1. Frank Sinatra - In the Wee Small Hours

Artist: Frank Sinatra
Album: In the Wee Small Hours
Year: 1955

And so it begins. And rather than beginning with a bang, it begins with this quiet little album of jazz standards by Frank Sinatra. The mood of this album is calm and contemplative. It's excellent late-night accompaniment even if it's somewhat of a downer. Indeed, I reckon this is the 1950's version of a breakup album.

The striking thing about this album is that it's buoyed virtually exclusively by Sinatra's voice. The musical accompaniment is pretty spare (some strings here, some piano there), thus leaving the bulk of the work to be done by the Chairman of the Board himself. And he's certainly up for the challenge. Definitely one of the classic crooners here.

I'd heard some of these songs before. "Mood Indigo" is a classic Duke Ellington tune that I recently heard Joe Jackson cover on one of his live albums. I'd definitely heard "What Is This Thing Called Love?" with its spooky woodwinds. New to me was the title track "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning." I felt it was probably the most memorable song in this set.

After some time the songs start to sound similarly. "Last Night When We Were Young" was a little punchier in spots, with some more impassioned vocals and some heavier brass, but most of the tunes just kind of gently lilt along and a similar pace and volume. I would've probably appreciated a little more variety.

All in all, In the Wee Small Hours is a quite worthy album. It reminded me of a lot of the music my grandfather listened to in his car when I was a kid--Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, etc. It was pleasant to listen to but probably not something I could see myself coming back to for repeat listens. I find it especially weird that this album was chosen as the "starting point" for modern popular music, but I guess you gotta start somewhere, right?

Rating: Worth a listen


For future reference, my rating scale will look something like this:
Best - Indispensable
- Worth repeated listens
- Worth a listen
- Not worth a listen
Worst - Avoid