Customer Reviews

Only the Lonely

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This album was recorded over several days in late May and June of 1958, and I've been listening to it almost ever since. I've always been a Johnny Mercer fan, too, and a couple of his best songs are recorded on this album: the rueful "One for my Baby;" and the darker, angrier "Blues in the Night."

In my opinion "Only the Lonely" is Sinatra's greatest album. It is a collection of twelve ballads (plus two additions on the CD: "Sleep Warm"; and "Where or When") that Sinatra turns into dramatic monologue supported by music. The individual notes supporting each logical phrase in a song are seamlessly bound together--"He sings with such a beautiful legato!" the music critic Virgil Thomson once remarked.

In general, I'm not a popular music fan, being more inclined toward opera where this singer's reedy baritone would be out of place. But what Sinatra sings, he sings perfectly. Opera singers who attempt to go the other way and record popular ballads generally end up embarrassing themselves, especially if their songs were previously interpreted by Sinatra.

His golden age truly began in the 50s when he signed a contract with Capitol Records, hired Nelson Riddle as his chief arranger, and recorded a series of 'concept' albums that included this album on the loneliness of love.

A singer achieves stardom only to the extent that he succeeds in expressing his personality through music. Sinatra's ability to do this is most especially evident here where he personifies the lover who is unlucky in love. He is by turn rueful, melancholy, self-pitying, and sometimes a little angry---and if you're anywhere above the onset of puberty, I think you will understand exactly what he means. This is his gift to anyone who has ever felt rejected and alone.

Sinatra really deserves to be remembered as, in the words of the music critic John Rockwell, "the greatest singer in the history of American popular music."

I like to make friends laugh, but like the proverbial clown who is 'crying on the inside' (and as the singer is depicted here on the original album cover) -- I feel most in tune with life's poignant moments . . . the ones cynics like me usually dismiss as 'wallowing in self-pity.'

I've identified with Johnny Mercer's protagonist in "One For My Baby" since I first saw Frank Sinatra perform it on black and white TV, 45 years ago. But it's the Sammy Cahn classics on this album -- especially the title track --- that resonate, most deeply in my heart.

I close my eyes and listen in amazement to what many consider the single most beautiful ballad-recording Frank Sinatra and arranger Nelson Riddle ever created together --- Sammy Cahn & Jule Styne's "Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to Dry." I listen and see in my mind's eye the girl who broke my heart, in that 'very good year, when I was 21.'

Shortly after my youngest son (now teaching English in Japan and in love again) had his heart broken for the first time, he "discovered" his favorite Sinatra recording, among his dad's CDs -- "Only the Lonely."

Like his father, he prefers up-tempo Sinatra -- and singles out "I Thought About You" as his favorite 'swing' tune (mine too). But "Only the Lonely" he considers the "best song about lost love." (We agree on so few things!)

The same version of this song, on the 3-CD "Capitol Years" box set, opens with an additional 25 seconds of Sinatra giving expert instruction to Felix Slatkin -- who actually conducted the Riddle orchestra, that night of May 29, 1958.

The heartfelt liner notes, penned by Pete Welding, seem to speak to me personally. And the frustrated song writer within me, identifies with composer and lyricist as the two collaborators recalled, "attempting to write (this) song of loneliness for Frank Sinatra -- the challenge of matching words with notes."

"The melody came first," said Jimmy Van Heusen. "The lyric came very hard; session after session without the glimmer of a line. Sammy is as facile a man with words as there is in our business and I wanted to change the melody here and there to be helpful. He wouldn't permit me to change a note."

Said Sammy Cahn: "(It's) one of the best melodies Jimmy ever composed (and) I'm delighted now the melody is exactly as I first heard it."

Sinatra once singled out this album as his personal favorite, among those he recorded for Capitol. It is mine. Perhaps it'll be yours too?

In our lives all of us understand what it means to be lonely. These recordings of Frank Sinatra, put into words how that feels. The album starts off with "Only The Lonely" a very sad song which with the beautiful vocal performance of Sinatra, truely shows what it means to have lost everything, and be lonely. "Angel Eyes" and "What's New" are again wonderful performances by Sinatra, and show the sadness of lost love. Performances which only he could give. There are many other great recordings on this album, such as, "Willow Weep For Me" "Good-Bye" and "Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out To Dry." But the real treasure on this album is Sinatra's recording of "One For My Baby." Sinatra classified himself as a saloon singer, and this song is definately the greatest saloon song of all time. Sinatra is there by himself with just a piano backing his fantastic vocals. This album is essential to any Sinatra fan, and to any Sinatra collection.

