Nothing but the Best - Frank Sinatra

It seems that Frank Sinatra’s stellar career continues even after his death, with the release of a new best of album, Nothing but the Best.

The album lives up to its name, paying tribute to Sinatra’s long career with songs like ‘The Girl from Ipanema’, ‘My Way’ and ‘New York New York’. At its most simplistic level, the album is pure nostalgia, even for those of us who never lived through the Swing era or run with the Rat Pack.

Many of the songs are tributes to love in its various forms – a love of physical beauty, a love of independence and a love of freedom and ambition, to name a few.

‘The Way You Look Tonight’ is a celebration of physical beauty. “Yes you’re lovely, with your smile so warm, and your cheeks so soft. There is nothing but for me to love you, and the way you look tonight”. Obviously, it is lovely to be told that you are beautiful, but to be loved only for this is not really to be loved. However, Sinatra does also make the distinction between loving the person and loving the way they look.

‘My Way’ acknowledges Sinatra’s life of independence and the supposed fulfillment that this has brought him. “For what is a man, what has he got? If not himself then he has naught. To say the things he truly feels and not the words of one who kneels. The record shows I took the blows and did it my way”.

His whole identity here hinges on his independence, his stubborn insistence on doing things ‘his’ way. But it is this very independence that would lead him away from God, for we cannot have it both ways. The Bible clearly says that to be saved we must give our lives over to God – relinquishing our right to do things our way. John 3:36 says “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him”.

‘New York New York’ is the quintessential swing song. The desire to move on and lose those ‘little town blues’ is something very easy to relate to, but the sentiment of wanting to be number one all the time is not something worth emulating. “I want to wake up in a city that never sleeps, and find I’m top of the list, king of the hill, a number one…”

While the desire to be noticed and be someone important is understandable, especially given our sinful natures, being number one isn’t going to bring lasting satisfaction to anyone. You cannot be number one forever, no matter how good you are. Sooner or later you have to be superseded, and then what are you left with? It is far better and far more lasting to find satisfaction and fulfillment in a relationship with God, for this is something that will last for eternity.

All up, this album delivers on its promise. Sinatra’s performance in all of the songs is nothing less than you would expect from a performer of his calibre. It is an enjoyable album that is easy to listen to. The lyrics reflect a world that is concerned with the superficial but not the eternal, which could be a good starting point for conversations with non-Christian friends.