Originally,
Frank Sinatra
had planned to record
Only the Lonely
with
Gordon Jenkins
, who had arranged his previous all-
ballads
album,
Where Are You
.
Jenkins
was unavailable at the time of the sessions, which led
Sinatra
back to his original arranger at
Capitol
,
Nelson Riddle
. The result is arguably his greatest
album.
follows the same formula as his previous down albums, but the tone is considerably bleaker and more desperate.
Riddle
used a larger orchestra for the album than he had in the past, which lent the album a stately, nearly
classical
atmosphere. At its core, however, the album is a set of brooding saloon songs, highlighted by two of
's tour de forces --
"Angel Eyes"
and
"One for My Baby."
never forces emotion out of the lyric, he lets everything flow naturally, with grace. It's a heartbreaking record, the ideal late-night album. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine