Customer Reviews

All Alone

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Somehow this one never caught my attention until now. I suspect I may not be all alone in being unaware of the existence of this neglected masterpiece. Its contemporary generation, on the cusp of the Beatles revolution, would undoubtedly be unimpressed if not put off by a program of 1920's sentimental favorites; an older generation, on the other hand, would balk at the songs of their youth not performed at a lilting, sing-along tempo.

All twelve tunes are waltzes, but the combination of Jenkins' rich orchestral palette and Sinatra's deliberative, deeply meditative readings all but erases consciousness of 3/4 meter. Sinatra sings not just of the past but of the tragic sense of time passing and the impossibility of reclaiming what is over except through art. The 1920s and 30s produced much popular material of undeniable melodramatic sentiment, and Sinatra mines this vein to the fullest, even in the face of a record-buying public that, especially during the 60s and 70s, preferred denial of the past and living in a knife-edge present.

This program is even more difficult to handle in a single session than "Only the Lonely" and "September of My Years," but that doesn't make it any less indispensable. Jenkins' arrangements might justify charges of over-ripeness for any singer other than Sinatra (he even throws in a soprano voice on "All Alone" and "The Melody Lingers On"). For the Master Storyteller, the settings serve as foils to unflinching, soul-searching, achingly beautiful, introspective journeys. Even "I lost the gladness that turned into sadness" is a phrase that acquires depth and resonance as Sinatra tells it.

Let's hope this conceptual gem, already consigned to Japanese exile, survives the parting out and chop-shop treatment to which Nancy and her fellow executors seem prone.

This is perhaps one of Frank's and Gordie's most underrated albums. It is better than any of their work at CAPITOL records as Sinatra's voice on this album is fuller and richer than on the CAPITOL albums.

The arrangements are superb and sould extremely lush; Frank probably had Gordie get a large orchestra as he very seldom spared any expense on REPRISE albums. I also like the perfect amount of reverb on Frank and the orchestra; overall the sound is very good.

Some of the waltzes do not have extremely deep lyrics and may sound a bit corny or old fashioned but Sinatra and Gordie literally squeeze every bit of emotion out of them and turn them into masterpieces. The ultimate cut on this album is REMEMBER. Just look at what Sinatra and Jenkins do with this song containing relatively simple lyrics - they turn into a dramtic and sad story. Only Frank could do that.

Why did the album only hit 25 on the BILLBOARD charts? Well, probably it was overshadowed by SINATRA AND STRINGS which is a bit more modern sounding but does not have the extreme sadness of this one. If Sinatra would have only waited to release this one..........

SHAME on Nancy Sinatra for deleting this one from the US REPRISE catalog.

This CD is nothing short of a masterpiece. Sinatra is in top Vocal Form as once again he guides us through the sorrows of lost loves,hopes & dreams. He doesn't just sing the music, he sings the words! Words by master songcrafter Irving Berlin are embellished by Sinatra's full emotional range and delivered expertly to the listener with lush Arrangements by Gordon Jenkins. My favorite cut is "Oh How I Miss You Tonight".The bonus Track "Come Waltz With Me" was originally intended to be the title of this 3/4 time collection. Don't Miss This One!

When does an aging artist (or athlete) peak? I liked Dylan at "Blood on the Tracks". Sinatra peaked at "All Alone". I got the vinyl in 1962 when I was 17. The mature voice exceeded all the 50s recordings, but by "Sinatra '68", the deep baritone was only excellent, not perfect. If you are heartbroken and lonely, this will let you bask in your sorrow and maybe see you through the ordeal. Wish I was old enough to remenber Gordon Jenkins.

Track listing for Sinatra's "All Alone" album, released in 1962:

1) "All Alone"
2) "The Girl Next Door"
3) "Are You Lonesome Tonight?"
4) "Charmaine"
5) "What'll I Do?"
6) "When I Lost You"
7) "Oh, How I Miss You Tonight"
8) "Indiscreet"
9) "Remember"
10) "Together"
11) "The Song Is Ended"

**NOTE: The Jimmy Van Heusen/Sammy Cahn song, "Come Waltz With Me," was recorded at the same session, but was left off the album. Sinatra felt that the song just didn't fit.

