Frank Sinatra “Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely”

One of the best album covers ever, so I’m glad to even have a copy—it’s like you’re handling great art in the comfort of your home—and it also protects the vinyl from spilled Manhattan cocktails and salty tears. It’s a painting by Nicholas Volpe of Sinatra in subtle (but unmistakable) sad clown makeup, along with some multicolored pastel diamonds reminiscent of a clown costume. My parents definitely had this one, though it was probably too much a bummer for me as a lad. I’m sure I’m not the first one to insist that you’ve got to have suffered a broken heart to appreciate this low-key, barstool masterpiece. I’m disappointed to discover that the only copy I have is a reissue of the 1958 original—maybe fromn’73? —but still sounds great—and still the same front cover. Missing, however, is the back cover—an image that (once I find it online) I remember from by Dad’s copy—a b&w drawing of a dude sitting on a park bench under a streetlamp. Actually, it looks like the edge of a park—so I imagine Jack Lemmon sitting there in The Apartment (1960), while the love of his life is back partying in his crib with his sleazeball boss. Anyway, I’m also missing out on some fine liner notes, and upon closer inspection, this reissue only has 10 of the 12 songs from the original. Internet also says there were significant differences in the stereo and mono recordings, partially related to the 10 and 12 song versions. I guess the good thing about all this is, I can still keep on the lookout for the other versions of this record—and given how good it is, I’d have probably purchased reasonably priced copies, anyway, and will!

So, even with a somewhat decimated version, this is one of the best Sinatra records, and one of the best heartbreak records, period. It’s with the Nelson Riddle Orchestra. All great songs, of course. I’d call these songs “understated”—as in quiet and slow—but, however, at the same time, Sinatra is so dramatic—they’re, in their own way, somewhat over the top. Very beautiful versions. Some of my favorite Sinatra standards, including the title song, “Angel Eyes,” “Willow Weep for Me,” “Gone with the Wind,” “Guess I’ll Hang My Tears Out to Dry,” “Ebb Tide,” and “One for My Baby.” Though, like I said, they’re all good, and I’m sure the two absent ones are also killer versions. (How can you leave “Spring is Here” off a record?) No pun intended, but, if I can be Frank, I’m a little tired of “One for My Baby”—I’ve heard that song so many times—sometimes a movie will lean on it far too heavily. But, at least, the context of the album rejuvenates it—it fits. This really is a theme record, after all. I wonder if there were any great songs that Sinatra got tired of performing, or even recording, since he recorded many songs multiple times. There’s plenty written about him, so maybe that’s discussed somewhere—I’d be interested, if that ever comes up. Of course, he could have been sick of them all—and you’d never know it.

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