I am a swing and tap dance teacher in California and love to collect a wide range of old and new music. About three times a year I am brought to various places around the globe to teach, and while there I am introduced to global swing music.

Imagine my surprise last month while teaching in Norway to come across "Westlife." The teacher who'd brought me over was driving me around siteseeing and playing the cd in the car. Of course I recognized the arrangements, but not the voices. When she told me that this group was from Ireland, I couldn't have been happier. Imagine, being so far from home home in Norway, listening to music born in America over sixty years ago done so beautifully by Irish young men now! It pleased me no end that the "Great American Songbook" (as it is now being called) is being embraced by so many around the world!

I think "Westlife" does a fantastic job on all the tunes on this cd, really bringing to life the swing and jazz quality of the arrangements. They clearly love the genre. Well done!

If you are a swing fan, a fan of Frank's, or a dancer... I would definitely recommend adding this cd to your collection!

As 1) a guy, and 2) one who is not familiar with the original songs, I have to say that this is a suprisingly well sung album. I don't see why people criticize a 'lack of soul', or focus on the orchestra. I think that interpretations of what constitutes 'soul' in music varies from person to person. Personally, I think this album has plenty of 'soul', and to spare!
Also, while the orchestra does a great job, the vocals are what I LISTEN to. And, here, the vocals are GREAT.
The songs on this particular album may not sit well with some of the band's admirers given the types of songs that Westlife has sung in the past, but this CD is one that you can just pop into your player and press 'repeat'.

Relaxing, sometimes catchy, sometimes romantic, and otherwise just plain fun melodies, this is one that would be ideal for you if you just want something to relax to or even sing along with. Alternatively, also recommended if you're inviting someone over to your house for a date! :)

I was a long-time fan of Frank Sinatra's while in college, and finally got to see him perform live on his last concert tour. The songs Sinatra chose were timeless classics, as evidenced by the fact that performers are still resurrecting and recording them.

To those who condemn `pop singers' for recording Sinatra's classic old songs, I can only say that Sinatra was a pop singer in his own time, and the songs he recorded were the "pop" songs of his age.

Westlife's brilliant recording of selected songs by Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Tony Bennett, Bobby Darin, and Andy Williams is not only a superb recording, it is also an undeniable reminder of how talented and versatile these four young men are.

For those who are familiar with these songs, this CD is a timeless reminiscence with lavish orchestrations and the lush harmonies that can only be described as `the Westlife Sound." For those who are coming to this music for the first time, this CD is an excellent place to begin.

My only criticism of the album is that it is too short. I wanted more! But, given everything else going on with the group in the past year, I will overlook that.

Thank you, Westlife, for the enormous pleasure you have provided me over the past six years, and thank you for this fabulous album. I hope I am still around to write comments on your 12th CD.

I grew up listening to the Rat Pack and I think the lads did a great job with this album. The tracks that were chosen is a nice mix from that time period.

In my opinion, they've captured the essence of the era well. The only other artist that captured it just as well is Harry Connick, Jr.

I liked every single track from this album (a rarity for a lot of the albums that I own by many artists)

I can see why they won the Celebrity Award after the single AIN'T THAT A KICK IN THE HEAD. Just listen to the first track and you'll find out why this is definitely one of my favorite albums (if not my favorite) by the lads.

Prime Cuts: Ain't Love A Kick in the Heart, I Left My Heart in San Francisco, The Way You Look Tonight

With a catalogue stocked with amorous ballads (such as "I Wanna Grow Old with You," "I'll Be Loving You Forever," "Miss You Nights" among others), Westlife has gone full monty with an album of romantic excavates. Taking a tasty sojourn back to the sepia tones of the bygone pop standards era, these five Irish heartthrobs have decided to tackle Frank Sinatra's songbook. Though dabbling with the legendary Blue Eyes' repertoire is by no means novel, it's the first time a "boy band" has aspired for such lofty acme. However, with its legions of young fans who are vastly unfamiliar with Sinatra, Westlife is on safe turf in covering some of the more familiar (and sometimes over done) tunes.

Nevertheless, romantic moments abound as the recesses of the heart are deftly expounded on these paeans. Accompanied by a cadre of some quixotic sounding strings, "Fly Me to the Moon" has a chimerical feel. Singing the praises of his paramour's pulchritude, "The Way You Look Tonight" despite its numerous covers, is still one of Western civilizations' greatest love songs. Elegantly constructed and poetically worded. Love's gripping effects has never been more eloquent phrased than in "I Left My Heart in San Francisco," a track that's also been commonly associated with Tony Bennett. Tellingly, Westlife must have been listening too closely to Bennett's track as they veer perilously too close to the great crooner's rendition. Even when the tempo picks up on the single "Ain't Love A Kick in the Heart" or "That's Life" or "Mack the Knife," these lads sound like they are having fun.

However, I have a few quibbles with this entire project: First, Westlife has been known for their harmonies, though they did utilize some of them here, most of these covers sound more like solo efforts than a group endeavor. Second, hailed from Ireland, Westlife has on occasions brought in their Celtic touches, but these tracks sound so much like Frank Sinatra that it begs the question: can "Allow Us to Be Frank" be far too frank (pun intended)? Third, most of these tracks clock in at less than three minutes and they are at best straight forward renditions of these classics, but somehow I wish Westlife would have re-interpreted these songs giving them a more youthful and more contemporary feel. If it's just carbon copies of the originals, then isn't this project tautological?

If you like a collection of great romantic Sinatra classics, then this CD will suffice. However, if you want something a little more than professional karaoke, then there are better tribute albums to the Blue Eyes. "Allow Us to Be Frank" is a little too ambitious for these twenty somethings; I hope a door is kept open for a re-visitation maybe a few more years down the road.
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