 Frank Sinatra This is how I like my Sinatra. Singing standards in '54, backed by the pristine Nelson Riddle orchestra. Mellowed-out, musing on lost love and a broken heart. Do be do. The reissue of In the Wee Small Hours is a rather overlong album, and the sheer amount of emotional pain on here can be a bit much. It is good for relaxing, especially in the evening, with a bottle of good wine. And you can never go wrong with "I Get Along Without You Very Well," a song that I believe can make me weep (well, at least the last line can) in almost any form. There's also "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning," "Mood Indigo," "Ill Wind," "Glad to Be Unhappy," "Deep in a Dream" and a batch of others that go down slowly, like the smoothest liquor. Frank manages throughout the album to make me feel he was a purely soulful, sensitive man, rather than the more-or-less total bastard he undoubtedly actually was. He veers toward overdramatic, yet never goes overboard, allowing you to slip into reverie as the music and your third bottle of shiraz takes hold. I still say, though, that this is our parents' and grandparents' music, and let them have it. For quality Sinatra, you'll be very well served by this album, sure. But I say, kill the dinosaur and let us have our own Sinatra – Ron Sexsmith!!!!!!!!!
Review by HIP & DEF |