TIL there is an alternate recording of Sinatra at the Sands with Basie and Quincy Jones from a different show of that run than the one we know as "Sinatra at the Sands."
I flipped on the Sinatra channel on SXM on the way home today and caught a live version of "Fly Me to the Moon" that was labelled as Sinatra Live at the Sands 1966. But I know the original Sands CD so well that it was clear that it wasn't the same performance. His interpretations were different and the mix was different, but it was clearly the same set list and clearly the Basie orchestra. I found this all very confusing until some Googling cleared it up this evening. The alternate take is on a 2006 release of Sinatra concerts from Vegas.
Two possible reasons they didn't use this recording originally:
He screws up the lyrics to "Luck Be a Lady." A minor screw up but noticeable to anyone who knows the song.
In one of his monologues he tells a joke about Catholics and Jews that would have been one thing in a live show, but probably not okay on a CD (even in the mid-60s). He also has a couple of "goddamns" and "mothers" minus the fucker. The monologues on the well-known release are much tamer than these two.
Still, very cool to hear him sing those same songs somewhat differently from the classic CD. The mix is not as warm and is missing the lovely noises of clanking silverware and dishes that add so much ambience to "Sinatra at the Sands."