History Music / InTheWeeSmallHours

This mood of melancholic loneliness in the wake of failed relationships [[CreatorBreakdown was reflected in the central theme of all the songs]], making the record an early example of a ConceptAlbum, virtually a whole decade before rock artists such as Music/FrankZappa [[note]]on ''Music/FreakOut'' from 1966[[/note]], Music/TheBeachBoys [[note]]on ''Music/PetSounds'' from 1966, though some argue ''Little Deuce Coupe'' from 1963 is an early concept album[[/note]] and Music/TheBeatles [[note]]on ''Music/SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand'' from 1967[[/note]] would make the genre popular; the only older example is Music/WoodyGuthrie's ''Music/DustBowlBallads'' from 1940, and even that is debatable (''In the Wee Small Hours'' is unified by theme and mood in a way that the narrative-oriented ''Dust Bowl Ballads'' is not). In many ways, it's considered the UrExample of the modern idea of a music album, both because of its use of a central concept and because of its popularization of the 12" long-playing record as ''the'' format for albums prior to the advent of the UsefulNotes/CompactDisc (previously they were literal album books filled with 78 rpm records).

!! Wee small tropes found on this album:

* CradleOfLoneliness: Sinatra had just gone through a few broken relationships himself and this gloomy feeling can be felt in the lyrics too. For instance in "When Your Lover Has Gone"

* ReCut: Initial CD releases in 1987 drop "Last Night When We Were Young"; the track would later be restored in 1991. While the reason for the song's exclusion was never explained, Creator/CapitolRecords worked around its absence by advertising the 1987 version as a "special abridged Compact Disc version of the album."

* TorchSong: An entire album full of them. Sinatra would revisit the concept with such subsequent albums as ''Where Are You?'' (1957), ''Only the Lonely'' (1958), ''No One Cares'' (1959), and ''All Alone'' (1962).

* UnrequitedLove: A major theme. In "Glad to Be Unhappy" Sinatra even mentions "it's a bore and I've got it pretty bad".

[[caption-width-right:350: ''"In the wee small hours of the morning / While the whole wide world is fast asleep / You lie awake and think about the girl / And never, ever think of counting sheep."'']]

-->--'''Music/TomWaits''', who in 2005 put ''In the Wee Small Hours'' in the number 1 spot of his 20 personal favorite albums.

''In the Wee Small Hours'' is the ninth studio album by Music/FrankSinatra, released in 1955 through Creator/CapitolRecords. It was recorded while the singer went through marital troubles with his second wife, Creator/AvaGardner, which would eventually lead to their divorce two years later. This mood of melancholic loneliness in the wake of failed relationships was reflected in the central theme of all the songs, making the record an early example of a ConceptAlbum, virtually a whole decade before rock artists such as Music/FrankZappa [[note]]on ''Music/FreakOut'' from 1966[[/note]], Music/TheBeachBoys [[note]]on ''Music/PetSounds'' from 1966. Though some argue ''Little Deuce Coupe'' from 1963 is an early concept album[[/note]] and Music/TheBeatles [[note]]on ''Music/SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand'' from 1967[[/note]] would make the genre popular; the only older example is Music/WoodyGuthrie's ''Music/DustBowlBallads'' from 1940, and even that is debatable (''In the Wee Small Hours'' is unified by theme and mood in a way that the narrative-oriented ''Dust Bowl Ballads'' is not). In many ways it's considered the UrExample of the modern idea of a music album, both because of its use of a central concept and because of its popularization of the 12" long-playing record as ''the'' format for albums prior to the advent of the UsefulNotes/CompactDisc (previously they were literal album books filled with 78 rpm records).

Nelson Riddle once again provides the arrangements and conducts the orchestra. This was the first album to showcase Riddle's own arranging style: of his previous efforts with Sinatra, ''Songs for Young Lovers'' mostly used George Siravo arrangements and ''Swing Easy!'' was orchestrated by Riddle [[InTheStyleOf in a style reminiscent of Red Norvo]].

''In the Wee Small Hours'' is the ninth studio album by Music/FrankSinatra, released in 1955. It was recorded while the singer went through marital troubles with his second wife, Creator/AvaGardner, which would eventually lead to their divorce two years later. This mood of melancholic loneliness in the wake of failed relationships was reflected in the central theme of all the songs, making the record an early example of a ConceptAlbum, virtually a whole decade before rock artists such as Music/FrankZappa [[note]]on ''Music/FreakOut'' from 1966[[/note]], Music/TheBeachBoys [[note]]on ''Music/PetSounds'' from 1966. Though some argue ''Little Deuce Coupe'' from 1963 is an early concept album[[/note]] and Music/TheBeatles [[note]]on ''Music/SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand'' from 1967[[/note]] would make the genre popular; the only older example is Music/WoodyGuthrie's ''Music/DustBowlBallads'' from 1940, and even that is debatable (''In the Wee Small Hours'' is unified by theme and mood in a way that the narrative-oriented ''Dust Bowl Ballads'' is not). In many ways it's considered the UrExample of the modern idea of a music album, both because of its use of a central concept and because of its popularization of the 12" long-playing record as ''the'' format for albums prior to the advent of the UsefulNotes/CompactDisc (previously they were literal album books filled with 78 rpm records).

A success from the start, this album effectively revived Sinatra's slumping career. It transformed him from the teen idol he was before into an artist [[GrowingTheBeard that deserved to be taken seriously and who dealt with more mature themes]].

->"I'm a Sinatra nut. I went to bed every night listening to ''In the Wee Small Hours''."
-->--'''Music/BBKing''', in his autobiography.

