Jubilee Offer: Patriotic Classics for £2.50 |
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
Listen to Samples and Buy MP3s
Songs from this album are available to purchase as MP3s. Click on "Buy MP3" or
view the MP3 Album.
|
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
The first of many artistic milestones in the long and illustrious collaboration of Frank Sinatra and arranger Nelson Riddle that began at Capitol Records, In the Wee Small Hours is a first in other notable ways as well: it was the pair's first 12-inch LP; their first album devoted entirely to ballads; the first "concept album", a programme of songs designed to be heard in a particular sequence that sustains a mood and suggests a story; the introduction of Sinatra's definitive "saloon singer" persona; and the first flowering of Sinatra's mature artistic sensibility. Oh, and it's a masterpiece, too. The cover portrait suggests the mood of late-night desolation almost as effectively as the music, with Sinatra in the corner, smoking a solitary cigarette on deserted street illuminated only by the a foggy, blue-green glow of lamplight. Loneliness, thy name is Frank! (They say that memories of Ava Gardner caused him to break down after finishing this aching version of "When Your Lover Has Gone".) Riddle's clarinet theme for "What Is This Thing Called Love?" is as haunting as Cole Porter's melody itself. And if there's a more devastating evocation of solitude than "It Never Entered My Mind", well, it must be on Only the Lonely. With songs like "I'll Be Around" and "Dancing on the Ceiling" to suggest at least the hope of hope, Wee Small Hours may flirt with despair but never succumbs to it. It's the kind of comforting company that misery likes best. --Jim Emerson
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
During the 50's Sinatra made three seminal albums, Songs for Swinging Lovers, Come Fly With Me, and this...In the Wee Small Hours. This is just THE perfect album for those late nights when you have nothing else to do but relax with a good bottle of what ever you fancy (Frank would approve of a Bourbon or two) and losing yourself in this simply superb set.
Sinatra sings for the lost and the lonely, and no-one and I mean NO-ONE does it any better than this. Every note is sung from the heart and every note connects. The Chairman of The Board was truly at the top of his game when he made this and it shows.
Accompanied by the brilliant Nelson Riddle and his Orchestra this is big band swing does the blues and it works supremely well.
Quite simply put...brilliant!
Sinatra sings for the lost and the lonely, and no-one and I mean NO-ONE does it any better than this. Every note is sung from the heart and every note connects. The Chairman of The Board was truly at the top of his game when he made this and it shows.
Accompanied by the brilliant Nelson Riddle and his Orchestra this is big band swing does the blues and it works supremely well.
Quite simply put...brilliant!
31 of 32 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
"In the Wee Small Hours" was the very first 12" album Frank Sinatra recorded, a superb collection of ballads arranged by Nelson Riddle that went to the top of the charts in 1955. Riddle created a melancholy sound that perfectly suited these songs of loneliness and despair, and which showcased Sinatra's sudden maturity as a vocalist. Everybody who could read a newspaper or listen to a gossip on the phone knew that Sinatra's love affair with actress Ava Gardner had ended badly, and it was impossible not to have that tabloid fact provide his singing with an obvious poignancy with this selection of songs. However, what was important was that Sinatra had raised his singing to a whole new level, showing a mastery of phrasing that would define the rest of his career. Special mention needs to be made of the piano work by Bill Miller, which also stands out in Riddle's sparse arrangements.
In addition to the title song by Bob Hilliard & David Mann, there are a series of standards of this type such as Duke Ellington's "Mood Indigo," Cole Porter's "What is this Thing Called Love?," Arlen & Harbaurg's "Last Night When We Were Young," and a trio of Rodgers & Hart tunes. My vote for the best track would go to Hoagy Carmichael's "I Get Along Without You Very Well," a song that epitomizes the mood of the entire album and highlights Sinatra's singing prowess. With the "In the Wee Small Hours" album the crooner who had been the heartthrob of the nation's Bobbysoxers gave way to the saloon singer who became one of the most important musical figure of the 20th century (Bing Crosby, Elvis, and the Beatles are the others who define that ultimate level). This is a must have album for Sinatra fans, the oldest record on my list of ten essential Sinatra albums.
55 of 58 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
First off let me say I am 23 years old and my music collection includes Oasis, Pearl Jam, Fat Boy Slim, Pink Floyd, U2 etc. I think the main reason that young people today think that Sinatra is very sad is because the only experience they have of him is him wailing through 'My Way' about 20 years after his voice had long left him. Please understand: Sinatra in the 80s and 90s is appaling - he lost it completely. However in the 50s Sinatra was absolutley amazing! He had the greatest songwriters EVER working with him and his Nelson Riddle arranged albums are outstanding. This is a sombre album with lyrics which are just as relevant today and still feel contemparary. A case in point is "Can't We Be Friends", a song based on what women say after they've ripped out your heart. It actually makes you feel BETTER during bad times, not worse. If you want the more upbeat lively side of Sinatra you can't beat SONGS FOR SWINGIN' LOVERS. Remember: When buying Sinatra, get 50s albums and avoid new 'compilation' albums like the plague!
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
listened to because is in my special book
I listened to this album because it is the first album in my 1001 albums you must hear before you die book and I have to say I could have done with out it really It's really quite... Read more
Published 13 days ago by Cubby Kovu
Good but not the classic some think
Im probably in a minority but i really don't think "In the wee small hours" is the Sinatra classic some say it is. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Mr. Russell C. Witheyman
"Sinatra's Nighthawks"
If all the figures in Edward Hopper's great painting "Nighthawks" had a personal soundtrack it would be Frank Sinatra's "In The Wee Small Hours". Read more
Published on 31 Dec 2009 by Mr. M. M. Waller
SINATRA CREATES HISTORY.....AGAIN
DISREGARD WHAT CAME BEFORE IN THE HISTORY OF POPULAR MUSIC ALBUMS AS, WITH MINOR EXCEPTIONS, THIS 1955 COLLECTION FROM THE SINATRA/RIDDLE AMALGAM WAS THEN, AND REMAINS TO THIS DAY,... Read more
Published on 19 Nov 2009 by ROMAN
Stands Up Well
The other reviews say most of what is required about the history of this album. Over half a century later its sales, critical standing and discovery by generation after generation... Read more
Published on 4 Oct 2009 by L. N. Nixon
dim the lights, pour a drink and sit back and relax
When you are looking for something you can sit and listen to with lights dimmed and drink at hand, then this is surely it. Read more
Published on 7 Nov 2008 by M. B. Jones
Heart-aching and brilliant
As a young man on a mission, I found myself faced with the prospect of having to buy this album without knowing much about Sinatra except that which had been told to me by my... Read more
Published on 20 Sep 2008 by Aidan Stevens
Some things never change
I never thought I'd review a recording I first heard 52 years ago and first brought (when I finally had some money)42 years ago, but here goes. Read more
Published on 29 May 2008 by William Metcalfe
Stirred to the Soul
This is an album of the finest calibre, bar none. For those of you who like the capitivating pensive moods found on albums such as Jeff Buckley's "Grace" or Nick Drake's... Read more
Published on 8 April 2006 by ArcherFish123
I never realised how human Frank was.
Do not be put off by the cover artwork not being up to modern standards nor by any preconceived notions that you may have about what Frank Sinatra represents in terms of... Read more
Published on 24 April 2002 by E. Jackson
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
