In The Wee Small Hours

While it feels almost like a sacrilege to disrespect Sinatra‘s legacy there was not one song on here that I liked - or found even vaguely interesting, for that matter. Why pretend?

I think you need to be very sad in a dark bar with a cig and martini to enjoy this thoroughly.

Frank Sinatra is top 3 white guys

A nice album from the 50s, it made me watch some UT videos, his son had a voice just like Frank Snr - amazing

Very slow and meandering.

This is fantastic easy listening music. At a time when people would buy entire albums, this fits the mark perfectly. It makes me nostalgic for a time and place I've never been

Beautiful voice. Timeless arrangements from Nelson Riddle. Great songs. This album has it all. Easily five stars.

Not a lot of time spent with this one, but that's because I'm busy. Ol' Blue Eyes had it back then, no doubt. Rating: 7/10

Listened

unfortunately i am a sucker for sinatra

Prachtig eerste nummer. Geeft me een beetje lady en de vagebond vibes. Alsof je in die wereld rondloopt.

Gave me all the feels. Real good!

Found this depressing for some reason

Well now, this is quite the departure from yesterday's Janis Joplin album. This album is a bona fide masterpiece. There is nothing misplaced here, every note choice, where to place an ending consonant, Riddle's expert, savant-like arrangements - the song choices themselves. Sinatra's lived experience led to this collection and his ability to interpret these songs so eloquently - if you've been heartbroken, you feel the poignancy of Sinatra's emotion in tracks like "I get along..." and "What is this thing..." It's a journey - and for me, each time I listen, a new song speaks to me. After leaving Blue Note, jazz-vocalist Kurt Elling released an album called Night Moves as a quasi-nod to "In the wee small..." It's one of my favorites of his, an homage to Sinatra's journey through late-night melancholy found here. But unlike Sinatra, Elling's dusk-to-dawn journey, bleary-eyed as it is, is joyful and optimistic. You'll find very little of that here with Sinatra. It's a brilliant concept, calling for whisky and a few salty tears. "Last Night When We Were Young" with it's bold climaxes and Sinatra's vulnerability in the lyric, is just devastating. I'm sure that some might find this album boring or contrived - but put it on when you're alone and in need of a buddy with whom to commiserate and you may just find Sinatra and the Nelson Riddle orchestra to be your spirit guides through the darkness. 5 Stars.

Crooney and nice.

*1955. *A compilation of short, sad songs about heartbreak. *As lovely as Sinatra's voice is, he never quite hits me in the feels. Maybe it's his smugness, but I don't believe for a second that this man feels sad. *That said, this was an easy, enjoyable listen, and the best of the 3 Sinatra albums on this list. RATING - 6/10

I don’t want to like ol’ blue eyes, but this is undeniable. Dark night of the soul for the heartbroken.

Too pretencious for my taste

Surprised how somber this was. I love sad music, and I love Sinatra’s voice, but this didn’t quite gel for me. Not bad, but was bored by the end.

Yeah, not my thing: thank goodness for rock n roll

Surprising that it still holds up after 70+ years, I got to give it to Frankie here that he made something that can stand the test of time. Although not mind-blowing by any means, it's still a rather good time.

Frank has a great voice. Not my bag but I do appreciate the voice. He obviously has significance as an artist but it is really the early foray into what is an album. Not as relatable today. Would have played well in my down tempo/ambience week which was last week.

Сара 2 Марко 2

Frank makes the world seem bigger, I can’t explain it but I can hear it.

Love the title track but unfortunately none of the other songs.

This isn't my generation. the songs were fairly boring, but I get they are going to vary contextually. However, starting flat and sliding into such a high percentage of notes drives me absolutely nuts. Almost makes it unlistenable.

14/10/2026 I have no issues with Sinatra or with this album being here. That being said, this one is a little boring. Spotify listeners: 19.7 million

so lovely and timeless

I m thinking of my parents!!! 🫠😘🙋‍♂️

I mean, I guess this is great for 1955 and for sitting around and getting tortured in a dentist chair or whatever. Francis has a beautiful voice and the lush arrangements are intensely sublime. That said, stab a fucking fork in my face and let me never listen to this bullshit again. This was music made by adults for adults of an era so far bygone and overdone that I can't realistically comment on it as something I'd ever want to hear again. Relic of a time no one wants to be a part of ever again.

baddie

Why does this feel like a Christmas album? The worlds most depressed Christmas album ever..but still a Christmas album.. Sinatra's voice is sublime as ever, but that's the only thing that makes this album more than a 1.. it's just too depressing

