suggesting resignation and openness. The artwork is reminiscent of film noir or a hardboiled fiction cover. Themes Themes of loss and love's bittersweet relationship to loss pervade the album. Yet the ending tone is not one of despair, but of hope and survival as made possible by cathartic reflection. Perhaps given as kindly advice by a person of experience, Jonathan Schwartz believes the album refrains from being "mushy" but instead presents the material in a stately manner. Sinatra's next album, Songs for Swingin' Lovers, seems to follow up on this promise by depicting an individual who is "free to enjoy women again". These two albums well represent the "heartbroken/hedonistic duality" of Sinatra's persona in the mid-1950s. Releases Sinatra intended the album to be his first 12-inch LP, but it was initially released as a two-volume set, each set containing eight songs, as a set of 2 ten-inch LPs (Capitol H-581 PT1 and PT2) and as a set of 2 45rpm EP sets, each of 2 discs. The album was released in April 1955. Taken as a whole, the collection is Sinatra's first truly full-length album. Capitol record executives were concerned that an entire album of "dark" material would disaffect the record-buying public. It peaked at number 2 on the Billboard 200, where it remained for 18 weeks, the longest time Sinatra had held a spot in the top-ten at the time, and also his highest charting album since Songs by Sinatra. On September 6, 2002, it was certified Gold by the RIAA, meaning it had shifted over 500,000 units. In 1992, the label reissued the CD with all 16 tracks. In 1998 the album was remastered using 20-bit technology under Larry Walsh's supervision at Capitol Recording Studios. Since 1998, recognizing Sinatra's enduring worldwide popularity, In the Wee Small Hours has been reissued several times on vinyl, compact disc, and digital download. Reception Popular reception The album was popular on its release. In the United States the album was listed at number two at its peak and appeared on the charts for eighteen weeks. In August 1962 it re-entered the Billboard album charts. Critical reception Since its release, In the Wee Small Hours has been regarded as one of Sinatra's best, often ranked with Songs for Swingin' Lovers! (1956) and Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely (1958). It is also considered by many to be one of the best vocal