0001 - Frank Sinatra - In the Wee Small Hours [1955]

Who: A 40-year old Frank Sinatra in the middle of a career slump and a divorce from Ava Gardner.

What: On his first "concept" album (organized around a theme rather than a random collection of songs), Sinatra gives moody and emotive—even jazzy—performances of traditional pop standards and torch songs from the Great American Songbook accompanied by highly cinematic orchestrations arranged and conducted by Nelson Riddle.

Where: Hollywood, CA.

Time, August 29, 1955

When: Feeling smoky, lonely, blue, heartbroken.

Why: From start to finish, this album—the soundscapes, the vocal performances, the song selection, and even the cover art—captures a specific mood so consistently and palpably that it is stunning. While the limited scope of its explorations might make it seem monotonous at first, its narrow focus enables it to reveal a surprising depth and richness, much like an aural version of Yves Klein's monochromes.

Yves Klein, Untitled (IKB 46), 1955

Microdose:  There isn't really a "standout" on this album, and this may actually be the most upbeat track, but Sinatra's version of Duke Ellington's "Mood Indigo" perhaps most literally encapsulates the record as a whole.

 
Additional dose: "Blue" (composed by Alec Wilder) from Frank Sinatra Conducts Tone Poems of Color (1956).