Frank Sinatra

Frank Sinatra Enterprises LLC/Universal Music Enterprises/UMG Recordings, Inc./Capitol Records

It’s entirely your call whether you need this – you might cringe, the purists can be as disgusted at they like, or you might really dig the ‘novelty’ of it…a compilation of Sinatra songs that are suitable for children; fun for the whole family. The idea, dreamed up by Sinatra’s daughter Tina, is to share songs from her father that kids can get on board with – so there’s the children’s chorus on High Hopes (and Pocketful of Miracles) and there’s a cover of Stevie Wonder’s Isn’t She Lovely (written for Wonder’s baby daughter in 1976). And if you find that all a bit mushy and squishy and yucky then be still your concrete heart…

I love the darker, moodier worlds of Sinatra; the 3am soul-cries of the depressive – but I wouldn’t go playing them to my young son in any great hurry.

I also love a lot of the upbeat ‘show-tune’ styled Sinatra, which is more or less what’s on display here. And just when you think it’s a case of less rather than more you are reminded of a wee gem (It’s Only A Paper Moon) or you have your five year old hear Pennies From Heaven and proclaim, “Hey, it’s like Mike from that movie Sing!”

If Jeepers Creepers is a million miles from what you want, or at least nowhere near In The Wee Small Hours then steer well clear of this but if you are into the whole baby-music/sharing experience then there’s a cuteness to this that recommends it.

Baby Frank is on the cover and the subtitle, Baby Blue Eye….May The First Voice You Hear Be Mine riffs on the old toast the Chairman of the board used to make: “May You Live To Be A Hundred And The Last Voice You Hear Be Mine”.

When my son was a baby we looked for refuge in compilations like this – things we could share  as a whole family without wincing. Let them have their greasy kids’ stuff, all in good time of course, but there’s no shame in playing this to sooth and relax. It’s only going to be the one Frank Sinatra album for you house if you have no taste – you of course need more than this. But it just might be the one and only Sinatra album your kid needs for a while…a good introduction to his sense of style. And there are far more cynical baby-music marketing attempts than this, I’m sure.