This is obviously an underrated masterpiece but I am writing this review for the sake of one performance on this record - Sinatra's version of "What'll I do?" Sinatra has recorded dozens of masterpieces but there is something about his performance of this song - the saddest reflection of love lost ever written - that brings me to tears every time I hear it. Sinatra himself said he could only sing it a few times - it was just too hard. "When I'm alone, with only dreams of you, that won't come true, what'll I do?" That sums up the feeling everyone has had at the end of a relationship. It is awful. Truly awful and if you listen to it you know you are in the presence of someone who has been there too.

Like 1961's Capitol swan song "Point Of No Return," "All Alone" is often tossed off by most Sinatra fans because of its relative lack of attention. (The fact that it isn't available in America isn't helpful, either.) Don't let that influence your opinion of this album. It is in fact one of his most fully realized efforts, a collection of waltzes beautifully arranged by Gordon Jenkins with Frank in particularly strong voice.

Songs such as the haunting title track (the female Soprano counterpart at the end will send chills down your spine), the wistful "The Girl Next Door," (much better than the 1953 version), his soaring take on Irving Berlin's "What'll I Do" and his haunting take on Berlin's "When I Lost You" all rank among Sinatra's finest works, and "Charmaine," "Discreet," "Oh, How I Miss You Tonight" and "Come Waltz With Me" are all solid efforts. Even the weakest track on the album, a misguided take on "Are You Lonesome Tonight" (nowhere near as good as Elvis's version), is still listenable.

This is one of Frank's most consistent and entertaining albums. There is not one track worth skipping. A truly stunning and sadly unrecognized work of art.

"All Alone" has the unfortunate distinction of racking up the poorest sales of any album out of Sinatra's early Reprise era.

There are two possibilities for this--at this time Capitol Records was flooding the market with Sinatra material, both newly recorded and reissues at a'two-fer' rate so that distributors and retailers were surfeited with Sinatra material; and the general public was confused as to what to buy..............

Also, "All Alone" contains many songs that were so old (even by early 1962 standards) they virtually 'creak'---did anyone still have 'parlors' in '62?

All this aside "All Alone" gives us Sinatra at his absolute best--his singing is completely impassioned and his phrasing (as usual) is peerless)-he also brought his 'heaviest' voice in recent memory to the sessions (January 15th-17th, 1962)...

Thus torch waltzes such as "The Song Is Ended" and "What'll I Do" are given new meaning and depth of feeling...

Since the theme of the album was loneliness, two of the songs are out of phase with the overall mood ("Girl Next Door" speaks of a romance with the possibility to blossom while "Indiscreet"speaks of one already in progress)...

Couple of asides--the original title of the lp was to be "Come Waltz With Me".....the song was commissioned by Sinatra and written by Cahn and Van Heusen---Sinatra recorded it but it was eventually dropped from the project and the lp was released in the late fall of 1962 as 'All Alone'--
"Come Waltz With Me" finally surfaced in 1985 on a Japanese reissue of the lp and finally on the Domestic CD release in 1999...........

Sinatra also recorded the "All Alone" lp exactly one week before he began shooting the incredible "Manchurian Candidate"

It's too bad that "All Alone" is out of print and hard to find...it's simply a lesson in ballad singing at its finest.................

I hadn't heard of this album until I received an e-mail from Amazon. I was going to give it four stars because I'm not crazy about the song "Indiscreet" and I could do without the female voice on "All Alone" and "The Song is Ended", however, there is so much that is excellent about this CD that I had to give it five stars. Except for "The Girl Next Door", I don't think I've ever heard these songs by Sinatra. Sinatra is in excellent voice on this CD and Jenkin's arrangements are superb. Together they really set the mood. I'm sure Irving Berlin was thrilled when he heard this CD. I'd venture to guess that he never heard his songs done so well. What a job Sinatra does on "Remember". I'd rank it among the top Sinatra recordings of all time.

Thank you Amazon for informing me about this CD.

I purchased this for my 87 year old Mother and was very pleased with it. She didn't think I would be able to find it but thanks to Amazon.com I did.