Customer Reviews
When you look hurt is the eyes; this is the companion you want with you. - By: Mj Hudson, 02 Nov 2008 
I have racked my brains for some time as to what the finest Sinatra album of them all is. Having listened to all but a few of them I can safely say the job gets more difficult the more you listen to. In my humble opinion I can break down his finest five into this list; "Sinatra & Strings", "September of my Years", "Sinatra & Swingin' Brass", "Moonlight Sinatra" & "Sinatra Sings For Only The Lonely". This is a debateable topic, & if something said to me "No you're wrong. Songs for Swingin' Lovers is the best", I would not argue with them, as each album holds a special placein everyone's heart for personal reasons. However there is no doubt to the musical prowess of this album.
I can narrow my greatest album list to Five, but I cannot rank themin order beyond on that for one simple reason. Each Sinatra concept album has a time & a place. No album is better than Swingin' Brass than when you're happy & full of energy. When darkness & romance isin the air Moonlight Sinatra is the only album that will do & so on for the other albums I have mentioned. When you're on the rocks, broken, beaten up & at your weakest nothing eases a troubled soul as Only the Lonely does.
This album is good at any time, however it never quite works & seems slow & melancholy if listened to when you'rein a good mood during the day. At night &in sadness this album comes alive & each notation says exactly what you're thinking. It becomes an all consuming rhapsody of misery, which whilst sounding rather drab isin fact perfect for the moment. Listen to this alone, when you need a friend.
When you're sad Sinatra eases your pain, when you're happy Sinatra will propel you to new heights & when you haven't the words to say what you want to say, Sinatra will do your talking for you. He never asks anythingin return, just that you sit down, shut up & listen, with him occasionally inviting you to sing a few bars.
I can't think of any other singers who could have pulled this off on an album sized basis, perhaps Crosby could have gotten close on a few tracks but no one does a torch concept album like Sinatra. "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning" we heard torch songs filled with emotion, however with this album we get the emotion but we also get an overwhelming sense that he is living what he sings about, rather than just interpreting what emotions someonein this position would fill. This is something Sinatra would perfectin "September of My Years".
A lot has been said about the songs on this album so I need not re-iterate what has already been saidin to much detail. "Angel Eyes" & "One For My baby" are classics & some of the finest performances everin history, but for me "Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to Dry" is the star track with "Ebb Tide" & "Spring is Here" coming close. The quality is fantastic considering this was 1958, the song list & theme of the album is simply inspired. The arrangements has Riddle written all over them, need I say anymore.
Sinatra's finest work & one of the finest albums ever made. Reviews do not do this album credit, what it can do to youin your darkest moments is something that isn't tangible, something dark, yet magical.
Awesomely downbeat - By: lexo1941, 23 Jan 2008 
Frank Sinatra was never the least self-pitying singer of all time, which I guess is why he appeals to men of a certain age. 'Only the Lonely' has a freakishly horrible cover (I can't believe it won a Grammy, full marks to Amazon for pointing that out, he looks like Wallace Shawn, for goodness' sake) but the contents are pure gold. Sinatra's voice was never better, & this collection of late-night why-did-she-leave-me standards is one of the finest & most emotionally direct things he ever did. The high point is probably the majestically dejected 'One For My Baby', a maudlin song which Sinatra invests with all the sadness, regret & longing of somebody who no longer gets to go to bed with Ava Gardner.
I actually secretly prefer Sinatra when he's more upbeat; the snap & fire & effortless cool of records like 'Swing Easy!' & 'Songs for Swinging Lovers' is more appealing to me than this glimpse into the heart of a very troubled man. I had to take one star off for the cover, but this is still a great record, best listened to late at night,in your den if you have one, with a pack of smokes & a bottle of scotch & a painin one's heart that's only partly from the alcohol & nicotine.
Superb - By: N. Robinson, 08 Jan 2007 The sadness, the loneliness, the despair; its all here on this incredibly melancholy album. Dim the lights. Poor a stiff drink. Listen to these heart wrenching, beautiful songs & wonder where it all went wrong. Absolutely superb....
The best ballad album of all times - By: websurfer, 19 Apr 2006 1958's "Only the Lonly" isin my opinion the best ballad album of all times! With wonderful string arranjments by Nelson Riddle (the man could even beat Gordon Jenkinsin his own game!)this album constitutes the absolute pinacle of Sinatra's recording legacy(if such a thing is possiblein such a briliant carrer).
Frank Sinatra has come on record several times sayng that he was a sallon singer lover of torch songs, well...this album is the torch song album by excellence! Here youll ear definitive renditions of " Bluesin the nigth, ebb tide, Guess ill hang my tears out to dry & Only the Lonly" with Sinatra's voicein his most polished & emotional form its one of those rare ocasions when a true work of art is made for the joy of generations of music lovers to come!
Just listen to the voice of the "Master" of popular song...and enjoy that cover!!!!
Blissful! - By: J. Mcaulay, 06 Nov 2005 Frank & Nelson Riddle [plus orchestra] at their very best, this is so enjoyable & heartfelt. This haunting combination is simply superb, I can't praise it enough. Give your ears a treat!!
