Cycles

Cycles

By 1968, Frank Sinatra dared to make his first pop-rock album. Though orchestrated by Don Costa, who’d excelled on the 1962 landmark Sinatra & Strings, the arrangements here center more on drums, electric bass, electric guitars, and harpsichord than the lush, romantic strings that most listeners expected. The setting is fascinating, even when the songs seem oddly suited for a man of Sinatra’s generation. Jimmy Webb’s “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” and John Hartford’s “Gentle on My Mind,” both hits for Glen Campbell, work well, along with Gayle Caldwell’s title track and “Wandering.” A version of Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now” evokes a variety of opinions.

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