POP MUSIC REVIEW : Sinatra and MacLaine Offer Contrasting Sets

No, it wasn’t nostalgia. It wasn’t loyalty, nor was it respect for age. The reason for the uproarious ovation Thursday at the Greek Theatre can be summed up in one word: Sinatra.

The magic that made Frank Sinatra’s name synonymous with class and conviction in the vocal art of this century is still there, diminished only minimally by the onset of the years.

One of the first songs during his set was “All or Nothing at All,” which he recorded at the dawn of his career, with the Harry James band in 1939. Today, three months shy of his 77th birthday, the sound is fuller, heavier, the long notes are still held without hesitation, and the arrangements, most of them by Nelson Riddle or Don Costa (and invariably credited in his announcements) are a superlative plus factor. As usual, Frank Sinatra Jr. did an excellent job of conducting the orchestra.

The only hitch was an occasional problem with lyrics. Sinatra blew them three times, even on a long-familiar line in “Lady Is a Tramp.” He apologized graciously, explaining that he has not been working for a long time; “and besides, I stopped drinking, which was a terrible idea.” He got lost again in “Soliloquy,” but recovered well.

The Sinatra repertoire, as he hastened to explain, draws almost exclusively on the era of the great American standard lore. There were a few less famous works, such as the charming “Barbara” by Mack David and Jimmy Van Heusen (his wife, Barbara, in the audience, took a bow).

Sinatra was on a bill with Shirley MacLaine and his decision to perform only after intermission is debatable. It was interesting to study the total contrast between his delivery, both vocal and visual, and that of MacLaine. Whereas Sinatra ends most songs simply by resting his hands at his side, the kinetic MacLaine is all over the place, singing, dancing, reminiscing about her experiences on stage and screen, with songs she did or didn’t get to sing over the decades. Still slim and trim, she was in full vocal command, recalling “Irma la Douce” and “Big Spender” and delivering a dramatic monologue in her “Gypsy” excerpt.

MacLaine’s act would have benefited from some trimming, particularly in a medley of brief snippets from literally dozens of songs whose words supposedly told a biographical story. The concept worked for a while, but eventually it sounded as though she might go on forever.