Me parece que sinatra brilla mejor en swings mas animados

Listened before?: yes, a long time ago. i used to have this in one of my spotify playlists to help me fall asleep, and it never fails In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning - 5/5 Mood Indigo - 4/5 Glad to Be Unhappy - 3/5 I Get Along Without You Very Well - 4/5 Deep in a Dream - 4/5 I See Your Face Before Me - 3/5 Can't We Be Friends - 3/5 When Your Lover Has Gone - 3/5 What Is This Thing Called Love - 3/5 Last Night When We Were Young - 4/5 I'll Be Around - 3/5 Ill Wind - 3/5 It Never Entered My Mind - 3/5 Dancing on the Ceiling - 3/5 I'll Never Be the Same - 3/5 This Love of Mine - 3/5 Average score: 3.4/5 ⭐⭐⭐ it's kinda hard to hate a Frank Sinatra record, though very few of these tracks are necessarily my favorites (with the exception of the first couple tracks). his performance is beautiful as always, don't get me wrong. i think it's just a little softer (and maybe more melancholy) than some of his other songs/albums i've listened to. there's also very little variation in the sound here, so it feels a little repetitive to sit through what feels like the same song 14 times in a row still, like i mentioned before, it still makes for soothing background music. even now i feel like i'm being lulled to sleep by his crooning voice (and not in an "omg this is so boring" kind of way either). while a lot of these songs are about heartbreak, it is oddly comforting

Thought I would like it more than I did. Wasn't bad though.

Great chill love it

It's an album of great 50s style melancholy jazz songs, but listening through it like this is maybe not putting it in the best light. There's no variety whatsoever in the track list and they all blended together. He's an iconic singer and none of the songs are bad, but it's just too much of the same thing for me.

It's desperately missing that certain something that make the songs from the Great American Songbook so great. A lot of these tracks have no discernible melody, and amount to nothing more than the crooner meanderingly singing (at times) very generic lyrics of longing over lush strings. But damn, has Frank never sounded better. And Riddle's orchestrations are the absolute best.

Frank Sinatra’s In the Wee Small Hours is a smoky, late-night journey through the blues of romance, captured in a collection that—despite its pretty rough recording quality—delivers a real mixed bag of highs, lows, and middle-of-the-road grooves. On the bright side, you get those sublime, relaxing vibes on the title track, the gorgeous lyricism of "Glad to be unhappy," the touching vulnerability of "When Your Lover Has Gone," the sunny optimism of "I'll be around," and the brilliant thematic anchor of "This Love of Mine." But let’s be real, it’s not all smooth sailing; tracks like "I get along without you very well," "Last night when we were young," and "Ill wind" definitely slide into "meh" or "nah" territory. Ultimately, it’s a gorgeous concept album pairing some truly great songs with a few misses and plenty of okay tracks in between, making for a bumpy yet rewarding spin after dark.

Fabulous album for a late night listening session. Great compositions and an excellent voice. Class. 5

1. "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning" 2. "I Get Along Without You Very Well" 3. "Can't We Be Friends?"

I’m giving this one more star than I probably would have because of one thing: Serendipity I happen to be waking up at 5am to take a friend to the airport when the first track hit. In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning. Well nothing wakes you up more than a sad crooner crooning about being sad and lonely, right? My friend: More like Frank Sadatra, amiright? It’s totally cool that he helped pioneer the idea of a concept album, and his voice is of course beautiful, but my God man we get it. This is a little much./—- That being said it was a dark and peaceful drive and as Frank sang the last lingering notes of the final track I just so happened to pull into my driveway, home again. Serendipity.

Good stuff, I guess. I do not get what all the fuss is about Frank though.

i love sad frank sinatra, this was a little too same-y in one full album sitting though

Excellent album on a late night or on a rainy day. Besides the title track, which is one of my favorite Sinatra’s songs, all the rest is good, it’s very enjoyable. It’s maybe a bit too long for that kind of album and mood. Could be 2-3 songs shorter, but nonetheless, it’s a very good listening session. 4/5. Even though tracks at the end isn’t as good as the first half and I have more 3’s than 4’s and 5’s, in its entirety, the flow is very good. So individually, it’s a 3, but if you have it on vinyl, you can enjoyed it more, it’s a 4. In the Wee Small Hours Of The Morning: 5 Mood Indigo: 4 Glad To Be Unhappy: 5 I Get Along Without You Very Well: 4 Deep In A Dream: 3,5 I See Your Face Before Me: 4 Can’t We Be Friends?: 3 When Your Lover Has Gone: 3 What Is This Thing Called Love: 3 Last Night When We Were Young: 3 I’ll Be Around: 3 I’ll Wind: 3 It Never Entered My Mind: 3 Dancing On The Ceiling: 3 I’ll Never Be The Same: 3 This Love of Mine: 3

He has a great voice but it can put you to sleep if he doesn’t pick it up

la vida se siente como una película. Es un disco totalmente llevadero 3,5/5.

Frank Sinatra – In the Wee Small Hours (1955) On Day 279, the stars aligned for this listen the gloomy weather gave way to rain, setting the ideal atmospheric stage for a late-night speakeasy vocal jazz record. The only missing element for the album to cut completely down to the bone was personal heartbreak. Experiencing the foundational record that birthed the modern concept album was a revelation; knowing works like Pink Floyd's The Wall makes tracing that cohesive, narrative approach back seven decades feel like a genuine privilege. The vocal phrasing and raw emotional resonance across the tracklist are astonishing. Encountering standards like the title track "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning," "I Get Along Without You Very Well," the haunting interpretation of Duke Ellington's "Mood Indigo," and the vocal clinic of "Last Night When We Were Young" made the session unforgettable. A peerless, mood-defining peak of vocal jazz history. A definitive 5/5.

I liked this better than I expected to be honest. Sinatra's voice is great, of course, and I liked the atmosphere on here (although sometimes I felt I was listening to the score of an old Disney movie or something haha). However, it is a bit too long, also since a lot of this is really samey, so it sort of dragged near the end. Still a good album though! 3.5 stars, but rounding down

Track By Track In the Wee Small Hours of The Morning - This is a classic for sure. It’s very sweet and soft. Classy heartbreak. Mood Indigo - I feel as if a lot of this album will be a similar vibe! Again, classic feeling to this. I like the orchestra sort of echoing the lyrics here. Piano fills are also very sparing but classy & effective. Glad To Be Unhappy - Slightly different vibe in terms of instrumentation. Pretty, jazzy embellishments from the celesta & guitar. Embracing heartache wholeheartedly too, feels like a fairly original take on a breakup song, for the time especially. But there could have been other contemporaries doing the same, who knows! I Get Along Without You Very Well - There’s a Chet Baker version that is very intimate and soft. This one is slightly more grand but it does still retain the sad melancholy of the tune. Deep In a Dream - His voice sounds very lovely on this one. A nice range of notes. Satisfying harmonies. Pretty simple but effective. I See Your Face Before Me - Old timey intro. Could be part of the opening of a movie at the time or something. Slow and atmospheric. Slightly smoky. But vocal jazz smoky, not experimental jazz smoky. Tame, thin smoke. Can’t We Be Friends? - He’s made this slightly jovial track quite blue. Fits very well in the context of this album but also very slow! When Your Lover Has Gone - Kind of a sleepy number. Quite nice strings though. Sounds a lot like a lot of the other tracks. What Is This Thing Called Love - Again, same feel to the previous track really. Slightly more melancholic and chromatic notes hinted at on this one. Also his vocal ability, jumping between notes is impressive. Last Night When We Were Young - Liked the glissando in the strings. Sort of a magic touch in the ‘50s. Think that was also used in Disney films to evoke intrigue, wonder or mystique. Did not love this though. I’ll Be Around - This is sweet. Like the little accompanying melody in the intro. Ill Wind - It kind of evokes wind or fog in the beginning with those woodwinds. Possibly heard this before. There are so many famous standards on this album! Not too bad. It Never Entered My Mind - This album’s still at a veeery slow pace! Nice to hear this classic sung though, only ever heard this played by jazz pianists. I think he was a big jazz fan in general and had good knowledge of all these tunes. Dancing On the Ceiling - Good guitar playing on this. Nice little melodies in the chorus. I’ll Never Be The Same - Alright, slightly run of the mill for the album. Proper heartbroken lyrics. Goes alright in the background though. Not offensive. He does sing well though on all these though, will give him that. This Love of Mine - Bit more soaring strings, like yearning, a reaching out. A decent closer for this album. Sweet and sentimental and also melancholic. Overall Review: This was, as with a lot of Sinatra, pleasant to listen to for the most part. I just don’t generally listen to him very often, definitely not whole albums. But it was decent and high quality playing for sure. Notable also that it’s the oldest and first album on the list. Just a little bit of a downer for that many slow and sad tracks! (Read this on another review and kind of agree). It began to drag for me by track 10. Also not loads of variety. It feels like it was very much of the time and would likely have had a fuller effect on audiences back then. 3.3/5 Favourite Songs: In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning, I’ll Be Around

I recognize a bunch of these tracks by title, but have never listened to this album start-to-finish. When it comes to jazz, I prefer instrumental jazz to vocal jazz. And I'm also just not a big fan of Sinatra. So, we'll see what ends up happening here. This is pretty good, but not great. It's definitely nice and smooth, and some of my complaints with Sinatra are related to his later work.

Another Sinatra album and again I feel like I was listening to the same song all the time. All of them were nice so that’s good

One, of the earlier examples of an Album as an artistic statement with a vision and an overarching theme, in this case Sinatra's failing marriage. Before this, popular musicians would just assemble their hit single an a bunch of other random new songs into an album, but this one showed the format could be a vehicle for artistic expression. It would still be a while before the Album became a proper artistic format, but the seeds for that were laid here. And beside, who doesn't love a good ol' Sinatra torch song record? I know I do. It is also relevant to point out Sinatra became a big star in part by doing this type material, something previously mostly associated with the female voice. Today we mostly associate him with those big Las Vegas show numbers, but that wasn't always the case. And with a voice like that, he could have become a star singing any kind of music, really. Key tracks: In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning

The arrangements and Frank’s delivery and tone are perfection

Lounge music that you could tap your feet to.

Not his best

I've already told you; Frank Sinatra was the worst thing to ever happen in the history of music.

This isn't my favorite album of his, but it's so interesting, and it does have one of my favorite songs on it, so I find it a little hard to rate!

What Is This Thing Called Love is excellent, but I just really love Cole Porter. The rest was hit or miss. Well, Mood Indigo was also good. I'm not a huge Sinatra fan, and a full hour of pining was a bit much.

Dang, what a mood. This album seems like a prime example of being not the right album for most situations, but the perfect album for a certain situation.

Beautiful arrangements, I’m so so on Sinatra’s voice.

Ooooo, I’m a sucker for a good crooner, and who does it better?

I think I’ve learned something now that I’m on my second Sinatra album: Frank Sinatra can obviously sing, and his backing band can make some great music, but I’m not sure Sinatra really works for me as an album-oriented artist. This album has a very specific mood. It’s melancholy, atmospheric, and almost entirely focused on heartbreak and loneliness. And I can appreciate that. There’s nothing here that I really hated, and a lot of it is genuinely nice to listen to. The problem is that after a while, it starts to feel like the same subject, the same kind of arrangement, and the same basic song structure over and over again. And for nearly 50 minutes, that was just a little too much for me. It never became annoying, exactly. I just slowly started getting bored. I like an album with a strong atmosphere, but I still need some variety within that atmosphere to keep me interested. So yeah, I can absolutely appreciate the singing, the orchestration, and what this album is going for. I just think I either needed more variety or a shorter runtime. Nice album, but not really one I see myself coming back to very often. 2.8/5

This was fine but the melancholy tone and subject matter wore a bit thin eventually, it's a very long album for 1955 so I was longing for a bit of variety eventually. He obviously has a great voice and as an early example of a concept album (ish) it's interesting

Really good, won’t be listening to again tho

The Voice. Spoiler alert - when I finish this project in a couple of years this will more than likely be my “favorite album” pick.

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Very similar to my recent Billie Holliday. Amazing voice, but maybe not such an amazing album. Still a lovely listen though.

Yeah this will probably be my go to frank. I love that the title offers the suggestion as to when best listen to this. I’m rarely up that time anymore but when I am, I know what to spin.

I'd prefer Strangers in the Night over this. Didn't know one guy could make so many breakup songs until this album.

Wee small? That’s not what I’ve heard! You think I’m not gonna mention the Ava Gardner quote?? “Sinatra was 120 pounds soaking wet & 10 of those pounds was COCK!” Wonder if he ever hung out with Milton Berle? But yeah I hate this guy, the vibe, the ppl who idolize him, the New York aspect of it all. They say nothing lasts forever & we’re all insignificant blips in the timeline of the universe; let’s speed that up so we can let Sinatra’s name slip into the sands of time. Good for him for rat packing a giant hog tho I guess.

Ill never understand how this guy was and is seen as a man’s man. Good voice though

I really am shocked after reading the context of this album. Bobby Soxers is now in my repertoire. I had no idea that Sinatra was in the pictures so will be diving therein. Suicide? Unreal. The first concept album also comes as a surprise since many of the albums on this journey of ours fall into that category. The band is top-notch which surprises no one. The voice is like no other. Don't really have much to say; whisky neat and darts on a nice rainy day, with or without company that don't talk too much would be just fine to have a think about life or not.

Eurgh

Mysig men nja

Frankie doing what Frankie does. Gets a bit samey in the back half.

Holy ballads Batman. Pretty solid album, Frank Sinatra is great as always, but I need some variety. It can't all be slow ballads. And unfortunately this album pretty much is all ballads.

In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning - 3.5/5 Mood Indigo - 3/5 Glad to Be Unhappy - 3/5 I Get Along Without You Very Well - 3/5 Deep in a Dream - 3/5 I See Your Face Before Mine - 3/5 Can't We Be Friends - 3/5 When Your Lover Has Gone - 3/5 What Is This Thing Called Love - 3/5 Last Night When We Were Young - 3/5 I'll Be Around - 3/5 Ill Wind - 3/5 It Never Entered My Mind - 3/5 Dancing on the Ceiling - 3/5 I'll Never Be the Same - 3/5 This Love of Mine - 3/5 I can really only take so much of the same concept before it starts to get stale. Granted, I think this definitely belongs on the list, as this basically invented the idea of albums revolving around concepts rather than just a collection of songs. Frank Sinatra is one of the best artists of his time, and I think this album definitely reflects that judgement, but current sentiments about this kind of music make it seem slightly dated. Overall: 3/5 Favorites: In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning

Can't deny it's good but not really my thing

A cuddle

This album feels like a nice warm hug

I've come to the conclusion that I respect Frank Sinatra's legacy more than I actually enjoy his music. In the Wee Small Albums is clearly a good album, with a lot of effort, care, and talent put into its creation, plus the fact that's it's widely credited as being one of the first ever concept albums. I understand how important it is, but unfortunately this style just does not interest me. There's only so much I can take of dramatic singing and sweeping violins and sad but nonspecific lyrics, and the fact that this album is nearly an hour doesn't help. Some musical and lyrical choices caught my ear, but mostly this just faded into the background for me.

i get it.. the predictable 'lyrical miracle, lover has another' rhyming felt endearing, i might just have a soft spot for this era of music

Classic 🔥

Honestly, heard one, you heard them all. Frank sounds no different from Day One until the very end. He has his thing, ballads, heavy strings, sappy lyrics. This one is slow as molasses. Not sure how this can be considered a must-listen but I need to stop arguing that fact every day as I progress through this Top 1001 list. Even his cover of Lionel Richie's "Dancing On The Ceiling" is deathly slow. Wink wink. Boring. Slow. No hits I have ever heard. No legacy with anyone younger than 80 yrs old.

I didn't know recorded music could be this boring.

It's been said this is the first concept album, but it's just a bunch of sad songs about love and the night and smoking cigarettes and nursing a scotch and trying to slink into your fedora.

I just found the song progressions boring and some of the lyrical choices tacky. The whole thing feels dated. It's not horrible but it's not classic.

It's a Sinatra album: it's going to be sang very well, the lyrics will all come through easily, the instruments are going to take a back seat. This one is all about heartbreak and longing, etc, but in a pretty dated way lyrically. It's fine musically, and we should have Sinatra albums on here since he influenced so many others, but this has very much aged out. I liked it, sure, but by the end it all sounded the same and I was done with it. Pleasant as always, and one of the best to ever do this particular style, of course.

50 minutes of heartbreak-inspired songs from ol' Blue Eyes. He had an unmatched voice, of course, but this one got a little grating after a while.

Great voice but this early stuff is just too slow for me

Frank ZZZinatra. What a boring album. Although I listened to the whole album without skipping any tracks Well I was happy I didn't felt asleep. So: 1/5

Sinatra is iconic and his voice alone gets this a lot of points, but as for songs here that I'll actually go back to on a regular basis are far and few between. This is too old sounding to have in my regular rotation, but I can't deny that I would absolutely dig the vibe this album would create when playing on a vinyl while having drinks and guests over or something. 3/5

mogla sam da poslusam istu pesmu 16 puta ne bih izvalila

Favourite Songs: Mood Indigo

Easy listening. Great soothing voice

Calme, voix magnifique, jazzy, 4,5/5

how lovely

Voice is great, not much apart from that. the theming gets tiring, quick.

Smooth, crooney and as expected. this album transports you to a speakeasy with drink in hand in a dark setting just being with life in the most satisfying way.