With outstanding Double Plus (A++) grades or close to them on all SIX sides, this copy of Sinatra’s superb 1980 release will be very hard to beat
The sound here is rich and full-bodied with much less grain and much more Tubey Magic than most of the other copies we played in our recent shootout (particularly on the first five sides)
Credit the brilliant engineering of Frank Laico for the excellent sound – this record doesn’t sound like 1980, and that’s a very, very good thing
“An audacious, ambitious way to stage a comeback, each of the album’s three records was conceived as an individual work, and each was arranged by one of Sinatra’s major collaborators. . . the best moments are triumphant, proving that the Voice was still vital in his fourth decade of recording.”
A STUNNING copy of Cycles with Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound from first note to last
Big, full-bodied and musical, with exceptional presence for the most important element of the recording, Sinatra’s clear, richly expressive bourbon baritone
The midrange reproduction is superb – breathy and natural, with dramatically more Tubey Magic than you will hear on any other copy you can find, guaranteed
“Cycles was Frank Sinatra’s first full-fledged pop/rock-oriented album, concentrating on a more orchestrated variation on the popular folk-rock of the late ’60s.”
With two insanely good sides, each with Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or very close to it, this early stereo pressing was one of the best copies we played in our shootout
Big, rich and natural, the newer material for this album was recorded in 1964, with Sinatra’s voice in very fine form
This is one of the few Sinatra records where the second label pressings can still sound quite good – that is rare in our experience
“The highlight of the record was the hit title song, which featured a subdued but forceful and steady backbeat. The rhythm itself was indicative of Sinatra’s effort to accept the new popular music.”
