Recordings from the 1940s have a lot going against them as we begin the next century. From antiquated recording technology to the changes in our musical tastes from then to now, the listener must be ready to take a journey when slipping WWII era tunes into the CD player (or whatever comes next). The Sinatra 'Best of the Columbia Years' set makes that journey absolutely worth the ride.

Some of the finest popular recordings are found in this collection -- along with more than a couple that are less timeless and could have been left in the '40s. Forget the hard swinging Sinatra of the late '50s and early '60s. Listen to 'Stella by Starlight', 'The Song is You' and 'What'll I Do.' The long vocal passages, sung by a guy who really wants to know what he will do when his girl is gone -- and really hurts -- are still spellbinding. 'Night and Day' was an incredible song even in this early recording, and the quality of the recording is plenty good enough to recognize how impressive many of these songs really were -- and are.

With 94 tracks, it is pointless to list all the highlights here. It is riveting, however, to hear the origins of Sinatra classics such as 'Where or When', 'That Old Black Magic' and 'Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to Dry.' What is remarkable is not that many of these songs sound dated ('Old Fashioned Walk' would be laughed off the shelves today, as would 'The Hucklebuck') but that many more make the listener forget the age of the music and feel the message.

The Sinatra of 1943-1952 is not for everybody, and there are some numbers here that have not aged well. But if you want to know Sinatra before the cigarettes and booze started to take his voice (after the '60s the effects are pronounced), this is a superb set. The quality of the music, the reasonable quality of the recordings and the first-rate booklet that accompanies the four CDs all make this a must have for Sinatra fans. No matter how much we enjoy the Sinatra of the Capitol years and the Las Vegas era, there is something compelling about these early tracks. Try this. Pick a forgotten song like 'Deep Night', turn down the lights, turn up the volume a bit and thank the engineers at Columbia for making this obscure bit of magic available to us half a century later.

This 97-song, 4-CD set includes a large 68-page handsomely illustrated booklet and contains the best of Sinatra's work, mainly ballads and some swingy tunes, of the period 1943-52. One can easily hear the smooth phrasing and pure tonal quality of young Sinatra's voice in the 1940's, the silky sound that made 'em swoon, a time before years of overuse and overdoing took their toll on his instrument.

Sinatra's work at Columbia was true crooning. The Bing Crosby influence it at its most pronounced on these recordings. It's easy to see why young Frankie's weepy, longing voice kept WW II wives company while their GI husbands were away. Much more sentimental stuff than anything he did for Capitol or Reprise. The remastering of the original recordings (they took the master from a re-pressing of the record mold) is marvelous. You won't believe that records this old can sound this good. Romantic music of a bygone era. If you like Bing and Perry, you'll love Frank "Swoonatra" when he was a teen idol here. Note the very different way Axel Stordhall arranged as opposed to Nelson Riddle (at Capitol). It's not as swinging, but will tug at your heart.

In comparison to his Capitol and Reprise years, Frank Sinatra's tenure at his first label, Columbia, is unfairly forgotten about by most. And at first glance, it's easy to see why, as artistically, it's easily his weakest period. There's nothing on here as memorable or as artistically impressive as, say, "I've Got You Under My Skin", and Frank's voice had not yet matured into the rich, provocative instrument it would become, nor had be begun to work with arrangers as talented as Nelson Riddle or Don Costa (though Axl Strodahl more than holds his own).

That being said, the 97 tracks featured on "The Best Of The Columbia Years" are nothing to sneeze at. This is Frank in all his youthful glory. His voice isn't as resonant or raw as it on his later recordings, but his way of interpreting a song properly like no other past or present is in full bloom.

For the most part, the songs are on the slower side of things, which for me is excellent. To hear Frank's voice in such a youthful, intimate manner is simply a thrill. It makes songs like "Close To You", "If You Are But A Dream", "The Things We Did Last Summer" and many others sound all the more endearing and passionate. Of course, the album does swing in many instances, and those tracks work just as well.

Many of the songs here (such as, "Someone To Watch Over Me", "Put Your Dreams Away", "Nancy", "Where Or When", "Oh, What It Seemed To Be", "Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out To Dry", "All Of Me", "Night And Day" and especially "One For My Baby (And One More For The Road) were perfected at Frank's latter recording labels, without these, the excellent in their own right originals, as the foundation for those wonderful later renditions, it's unlikely those later versions would have been half as good (though I'm amazed at the striking difference between the lackluster 1947 version of "One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)" and the masterful 1958 rendition, as they're almost two completely different songs).

The sound quality is fantastic despite some distant static, and the booklet and overall packaging are boh simply magnifcint. This a an absolute must have that all Sinatra fans should snatch up without hesitation.

Teenagers always assume that nothing interesting or important every happened before their memories begin, that their generation invented everything worth knowing about. My father understood this when I was a baby boom teen, and patiently told me that some day I might find even the most gifted pop idols of my era (the Beatles, Stones, Dylan, Hendrix) a bit musically limiting. And that I might someday appreciate the music of Frank Sinatra, who he told me was a bit of a pop idol himself in his youth.. It took a long while, but I came around, just as the old man predicted. Quality rules, and Sinatra always had Quality. And yet all my Sinatra listening to date focused on the great Capital Records and Reprise recordings of the 50's and 60's, when Sinatra was a mature singer,and no longer a pop idol. Thus it is fascinating to hear the voice that had the girls screaming back the 40's. And what a great voice it was.

In fact, Sinatra was arguably a better pure vocalist in 1944 or 1945 than he would ever be again. The young Frank was the Voice, with an impressive range, perfect pitch, smoothness and great feel for the often sophisticated lyrics he sang. True, the earliest recordings on disc 1 sound somewhat dated, but by the 2nd of the 4 discs in this set, the music begins to rival anything Sinatra ever recorded. The overall quality of this set is impressive. True, his later recordings of "Nancy with the Laughing Face" and some other classics are an improvement on the early originals in this set, but his ballads are the epitome of smooth during his young Columbia years. You can hear for yourself what all the female screaming was about.

Extra bonus treat for Baby Boomers: Sinatra's take on "Try a Little Tenderness" (young girls they do get weary) from 1944, 22 years before Otis Redding made it a hit. Not saying its better than the soul classic, but Frank's take was certainly a fine one a very long time before we ever heard it done.