In the Wee Small Hours

In the Wee Small Hours

General information

Artist

Frank Sinatra

Arranger

Nelson Riddle

Release date(s)

1955

Recorded

February 8, 1955 - March 4, 1955

Record Label

Capitol

Producer

Voyle Gilmore

Product code

Track information

Discs

1 (2 in 10" version)

Total tracks

16

Length

48:41

Singles

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Reception

Allmusic

5 /5

Rolling Stone

5 /5

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Alternate cover art

Chronology

Previous

Swing Easy!

Next

Songs for Swingin' Lovers!

In the Wee Small Hours is the tenth studio album by Frank Sinatra and it was released in 1955. It has been recognized as one of Sinatra's first concept albums, and has been recorded as one of Sinatra's highest rated and popularized early albums.

In the Wee Small Hours has been recognized as one of Sinatra's first concept albums, and has been recorded as one of Sinatra's highest rated and popularized early albums. Like most of Sinatra's Capitol work, the album was arranged and conducted by Nelson Riddle. The album sports a theme of lonliness and despair, a trait given to Sinatra's later ballad albums Where Are You? and Only the Lonely.

The album's inception began with Sinatra's first studio album, but was never fully realized until Sinatra's divorce with Ava Gardner.

In the Wee Small Hours is also notable in that it was originally released under both 12" and 10" formats.

History

Production

In the Wee Small Hours was arranged and conducted by Nelson Riddle and recorded by Sinatra at the Capitol Records Studios building in Hollywood, California. The album's tracks were recorded over five separated recording sessions during February and March of 1955, with exception of Last Night When We Were Young.

• "Glad to Be Unhappy," "I'll Be Around", "Can't We Be Friends?" and "Dancing on the Ceiling" were recorded on February 8, 1955.
• "Mood Indigo," "I See Your Face Before Me," and "What Is This Thing Called Love?" were recorded on February 16, 1955.
• "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning," "I Get Along Without You Very Well (Except Sometimes)," "This Love of Mine," and "When Your Lover Has Gone" were recorded on February 17, 1955.
• "Last Night When We Were Young" was recorded on March 1, 1954.
• "It Never Entered My Mind," "Deep in a Dream", "Ill Wind" and "I'll Never Be the Same" were recorded on March 4, 1955.

Track information

Following Sinatra's previous projects under Capitol Records, Songs for Young Lovers and Swing Easy!, Sinatra had an idea to build an album compiling of songs that tell a story. This album was one of the first of these projects later dubbed "concept albums," an artistic movement Sinatra pioneered in. The sixteen songs used for In the Wee Small Hours create a mood of brooding sadness associated with "the wee small hours of the morning," the hours after midnight until dawn.

Track listing

12" release

Side one

1. "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning" (Bob Hilliard, David Mann) – 3:00
2. "Mood Indigo" (Barney Bigard, Duke Ellington, Irving Mills) – 3:30
3. "Glad to Be Unhappy" (Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart) – 2:35
4. "I Get Along Without You Very Well (Except Sometimes)" (Hoagy Carmichael, Jane Brown Thompson) – 3:42
5. "Deep in a Dream" (Eddie DeLange, Jimmy Van Heusen) – 2:49
6. "I See Your Face Before Me" (Howard Dietz, Arthur Schwartz) – 3:24
7. "Can't We Be Friends?" (Paul James, Kay Swift) – 2:48
8. "When Your Lover Has Gone" (Einar Aaron Swan) – 3:10

Side two

1. "What Is This Thing Called Love?" (Cole Porter) – 2:35
2. "Last Night When We Were Young" (Harold Arlen, Yip Harburg) – 3:17
3. "I'll Be Around" (Alec Wilder) – 2:59
4. "Ill Wind" (Arlen, Ted Koehler) – 3:46
5. "It Never Entered My Mind" (Rodgers, Hart) – 2:42
6. "Dancing on the Ceiling" (Rodgers, Hart) – 2:57
7. "I'll Never Be the Same" (Gus Kahn, Matty Malneck, Frank Signorelli) – 3:05
8. "This Love of Mine" (Sol Parker, Henry W. Sanicola, Jr., Frank Sinatra) – 3:33

10" release

Side one

1. "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning" (Bob Hilliard, David Mann) – 3:00
2. "Mood Indigo" (Barney Bigard, Duke Ellington, Irving Mills) – 3:30
3. "Glad to Be Unhappy" (Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart) – 2:35
4. "I Get Along Without You Very Well (Except Sometimes)" (Hoagy Carmichael, Jane Brown Thompson) – 3:42

Side two

1. "Deep in a Dream" (Eddie DeLange, Jimmy Van Heusen) – 2:49
2. "I See Your Face Before Me" (Howard Dietz, Arthur Schwartz) – 3:24
3. "Can't We Be Friends?" (Paul James, Kay Swift) – 2:48
4. "When Your Lover Has Gone" (Einar Aaron Swan) – 3:10

Side three

1. "What Is This Thing Called Love?" (Cole Porter) – 2:35
2. "Last Night When We Were Young" (Harold Arlen, Yip Harburg) – 3:17
3. "I'll Be Around" (Alec Wilder) – 2:59
4. "Ill Wind" (Arlen, Ted Koehler) – 3:46

Side four

1. "It Never Entered My Mind" (Rodgers, Hart) – 2:42
2. "Dancing on the Ceiling" (Rodgers, Hart) – 2:57
3. "I'll Never Be the Same" (Gus Kahn, Matty Malneck, Frank Signorelli) – 3:05
4. "This Love of Mine" (Sol Parker, Henry W. Sanicola, Jr., Frank Sinatra) – 3:33

Reception

Allmusic gave the album a perfect score of five out of five stars, giving the album praise for its lonely and desolate themes. The rhythm of the album is blue and melancholy as "the singer goes through a series of standards that are lonely and desolate." In addition, Allmusic' Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote that "Sinatra's voice had deepened and worn to the point where his delivery seems ravished and heartfelt, as if he were living the songs."

Rolling Stone reviewed the album and also gave it a perfect five out of five star score.

In the Wee Small Hours peaked at #1 on the Billboard 200 charts of 1955.

Allocates

Publication	Accolade	Year	Rank
Amazon.com	10 Best Albums by Decade (50s)	1999	3
Gear	The 100 Greatest Albums of the Century	1999
Blender	The 100 Greatest American Albums of All Time	2002	54
Rolling Stone	The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time	2003	100
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die	1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die	2005	N/A
Time	The All-TIME 100 Albums	2006	N/A
Mojo	100 Records That Changed the World	2007	11

Personnel

Personnel
William Claxton	Photography
Voyle Gilmore	Producer
Bob Hilliard	Composer
Paul James	Composer
David Mann	Composer
Bob Norberg	Remastering
Sol Parker	Composer
Nelson Riddle	Arranger, Conductor
Henry W. Sanicola, Jr.	Composer
Frank Sinatra	Composer, Vocals
Tommy Steele	Art Direction
Larry Walsh	Remastering
Pete Welding	Compilation, Liner Notes