A Sinatra CD 6-Pack

With the Christmas market doubtless in mind, Capitol Records has released six more Frank Sinatra compact discs, all but one of which include additional tracks.

“The Sinatra Christmas Album” consists basically all of the 1957 LP, but includes the previously unreleased “White Christmas” and two versions of the Jule Styne-Sammy Cahn “Christmas Waltz,” one with arranger Nelson Riddle conducting, one with Gordon Jenkins.

“Point of No Return” is unique in that it includes, along with the contents of Sinatra’s final album for Capitol (in 1962), four cuts from his first date for the label, among them the previously unissued “Day In, Day Out.”

“Come Dance With Me,” a jazz-oriented set with charts by Billy May, includes two unreleased duets with Keely Smith (“Nothing in Common” and “How Ya Fixed for Love?”--hardly the ideal songs for this or any other duo), as well as the newly issued “It All Depends on You” and “Same Old Song and Dance.”

“Come Fly With Me,” another Billy May set, features three extra cuts arranged by Riddle: “Chicago,” “I Love Paris” and “South of the Border.”

One CD, the 1954 “Swing Easy” and the 1956 “Songs for Young Lovers,” contains no new material but comprises two of the singer’s best collaborations with Riddle. Finally there is the Sinatra-Riddle “Only the Lonely,” a classic now embellished by the addition of two numbers not previously available in the United States: “Sleep Warm” and “Where or When.”

A rehearing of these performances serves to reconfirm the belief that these were the golden years for the man with the golden throat.