My Way＜限定盤/Translucent Green Vinyl＞

Although it follows the same patterns and approach as Cycles, My Way is a stronger album, with a better, more varied selection of material and a more focused, gutsy performance from Frank Sinatra. Built around the hit single "My Way," the album again alternates between rock covers ("Yesterday," "Hallelujah, I Love Her So," "For Once in My Life," "Didn't We," "Mrs. Robinson"), a couple of adapted French songs, and a handful of standards. This time out, Don Costa has written more engaging charts than the previous Cycles. The Beatles' "Yesterday" is given an affecting, melancholy treatment that brings out the best in Sinatra, as does the new arrangement of "All My Tomorrows," which is lush and aching. If Sinatra doesn't quite pull off the R&B of "Hallelujah, I Love Her So," he does sing the light Latin stylings of "A Day in the Life of a Fool" beautifully, and he has fun with Paul Simon's "Mrs. Robinson," changing the lyrics dramatically so they become a tongue-in-cheek, swinging hipster tribute. For that matter, most of the record is successful in creating a middle ground between the traditional pop Sinatra loves and the contemporary pop/rock that dominated the charts in the late '60s. My Way doesn't have the macho swagger of his prime Rat Pack records, but its reflective, knowing arrangements show that Sinatra could come to terms with rock & roll at some level. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine