No, The Beatles, The Kinks, Frank Zappa or any other 60's rock act
didn't invent the concept album. Sinatra was doing them way before them,
with a run of his very best music in the '50's. Working with arranger
Nelson Riddle, he put out an unparalleled run of records starting with
1954's Songs For Young Lovers, followed by In The Wee Small Hours, Songs
For Swingin' Lovers, and this gem from 1958, all considered career
highlights. Each had a theme, and for Only The Lonely, it was music for
the heartbroken and sad, best heard late at night with a stiff drink.
Several
of these songs became standards, including What's New?, famously
covered later by Linda Ronstadt, Blues In The Night ("My mama done told
me..."), and one of his signature songs, One For The Road. It was pure
hurt, songs about one thing only, a guy who'd lost that big love, and
nothing could change it. And nobody could sing hurt like Frank, with
that image of a guy in a crumpled suit sitting at a bar at 2 A.M., with
no amount of alcohol able to dull that pain.
This
60th birthday edition is expanded to two discs, with the original mono
release on the first, and a brand-new stereo mix on the second. Now,
there's not a whole lot that can be done to the original tapes, which
were only three tracks, but you do notice a bit wider sound on the
orchestra, more space. But given the subject matter, I prefer the more
claustrophobic, focused mono. There are four other bonus cuts, including
an interesting series of takes on Angel Eyes, with Sinatra bothered by
one note. You get to appreciate his control and knowledge, and at one
point he quickly realizes he's a semi-tone lower than he should be. He
was more than just the voice. Long-time fans are excited by the
inclusion of his attempts at Lush Life, which he was considering doing,
but couldn't get a good feel for his vocal over several takes. He
eventually gave up on it, and never released a version of the classic.
It's not done, but it's close.
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