Louis Prima | The Wildest (1956)

Label: Capitol

Producer: Voyle Gilmore

Art Direction: Uncredited

Running Time: 32:00

 

Now THIS was a fun album to listen to. Here we have Louis Prima, a popular nightclub singer and trumpeter in the 1930s and '40s, showing the world that he still has that spark. I mean just look at the album cover, if that doesn't make you smile, I don't know what will.

This album is the kind of stuff I imagine being played in 1950s Las Vegas. The kind of brassy, big band sound that encapsulates an era for all time. That doesn't say this music is dated, however, as tracks from this album have been covered by other artists in the modern day (see below). Overall, this is a great album all-around, and I definitely had a lot of fun listening to this one.

RATING: 4 out of 5

NOTABLE TRACKS:

Just a Gigolo / I Ain't Got Nobody

Jump Jive, An' Wail

The Lip

(I'll Be Glad When You're Dead) You Rascal You

Albums Reviewed: 4

Albums Remaining: 997

The Louvin Brothers | Tragic Songs of Life (1956)

Label: Capitol

Producer: Ken Nelson

Art Direction: Uncredited

Running Time: 35:58

Once upon a time, country music actually SOUNDED like country music. This is an album that is from the first note to the last full of southern-fried goodness. Songs about heartbreak, homesickness, and (in the case of at least one song) murder.

There is something about brothers singing in 2-part harmony that will get me every time. It has a certain "twang" to it that I can't help but smile when I hear it. Images that come to mind when listening to this: dirt roads, moonshine, and the Dukes of Hazzard. If you're craving some good down-home "pickin-and-grinnin", this one is sure to please.

RATING: 4 out of 5

NOTABLE TRACKS:

Knoxville Girl

 

In The Pines

Katie Dear

Albums Reviewed: 3

Albums Remaining: 998



Frank Sinatra | In The Wee Small Hours (1955)

Label: Capitol

Producer: Voyle Gilmore

Art Direction: Tommy Steele

Running Time: 50:25

Now, of course I was familiar with Frank Sinatra. How could you not? But I was used to the cool, smooth Sinatra. The Rat Pack Sinatra. This is not THAT Frank Sinatra.

By the early 1950s, Sinatra had become something of a washed-up has-been. After being dropped by his previous record labels and a failed attempt at entering the then-new medium of television, his future in entertainment became doubtful. However, upon his signing to Capitol Records, Sinatra set out to reinvent himself. By working with renowned composer Nelson Riddle, Sinatra released In The Wee Small Hours in 1955. Regarded as one of the first "concept albums", In The Wee Small Hours is an album that focuses on sadness, heartbreak, and loss.

This album was pretty depressing, although not unenjoyable to listen to. While some of the songs do tend to blend together, this is fitting given the depressive mood that the album is attempting to portray. Anyone who has ever found themselves in a "funk" knows that everything can sort of blend together into one depressing situation.  I couldn't help but picture Sinatra sitting in a small, empty bar with a gin and tonic, confessing his sadness to anyone that would listen. This is a man that has suffered heartbreak (he had recently been separated from his then-wife Ava Gardner), and is laying it all out there as a kind of cathartic healing.

I would think that this album would be best listened to alone, at night, with a stiff drink and a cigarette. If you have ever been down-and-out, or at least felt that way, then you were absolutely be able to relate to this album.

RATING: 4 out of 5

NOTABLE TRACKS:

In The Wee Small Hours

I'll Be Around

Albums Reviewed: 1
Albums Remaining: 1000