Songs for Young Lovers | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by Frank Sinatra | ||||
Released | 1954 | |||
Recorded | November 5-November 6, 1953 Hollywood | |||
Genre | Vocal jazz, classic pop | |||
Length | 21:42 | |||
Label | Capitol | |||
Producer | Voyle Gilmore | |||
Frank Sinatra chronology | ||||
|
Professional ratings | |
---|---|
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Allmusic |
Songs for Young Lovers is the seventh studio album by Frank Sinatra and his first on Capitol Records. It was issued as an 8-song, 10" album (Capitol H-488) and as a 45rpm EP set, but it was the first Sinatra "album" to not have a 78rpm multi-disc-album release. In 2002, it was one of 50 recordings chosen that year by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry.
Prior to his switch to Capitol, Sinatra had already begun to change his sound. His experience in the nightclubs of Las Vegas had given him a more mature, jazzy sound that did not lose its intimacy. Additionally, his resounding success in From Here to Eternity infused him with renewed confidence. Sinatra now sings with assuredness born of the experience of survival. He convinced his new producer Voyle Gilmore to record the charts that he had performed at the Riviera and the Sands. The arrangements were usually performed by eight musicians when Sinatra performed live, but for the recording eleven musicians were used, possibly indicating orchestration had been reduced for the concerts.
The tracks were conducted by Nelson Riddle, the sessions for this album and the preceding singles ("I've Got the World on a String" and "From Here to Eternity") initiating a long-standing collaboration between the arranger and singer that would continue for the next twenty years. All the arrangements, except for Riddle's own "Like Someone in Love", were by Sinatra's uptempo man from his days at Columbia Records, George Siravo, whose charts Sinatra had continued to use in recent club appearances. The musicians in the studio were surprised at the worn condition of the charts, instead of the usually-crisp, new pages provided.
Songs For Young Lovers followed a formula similar to Sinatra's previous releases for Columbia - rather than compiling a potentially inconsistent set of former hits, a set of newly recorded songs would be arranged around a specific theme or concept. This time around, the singer had more artistic freedom, and producer Voyle Gilmore was supportive of the album's consistent format. In addition, the state-of-the-art Capitol studios were capable of producing a more detailed sound, which gave Riddle more freedom in his arrangements and orchestrations.