Track Listing

1. In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning
2. Mood Indigo
3. Glad to Be Unhappy
4. I Get Along Without You Very Well
5. Deep in a Dream
6. I See Your Face Before Me
7. Can't We Be Friends?
8. When Your Lover Has Gone
9. What Is This Thing Called Love?
10. Last Night When We Were Young
11. I'll Be Around
12. Ill Wind
13. It Never Entered My Mind
14. Dancing on the Ceiling
15. I'll Never Be the Same
16. This Love of Mine

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6313 in Music
• Released on: 1998-05-26
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered

Amazon.com

Franks Sinatra Photos

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Amazon.com essential recording
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 program 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

Customer Reviews

Pathos and Despair
This is Frank in his "I lost Ava Gardner" period. Never before was he su vulnerable, lonesome or as brilliant. No one has ever phrased a lyric like his man. No one. You feel his pain, his pathos, his despair and his loneliness on this album. It is a completely joyous experience to listen to this man sing particularly on this moving collection of wistful ballads.

The title track is an old standard, sung hundreds of times by other singers. But no one can sing it like Sinatra, it's as if you are listening and understanding the lyrics for the first time.

Others had greater range or greater voices. None had the inimitable gift that Frank Sinatra possessed and that was allowing you to understand a lyric and feel it deep down in your soul. There is only one Sinatra and this ablum epitomizes his vocal range and showcases his beautiful genius with a ballad.

Listen to "Mood Indigo" and "Deep in a Dream..." they will send goosebumps through you. For anyone who appreciates Sinatra or just great music, this is a must have.

Landmark, ballad Sinatra...
In the Wee Small Hours is a perfectly arranged collection of ballads from the early peak of Sinatra's Capitol era. It is far less devastating than the 'cry in your sleeve' anguish of Only the Lonely and less string-heavy than the classic Where Are You collaboration with Gordon Jenkins. The cover art sets the mood for a quiet, late night listening.

As always in the 1950s, Sinatra and Nelson Riddle create the definitive recordings of great standards. Apart from the title song, itself a classic, there is plenty of substance here from Rodgers and Hart, Cole Porter, Harold Arlen and other composers from the era when songs really had lyrics. Duke Ellington's 'Mood Indigo' gets heartfelt lyrics here, and others like 'I Get Along Without You Very Well' show how completely Sinatra made these songs his own -- he's acting the role as much as singing the song.

This is certainly a 'mellow' album, not the finger-snapping sophistication of 'Songs for Swingin' Lovers' or 'A Swingin' Affair' (both stunning albums in their own right), but thoughtful orchestrations and meaningful lyrics. Sinatra had by this time mastered the art of breath control and could perform the long phrasing on these tracks without chopping up the verses. To see how hard this is, try reciting the lyrics out loud as Sinatra sings and try not to breathe in a way that calls attention to your breathing.

The five-star rating seems moot. 'Wee Small Hours' is a piece of history.

Classic album, horrible remastering job
Did anyone at the label listen to this before it was issued? The previous 1991 CD sounds vastly superior to this- the high frequencies are all but obliterated, and there's a strange echo that is'nt heard on either the original LP or the 1st CD. The other remastered editions of Sinatra's 16 Capitol/Reprise are excellent (with the exception of Songs for Swingin' Lovers). Do yourself a favor and pick up the still readily available 1991 CD instead. Capitol, this classic of American popular music deserves better!