#13: Frank Sinatra - Songs For Swingin' Lovers! (1956)

I take back everything I said about Frank Sinatra before. While I may not have enjoyed 'In The Wee Small Hours' as much as I had hoped, this was a big, big swing the other way. This album is the counter point to 'Wee Small Hours' in which Frank swaps out very melancholy for carefree and playful. This is Frank Sinatra at his best. Every track on the album is worthy of making the list of standout tracks.

You Make Me Feel So Young
Chills, smiles, and little dances... What an amazing voice, once I heard this first track I knew I was in for a treat all the way through. This is what I want to hear when I hear Frank Sinatra's voice. I want to hear that jovial, childish tease that just won't quit. The vocals are so amazing it's hard to focus on the strings, horns, and bass - which all do such a tremendous job. The hits, the stabs, the walk - everything just adds emotion to really pack the greatest punch.

I've Got You Under My Skin 
Ok, sue me - I'm choosing the big hits. There's a reason they're the big hits. Apparently the score was rushed the night before the session - but you'd never know. It's quite possibly the greatest arrangement on the album. While 'You Make Me Feel So Young's arrangement does an amazing job pushing the song along and adding emotion this track's backing goes the other way. It stays in the background when Frank is singing and then when he stops it hits you in the face with awesomeness. Then it closes it out with just the most amazing hits, it's really Frank Sinatra at his best. This whole album is.

Love is Here To Stay
Every time I play this track and Sinatra enters in - I get chills. I totally understand why so many people just love and adore Ol' Blue Eyes. In fact, I think I'm going to join the club. If his other albums are half as good as this - I think they'll all be worth the price. Most of the album has lyrics similar to this, love songs or songs about relationships. Nothing is said too eloquently which is exactly it's beauty, it's all plain English but they're said in such a way that evokes so much more emotion than bigger words ever could.

Amazing album, if you like crooners and you haven't heard this you need to pick it up immediately. On Sinatra's last album I compared him to Jamie Cullum... and now I see why it's such a bogus comparison. Both are amazing in their own rights, I was just missing the good feeling vibe from Sinatra's 'In The Wee Small Hours' album. This album is not only full of them, they're overwhelming, and it's the greatest feeling in the world. 

This album was chosen from the book '1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die' 7/1001

Tomorrow's album: Hootie & the Blowfish's Cracked Rear View Mirror (1994)