Liner notes
The wee small hours, 1955
In the Wee Small Hours came out on Capitol in 1955, arranged and conducted by Nelson Riddle. It came out both as two ten-inch records and as one twelve-inch LP, sixteen songs long.
One mood
Every song on it is a ballad of the late night: a man alone, the city asleep, a love that has gone. Nothing breaks the mood, no up-tempo number to lift the second side. It was made to be heard whole, in order, the way a story is read.
Singing it now
When we bring these songs to a room, we keep the order of the record and a small band: piano, bass, guitar and a horn. The quieter the room, the better they work.