Love Again
3. I Got Plenty O Nuttin’
4. I Guess I’ll Have to Change My Plan
5. Nice Work If You Can Get It
6. Stars Fell on Alabama
7. No One Ever Tells You
8. I Won’t Dance
9. The Lonesome Road
10. At Long Last Love
11. You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To
12. I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)
13. From This Moment On
14. If I Had You
15. Oh! Look at Me Now
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