Frank Sinatra Sings For Only The Lonely

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Throughout his Capitol run from the mid-’50s to the early ’60s, Sinatra’s pendulum swung from upbeat to disconsolate. <i>Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely</i> falls into the latter category, like its predecessors <i>Where Are You?</i> and <i>In the Wee Small Hours</i>, which are among the first concept albums, organized around a narrative theme. The album is also one of several to feature the lush orchestral arrangements of Nelson Riddle, indelibly a part of Sinatra’s signature sound (although Gordon Jenkins, Billy May, and others wrote for Sinatra during this period as well). Mainly it’s a testament to Ol’ Blue Eyes’ inimitable way with a song, caressing those odd sliding chromatic notes in “Only the Lonely,” or falling into the phrase “Probably I’m boring you” on “What’s New?” But these Capitol releases can be seen as a repository of wisdom on the Great American Songbook—not jazz records per se, but vital source material for anyone in jazz seeking definitive readings of standards by Rodgers & Hart, Harold Arlen, Sammy Cahn, and more.

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The Clerk says

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