No One Cares

Frank Sinatra - No One Cares - Often viewed as the sister album to 1957's Where Are You?, this third pairing of Sinatra and Jenkins yields slower tempos, more deliberate textures, and lonelier emotions. A profound sense of tragedy burrows into both the luscious strings and Sinatra's timbre, laced with ache, wanderlust, and dismay. Jokingly referred to by Ol' Blue Eyes as one of his "suicide albums," it instead harnesses the wrenching agony, painful solitude, and desolate helplessness that accompany romantic loss and failure of fulfillment. They're universal sentiments, and sensations Sinatra convincingly conveys, envisioning himself as the protagonist in each of the songs. Rich and fully developed, the arrangements consistently trace Sinatra's footsteps rather than ever overwhelming or competing with him. Instrumental flourishes accent the Voice's own swells and silences, while a classically stated elegance and plaintive devices contribute to an underlying subtlety. Rare has a singer achieved frank introspection and reflective intimacy in such hurtful, believable fashion. Sinatra's voice comes on without a hiccup, his phenomenal baritone and breath control epitomizing ageless singing.