The All-TIME 100 Albums: In the Wee Small Hours by Frank Sinatra

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The All-TIME 100 Albums

101 of 101

By Josh Tyrangiel Published: November 13, 2006

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ALBUM: In the Wee Small Hours

YEAR RELEASED: 1954 LABEL: Capitol ARTIST: Frank Sinatra

TIME 100 ALBUMS PODCASTS

PODCAST: Welcome to the All-TIME 100 Albums - the musical compilations of the last half-century that need no introduction. That said, listen in below as music critics Josh Tyrangiel and Alan Light introduce the list and talk about the top albums of the 1950s and '60s.

PODCAST: We know. Twenty-nine of the 100 greatest albums of all time come in the 1970s, and Pink Floyd isn't there. Play this podcast to learn why we picked the titles we did, and if you have something to say, tell us about it using the talkback link below.

PODCAST: Maybe it's a Sign O' The Times that you're listening to critics' audio recordings about great music, but this podcast about how we chose the best albums of the 1980s really is a Thriller. Give it a listen below.

PODCAST: Here's music even the younger set will know by heart. Listen to selected clips from the 1990s through present day as music critic Josh Tyrangiel discusses his picks.

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For a decade, Sinatra pushed to make a cohesive LP at a time when no one in the record business was thinking beyond singles. Finally, his break-up with Ava Gardner provided the perfect catalyst. These 16 ballads, recorded in just a few days, are the authoritative take on masculine loneliness. Like all Sinatra songs, they're not just beautifully sung but interpreted into drama: the title track is the initial confession of pain, Rodgers and Hart's "Glad to Be Unhappy" and Cole Porter's "I Get Along Without You Very Well" the futile denials, and "I'll Never Be the Same" the grim acceptance that the lady's gone for good.