For anyone who doubts Sinatra's vocal genius, sit down and listen to this record. This is Sinatra' Jr.'s favorite album and no wonder: the pathos, agony, gloom, despair and gut wrenching emotion Frank puts to this recording are legendary. This is an album to listen to when your spouse has dumped you, your boss has fired you or a love affair has busted up.

The theme throughout is, of course, loneliness. Frank articulates the emotion with an amazing array of vocal weapons, most of them so subtle you can't detect them, but you feel it deep down in your soul. Only a man who has lived Sinatra's type of life (and who else has?) can bring such an arsenal to the microphone. Somehow he brings an understated intensity to this record that is awesome.

This album is so good that you could legitimately say, "It's the best ever" and not be laughed out of the room. This is Sinatra and Riddle at their apex.

Frank Sinatra Sings For Only the Lonely is a beautiful album of songs sung by the immortal Frank Sinatra; the sound quality couldn't be better! I would ignore that AWFUL artwork on the front cover, though. It's the worst artwork I've ever seen--and for a Sinatra CD that's a true shame.

"Only The Lonely" starts off the track set with Frank singing very sensitively about lonely people and the universal need for love and companionship. The piano arrangement is very elegant and this is a beautiful number to start the album. "Angel Eyes" is at its best when Frank delivers this with all his heart and soul; I love every minute of it and I could listen to Frank sing "Angel Eyes" all the time without any complaints! Frank sings "Angel Eyes" with all the grace of the pro that he was and still remains.

"What's New" has a lush strings arrangement and Frank sings this beautifully. He never misses a beat and his performance proves his superior ability to perform a song in such a superior way that practically no one could ever even hope to match. "Willow Weep For Me" is another melancholy tune that gets the royal treatment from Frank who sings this with great sensitivity. Frank truly showcases his fine ability to touch his audience when he does songs like this one. "Blues In The Night" is easily a major highlight of this album; Frank sings this to perfection--and beyond! "Blues In The Night," a Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer tune, gets a slower than usual tempo here that actually enhances the natural beauty of this ballad. I'm very impressed.

"Ebb Tide" is a song that I'm not too familiar with but when Frank sings it he makes this shine like silver and gold combined! The strings and the harp make the melody very pretty. "Spring Is Here" features Frank squarely in the spotlight--and he uses this opportunity to use his vocal prowess to make "Spring Is Here" a rather beautiful number. "One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)" is another Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer tune; and Frank sings this perfectly. I always liked "One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)."

"Sleep Warm" is a touching number you're bound to enjoy; and I really like the ending number entitled "Where Or When." "Where Or When" is very elegant and it features Sinatra singing with a piano--what a sublime ending for this album!

Frank Sinatra will never be forgotten; and albums like this will always sell well to prove his talent is immortal. Sinatra fans will enjoy this album immensely; and people who enjoy the blues and other classic pop vocals will appreciate this CD, too.

Though Sinatra can be said to have reinvented "swing" in the 1950's with his string of stellar recordings for Capitol, his artistic powers were maximized in his treatment of ballads. Nowhere are these abilities better showcased than in the present offering. Nelson Riddle prepared the darkest, most brooding, and haunting arrangements of his career, framing Sinatra's performances ideally, which combine his richest vocal timbre with interpretations that are thoroughly assured and convincing, but with the vital tinges of fragility suggested in the songs' lyrics. A number of these songs in this collection are, to my mind, the "definitive" vocal versions, amongst these "Angel Eyes", "What's New?", "Spring is Here", "Willow Weep for Me" and "One For My Baby." Some lesser-known songs also score big here, especially "Goodbye" and "Gone With the Wind." Riddle's contribution cannot be overstated here. I believe this to be his finest work as an arranger. All in all, this is a "must" purchase not only for Sinatraphiles, but for those wanting some of the best of the Great American Songbook.

A lonely piano, a lonely voice in the night...Frank Sinatra's recording of "One for My Baby" is arguably the greatest recording by any American popular singer, and the entire album of "Only the Lonely" is a landmark testament of American popular song. This exquisitely dark, profoundly moving CD contains one masterpiece after another--"Willow Weep for Me," "Blues in the Night," "Spring is Here," "Angel Eyes," and of course "One for My Baby." Sinatra's grave, blue-velvet voice plumbs depths of romantic despair that no other singer--with the possible exception of Billie Holiday--ever approached. Nelson Riddle's supple orchestrations caress and enhance Sinatra's singing; among soloists--vocal or instrumental--and arrangers, only Miles Davis and Gil Evans had as remarkable a collaboration as Sinatra and Riddle. The only cut that slips a little below the rest is "Where or When," which feels overproduced. (No wonder it wasn't released with the original album.) This isn't a fun-time album, but one to play at midnight with a glass of whiskey in your hand and a lifetime full of regrets in your head. It's marvelous.

It's difficult to place this album in any one category. The orchestrations are classical and elegant. The harmonies used are jazz at its hippest. And Frank pulls it all together. Here is Frank at his sharpest and his saddest. There's so much here to absorb and take in.

Another difficulty is picking a favorite or a 'best-foot-forward'. "Angel eyes", "What's new?", and "One for my baby" have since become standards in the jazz lexicon. It's a mystery as to why "Guess I'll hang my tears out to dry", and "Gone with the wind" haven't fared better. "Goodbye" is just downright sad. The use of Diminished-whole tone scale harmonies here should be looked at as a 'how-to' or a primer for anyone who wants to compose music like this. Generally, it sounds as if they removed all restraints from Nelson Riddle. It's like they told him to just go crazy. It's difficult to determine who comes out as the star here. The arrangements here are that good.

This music is so classy. You are listening to eloquent, well written and arranged music. You have to listen to it more than once. And yet, as sad as it is, there is still a 'joy underneath the tears' that bubbles through.

The 20th Century may be long gone now and Sinatra no longer with us, but one shouldn't forget that the music from his time still remains. I'm 17 years old and I never grew up listening to his material. I'm mostly into guitar-driven rock music, but I still keep coming back to this album over and over. "Only the Lonely" is the perfect accompaniment for those solitary nights and the ballads never grow old. While many are familiar with his swingin' commercial hits, Frank fully showcased his capabilities through his sad concept records and "Only the Lonely" is no exception.

Those who think his songs are boring and cheesy have obviously never been exposed to good music before. From the opening title track to the rhythmic and catchy 'Blues in the Night' to the amazing rendition of 'One for My Baby' until the closing opus of 'Where or When', it will have you hooked from beginning to end. The orchestrations of arranger and conducting genius Nelson Riddle, coupled with Frank's haunting voice and the imagery produced from the lyrics themselves come together to create a masterpiece. If the jewel case art doesn't get your attention, then a first listen certainly will.

You won't receive any disappointment. "Only the Lonely" sets this mood that's nearly impossible to recreate anywhere else by anyone else. Honestly, how often in a lifetime do you come across records like this? Words simply cannot explain it. Even after almost half a century, you'll return to listening time after time.

Loneliness is a state we all find ourselves in at some time or another, for many different reasons. If you've ever experienced loneliness in your life, then this magnificent album by the legendary Frank Sinatra is for you. Sinatra's 1958 opus "Only The Lonely" is an achingly beautiful masterwork. With Nelson Riddle supplying the orchestrations, Sinatra magnificently takes the listener on a stroll through 14 songs all having to do with the theme of loneliness. Every single one of them is perfectly & beautifully sung by Frank, with Riddle's orchestral accompanyment the perfect light wind that carries Sinatra's performances along. There are so many outstanding, emotional songs on this album. My personal favorites include the title song, "Angel Eyes," "It's A Lonesome Old Town," "Willow Weep For Me," "Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out To Dry," "Spring Is Here," and, what is one of Sinatra's all-time signature classics, the ultimate saloon song, "One For My Baby." With Sinatra's voice so calm, so rich & so smooth, and Riddle's orchestrations so lovely, "Only The Lonely" simply floors you with it's emotional power. It's as if Frank is sitting right there with you, sharing a drink and patting you on the shoulder, as if to say, "It's okay, pal. I feel lonely sometimes, too." Quite simply, "Only The Lonely" is a most classic, most heartfelt Sinatra album. Thank you, Frank.