| | Frank Sinatra In The Wee Small Hours CD Frank Sinatra Discography of CDs
 (3 Customer Reviews)
Originally issued on CD without the song "Last Night When We Were Young." Digitally remastered by Larry Walsh (Capitol Recording Studios). Recorded in 1955, this superbly arranged and sung set of slow ballads can lay claim to being ... Full Descriptionthe world's first "concept album." Of course, in classical music, song cycles had been around since Schubert, but a whole set of pop tunes arranged around a central theme or mood was something new in popular music. With the advent of the LP in 1953, commercial pop music was beginning to take itself seriously. As to be expected, Frank Sinatra did it first and best.
Sinatra is in utter command of this material--vocally relaxed yet focused on conveying what these hand-picked "torch" songs still have to say to the modern listener. Throughout he projects his signature manly vulnerability without seeming maudlin or even sentimental. The singer is helped immeasurably in this task by Nelson Riddle's deftly scored chamber arrangements which include brilliant use of celeste and guitar on several tracks (cf. Alec Wilder's "I'll Be Around", Kay Swift's "Can't We Be Friends".) A must for any listener even remotely interested in the Great American Songbook.
Includes liner notes by Pete Welding.
Live Recording
Personnel includes: Frank Sinatra (vocals); Nelson Riddle (arranger).Rolling Stone (12/11/03, p.120) - Ranked #100 in Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums Of All Time" - "[The album] sustains a midnight mood of loneliness and lost love - it's a prototypical concept album."
Mojo (Publisher) (2/01, p.104) - "The most indispensable Sinatra item. A collection of songs about unrequited love, not merely sung but lived out by a performer seemingly intent on sharing his own heartbreak with the world..."
NME (Magazine) (8/12/00, p.28) - Ranked #7 in The NME "Top 30 Heartbreak Albums" - "...Smokey, bleak and at times desolate, it is easy to trace the line back to Billie Holiday....His voice has rarely had such devastating effect." Hide Description In The Wee Small Hours Music Frank Sinatra In The Wee Small Hours Songs In The Wee Small Hours Music In The Wee Small Hours Music Review Average Rating: (4.7 out of 5 stars)   Frank at his best
The voice quality is great. As expected Frank's phrasing is great. It is a pleasure to listen to the way he hits the notes. I read in the NY Times that this is considered the greatest vocal recording ever made. I can see where that is true. My only recommendation is that if you listen to this with other CDs, you put it on shuffle. The song collection is all the same, slow break-up melodies.
Submitted by wolfg (San Diego) 
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 A masterpiece.
The first 3 discs that Sinatra made with Capitol, maybe are the best in his career.
Submitted by gaperis (Athens, GREECE)
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The cover art tells the story
It would be risky for a singer to take on a project like Wee Small Hours Today. It can't just be sung, it must be felt. You would have to have lived a little, and you couldn't pull it off at age 25 or perhaps even 35. Here Sinatra, at age 40, is essentially in perfect voice, and he is supported by arrangements by Nelson Riddle that unto themselves are masterpieces. Putting it all together, this is probably the standard by which singers would hope to ascend to. The songs are beautifully and emotively sung, and each one tells a continuing story of longing and lonliness, as felt in the wee small hours of the morning. Sinatra did many great albums and individual works prior to this and after, but nothing was ever done better. Every song is superb. The sound fidelity is excellent, thanks to fine engineering by Capitol of the 1950's. In Glorious mono, it will fill both channels and then some. If you ever wondred what it was all about with Sinatra, you'll know after you play this one.
Submitted by buicksu51 (Rhode Island)
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Buy In The Wee Small Hours CD Purchase In The Wee Small Hours CD To buy, Click on price to add to cart | Frank Sinatra Come Dance With Me! CD (1959) Remastered
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All tracks have been digitally remastered using 20-bit technology.
For an artist of Sinatra's stature, an artistic peak is a thing of no uncertain majesty. Such a peak was reached on ONLY THE LONELY, with the invaluable assistant of arranger Nelson Riddle. Foreshadowed by the glorious sob-fest of IN THE WEE SMALL HOURS, ...
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The 1998 reissue of COME FLY WITH ME includes three extra songs not included on the original release; "Chicago," "South Of The Border" and "I Love Paris."
Recorded in April 1953, October 1957 and April 1960. Includes liner notes by Pete Welding.
Save yourself several thousand dollars in airfare by checking out this swinging travelogue. COME FLY WITH ME finds Sinatra working for the first time with Billy May, whose bold, jazzy arrangements ...
| | Frank Sinatra Songs For Young Lovers/Swing Easy CD (1954) Remastered
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This CD contains Sinatra's first 2 Capitol albums. "SONGS FOR YOUNG LOVERS" is also available as part of GIFT SET.
SONGS FOR YOUNG LOVERS was recorded on November 5 and 6, 1953. SWING EASY was recorded on April 7 and 19, 1954. Includes liner notes by Pete Welding.
All tracks have digitally remastered using 20-bit technology.
SONGS FOR YOUNG LOVERS and SWING EASY--both recorded and released in 1954--mark the beginning of Frank Sinatra's resurgent solo career in the 50s. They also mark the beginning of a long and fruitful association with both Capitol Records and Sinatra's most inventive, stylish arranger, Nelson Riddle. Previously, Riddle had arranged several Nat 'King' Cole hits, including "Unforgettable" and "Nature Boy." After their first hit together, Harold Arlen's "I've Got the World On A String," the die was cast and they would be linked as musical partners made for each other. Unlike the massive, string-laden Columbia Records productions of Sinatra's earlier solo career, producer Voyle Gilmore would emphasize closely-miked instrumentation and a more pronounced ...
| | Frank Sinatra Songs For Swingin' Lovers! CD (1956) Remastered
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All tracks have been digitally remastered using 20-bit technology.
Recorded on October 17, 1955 and on January 9-17, 1956. Originally released on Capitol. Includes liner notes by Pete Welding.
When Sinatra teams up with conductor/arranger Nelson Riddle, you know the results are bound to swing, and swinging is what this brash, jazzy and very upbeat album is all about. Though the Chairman has staked his claim as the preeminent saloon singer, telling tale after tragic tale of love gone awry, this album represents the sunny side of Sinatra. He is bold and energetic here. His undeniably authoritative readings of songs like "I've Got You Under My Skin" and "You Make Me Feel So Young" MAKE them into standards, no matter who has sung them before.
Riddle's orchestrations are subtle but powerful, and SWINGIN' LOVERS finds Sinatra's voice bouncing off punchy horn stabs and floating gently along sweet rivers of woodwinds. One of the most impressive aspects of Sinatra's talent is his control over the tone and shape of his voice. His singing is expansive ...
| | Frank Sinatra No One Cares CD (1959) Remastered
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This is part of Capitol Records "Entertainer Of The Century" series.
This 1959 recording stands with ONLY THE LONELY and IN THE WEE SMALL HOURS as one of Sinatra's premier albums of "saloon songs"--those songs in which he takes the role of the jilted lover drowning his sorrows in drink and telling his sad story to anyone who'll listen (most likely the bartender, as in ONLY THE LONELY's "One For My Baby"). When it comes ...
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