“Songs for Swingin’ Lovers!” by Frank Sinatra

Records for Lovers Week continues with some Sinatra, because of course.

Programming note: I got married this past weekend (!), and, as a result, I'm taking a step back from content creation until next Monday. I thought I'd keep this week's slate of album recommendations mood-appropriate by celebrating romance in all its musical forms. I'm calling it "Records for Lovers Week" because I'm cheesy like that.

Multiple genres, some hidden gems, maybe a classic or two—hope you enjoy it!

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Hello! 😊👋

Welcome to a new edition of the Daily Music Picks newsletter!

Today’s music pick is arguably the most confident (and romantic) record Ol’ Blue Eyes ever committed to tape.

Genre: Pop, Jazz

Label: Capitol

Release Date: March 5, 1956

Vibe: 🎩

No pop singer oozed confidence quite like Frank Sinatra, and no Sinatra album showcases that charisma as well as Songs for Swingin’ Lovers! Building on the success of 1955’s In the Wee Small Hours, Sinatra and conductor/arranger Nelson Riddle swap out the moody, melancholy atmosphere for nearly an hour of relaxed, uptempo material. Riddle’s lively, energetic scores helped breath new life into standards that, in the case of a track like “Pennies from Heaven,” were already more than 20 years old at the time of this album’s release. The orchestration makes Sinatra the man (or, more accurately, the persona) sound exciting. As opposed to the agonized balladeer heard on Hours, he’s a warm, worldly presence here, one that can make you swoon with a wink and a smile without ever sounding forced.

My favorite aspect of this LP’s performances is how much shading there is to the romantic elements. There’s the blissful (”Love is Here to Stay”), tender (”I Thought About You”), hopeful (”We’ll Be Together Again”), vivacious (”Anything Goes”) and not-so-innocent (”Makin’ Whoopie”), establishing Sinatra as the masculine archetype that gave birth to the cliche, “men want to be him, women want to be with him.” The album’s centerpiece, “I’ve Got Your Under My Skin,” is among the finest recordings Sinatra ever released. The big band arrangement is as raucous as it is precise, especially in the instrumental middle section, before erupting with that famous final crescendo. It never dismisses the Cole Porter original so much as it lights a fire under it, allowing Ol’ Blue Eyes to lay claim to the definitive version of one of the most famous songs of all time.

👉 Don’t forget to click the album image to stream the album on your favorite platform 👈