* TropeCodifier: For the album format itself: it was one of the first 12" long-playing pop music records. Previously, 10" was the standard for pop releases, with 12" being mostly reserved for classical music. While neither the first album ever nor the first Sinatra ever recorded, it is usually the oldest record in many "Greatest Albums" lists.

* TropeCodifier: For the album format itself: it was one of the first 12" long-playing pop music records. Previously, 10" was the standard for pop releases, 12" was mostly reserved to classical music. While not the first album ever nor the first Sinatra ever recorded, it is usually the oldest record in many "Greatest Albums" lists.

* LyricalDissonance: The musical arrangements are sweet and pleasant, despite being gloomy while Sinatra's lyrics are depressing.

* TorchSong: An entire album full of them. Sinatra would follow it up with such SpiritualSuccessor albums as ''Where Are You?'' (1957), ''Only the Lonely'' (1958), ''No One Cares'' (1959), and ''All Alone'' (1962).

The album was a success from the start that effectively revived his slumping career. It transformed him from the teen idol he was before into an artist [[GrowingTheBeard that deserved to be taken seriously and who dealt with more mature themes]].

''In the Wee Small Hours'' is the ninth studio album by Music/FrankSinatra, released in 1955. It was recorded when the singer went through marital troubles with his second wife, Creator/AvaGardner, which would eventually lead to their divorce two years later. This mood of melancholic loneliness over failed relationships was reflected in the central theme of all the songs, making the record an early example of a ConceptAlbum, virtually a whole decade before rock artists such as Music/FrankZappa [[note]]on ''Music/FreakOut'' from 1966[[/note]], Music/TheBeachBoys [[note]]on ''Music/PetSounds'' from 1966. Though some argue ''Little Deuce Coupe'' from 1963 is an early concept album[[/note]] and Music/TheBeatles [[note]]on ''Music/SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand'' from 1967[[/note]] would make the genre popular; the only older example is Music/WoodyGuthrie's ''Music/DustBowlBallads'' from 1940, and even that is debatable (''In the Wee Small Hours'' is unified by theme and mood in a way that the narrative-oriented ''Dust Bowl Ballads'' is not). In many ways it's considered the UrExample of the modern idea of a music album, both because of its use of a central concept and because of its popularization of the 12" long-playing record as ''the'' format for albums prior to the advent of the UsefulNotes/CompactDisc (previously they were literal album books filled with 78 rpm records).

The album was a uccess from the start that effectively revived his slumping career. It transformed him from the teen idol he was before into an artist [[GrowingTheBeard that deserved to be taken seriously and who dealt with more mature themes]].

The album was a commercial and critical success from the start that effectively revived his slumping career. It transformed him from the teen idol he was before into an artist [[GrowingTheBeard that deserved to be taken seriously and who dealt with more mature themes]]. ''In The Wee Small Hours'' is frequently seen as one of the best albums of all time. The album was listed at #101 in ''Magazine/RollingStone'''s [[Music/RollingStone500GreatestAlbumsOfAllTime 500 Greatest Albums of All Time]], while ''Magazine/{{Time|Magazine}}'' included it in their 2006 list of [[TimeAllTime100Albums 100 timeless and essential albums.]]

''In the Wee Small Hours'' is the ninth studio album by Music/FrankSinatra, released in 1955. It was recorded when the singer went through marital troubles with his second wife, Creator/AvaGardner, which would eventually lead to their divorce two years later. This mood of melancholic loneliness over failed relationships was reflected in the central theme of all the songs, making the record an early example of a ConceptAlbum, virtually a whole decade before rock artists such as Music/FrankZappa [[note]]on ''Music/FreakOut'' from 1966[[/note]], Music/TheBeachBoys [[note]]on ''Music/PetSounds'' from 1966. Though some argue ''Little Deuce Coupe'' from 1963 is an early concept album[[/note]] and Music/TheBeatles [[note]]on ''Music/SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand'' from 1967[[/note]] would make the genre popular; the only older example is Music/WoodyGuthrie's ''Music/DustBowlBallads'' from 1940. In many ways it's considered the UrExample of the modern idea of a music album, both because of its use of a central concept and because of its popularization of the 12" long-playing record as ''the'' format for albums prior to the advent of the UsefulNotes/CompactDisc (previously they were literal album books filled with 78 rpm records).

''In the Wee Small Hours'' is the ninth studio album by Music/FrankSinatra, released in 1955. It was recorded when the singer went through marital troubles with his second wife, Creator/AvaGardner, which would eventually lead to their divorce two years later. This mood of melancholic loneliness over failed relationships was reflected in the central theme of all the songs, making the record an early example of a ConceptAlbum, virtually a whole decade before rock artists such as Music/FrankZappa [[note]]on ''Music/FreakOut'' from 1966[[/note]], Music/TheBeachBoys [[note]]on ''Music/PetSounds'' from 1966. Though some argue ''Little Deuce Coupe'' from 1963 is an early concept album[[/note]] and Music/TheBeatles [[note]]on ''Music/SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand'' from 1967[[/note]] would make the genre popular. The only older example is Music/WoodyGuthrie's ''Music/DustBowlBallads'' from 1940.

* TropeCodifier: For the album format itself: it was one of the first 12" pop music records. [[note]]10" was the standard for pop releases, 12" was mostly reserved to classical music.[[/note]] While not the first album Sinatra ever recorded, it is usually the oldest record in many Greatest Albums lists.

* TropeCodifier: For the album format itself. While not the first album Sinatra ever recorded, it is usually the oldest record in many Greatest Albums lists.