I'll just catch up to the week I'm actually supposed to be at. If I can try and catch up on albums I will!

Frank Sinatra - In The Wee Small Hours - 1955

I finally got around to listening to the first album in the book. This is an interesting contrast to 'Songs For Swinging Lovers' which Sinatra released in 1956 (which I reviewed a few entries ago). That album was upbeat; In The Wee Small Hours is filled with melancholy, and apparently he went through a break up not long before the album was released. Thus the album has an entirely different tone, and one which I did not appreciate at first. Upon repeated listens this album has grown on me somewhat. Franks lyrical phrasing and sense of timing can become mesmerising at times, and it really sounds like he is revelling in his unhappiness. 'Can't We Be Friends' is perhaps the standout track for me, and Frank sounds totally alone. While they are two totally different albums, I think I prefer Songs For Swinging Lovers.

Billie Holiday - Lady In Satin - 1958

The first few seconds of me putting this on, I thought maybe it hadn't recorded correctly. Nope, just turns out that is her voice. Her voice is a bit rough and raspy, and can be pretty deep. I wasn't really taken with her voice. In reading the entry in the book, apparently this well past her heyday, which was in the 1930's. During the period she recorded this album, she was a heroin addict which had affected her voice. As she sings some of the lines her voice seems cracked and can't hold the notes, though you can see shadows of skill that would have been applied to a clearer voice in earlier years. Apparently this was her favourite recording, because it was her most honest and raw. The writer then draws some analogies that listening to this album is like watching a junkie shooting up. Why should I care? If I knew nothing of her past, then to me this is not a great sounding album. The clincher is when she sings 'I Get Along Without You Very Well' which Frank also sings on 'In The Wee Small Hours'. His beautiful rendition blows hers out of the water. What comes naturally to him seems like hard work for her. Sorry Billie, I just don't like your voice.

Ray Charles - The Genius of Ray Charles - 1959

At first I wasn't thrilled with Ray Charles voice, but after a few listens I got more used to it and can see the level of control he has. The jazz here is a bit more rock and roll, with some bass lines hanging in the background of some tracks, along with Ray's piano skills. It opens with the passionate 'Let the Good Times Roll' before heading into the standard 'It Had To Be You' which I enjoyed. Ray shows some versatility, as these more upbeat tracks are offset by some that are a bit of a slower pace or mood. I think my favourite would be 'Just For a Thrill', which is apparently a jazz standard but this is my first exposure to it. In what seems to be a trend this week, Ray also performs a track on 'In The Wee Small Hours'm this time it'When Your Lover Has Gone'. Without listening to the tracks back to back, I think this one has a more upbeat brass instrument backing and I prefer Franks voice, but this is still a good performance.

Miles Davis - Kind of Blue - 1959

I don't know what it is about Miles Davis. Supposed to be awesome, but this is the second album I've heard and I'm just not impressed. With both albums, they just seem to disappear into the background and I find I'm not really listening to them, even when I'm in the car when I have more opportunity to focus on the music. With only 5 songs on the album (6 on the version I have) they are all a bit on the longer side, but just don't retain my interest.

Final Thoughts
How much should your knowledge of an artist or their vision of their own work affect your enjoyment of it? In the case of Lady In Satin, the entry came across that I should be taking into account the circumstances in which it was recorded and the life of the artist herself. What are your thoughts?