Track Listing

1. Watertown
2. Goodbye (She Quietly Says)
3. For A While
4. Michael And Peter
5. I Would Be In Love (Anyway)
6. Elizabeth
7. What A Funny Girl (You Used To Be)
8. What's Now Is Now
9. She Says
10. Train
11. Lady Day

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #133805 in Music
• Released on: 1997-02-17
• Number of discs: 1

CD Description
Since Sinatra was pretty much the originator of the conceptalbum, it was only natural that during a time when rock bands were acting like they invented the idea, he should remindeveryone just who started the conceptual ball rolling. Unlike his early concept albums, though, which collected similarly-themed songs by different writers, WATERTOWN depended exclusively upon the songwriting team of Bob Gaudio and Jake Holmes. It's one of Sinatra's rawest, most immediate recorded performances, as he puts his all into telling the tale of a broken family from the point of view of a brokenhearted man (a character he's played more than a few times, both in art and in life). The sophisticated arrangements make subtle useof the rock world's innovations, making this a thoroughly contemporary album, striking in its originality and its unsentimental worldview.

Customer Reviews

Sombre overlooked concept work has enduring impact
Watertown was a diversion into relatively contemporary music for Frank Sinatra at a time when the general public saw him as a greatest hits vehicle. Live he had become Mr Showbiz for those left behind by popular music in the post-The Beatles era but with the first of his retirements he seemed to understand that his wider relevance had ended.

In many ways Watertown is a work providing the flip side to the boozy, sleazy city Rat Pack life, it is a loose concept work about the painful breakup of a relationship in a rural small town. It uses the structure of modern popular music in the late 60s without being twee and is a very sombre, downbeat but ultimately uplifting experience. The songs use such pop instruments and acoustic guitars,harpsicords, brass to provide a gentle backing with occasional bass and drums for emphasis. There is no sign of his swing sound, it is more like the mid 50s Capital 'Lonely Town' recordings that get forgetten except by fans.

The songs are genuinely emotional from the powerful roar of the first track to quiet ballads. Songs often link with train sounds or other effects to give the impression of the town and life. His ageing original fans in the 70s didn't want serious, adult albums from Sinatra they wanted knock around japes or his hits. He was their escape from the gritty 70s and so this album bombed, is rarely talked about but genuinely deserves reappraisal. It was an embarassment for Sinatra to enter 'pop' music for them and he fell between two stools. However history has been very kind to the album.

Fans of sympathetic relatively contemporary bands like Blue Nile, No Man, Danny Wilson and others will find this a wonderful and moving experience.

A highly improbable classic
So look, you take a singer on the downside of his career arc( Sinatra); a songwriter (Jake Holmes) whose most well known contribution to popular culture was the "Be all That You Can Be" jingle for the US Army and the "Be A Pepper" ad campaign for a soft drink; an ex-member of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons (Bob Gaudio) known for writing "Sherry", you throw them together in a studio in 1970 and they produce a modern gem of a concept album. Unlikely? You bet. But it happened.
Sinatra on the cusp of his first "retirement" (he would only make one album after this one before retiring for 3 years) clearly faced irrelevance. His own generation wanted to freeze him in amber as some kind of glorious oldies act; the younger generations raised on rock and roll, soul, etc. mostly considered him a misogynistic joke. A ring a ding
ding throwback to the days when men were men and women were "broads".
What neither group understood was that Sinatra has always been both, of his time,and ahead of it. In this concept album Sinatra, Gaudio and Holmes show us a common man coming to terms with his life after his wife, "Elizabeth", has left him and their two children, Michael and Peter. We never are told the precise reasons she has done so though it's implied that some sort of forgiveness on his part would be required before they can reconcile.
The album approaches this in a series of vignette-like songs that chronicle the stages of grief, anger, hope, the realisation that it's irreconcilably over and his acceptance of the fact that what they once had is all he ever will have and the recognition of the good in their past.
Interestingly; we're told the names of his wife and children and even some neighbors but our narrator never tells us his own, remaining an annonymous everyman.
Arranged by Bob Gaudio and conducted by Charles Callelo the beautiful orchestrations hew intimately to Sinatras vocals, supporting and filling out a voice that was starting to see better days. Every track here is essential to the story with the exception of the bonus track "Lady Day" which, while contemporaneous with the album, was actually written about Billy Holiday and really has no place here. So, in order to hear this album as originally envisioned and released on vinyl, skip "Lady Day".
Some standouts for me are: "What A Funny Girl (you used to be)";
"Goodbye (She Quietly Says)"; and the truly remarkable, quietly anthemic, "I Would Be In Love Anyway".
I'm of the school that thinks Sinatra did the vast majority of his best work for Capitol in the 50's. Of course exceptions prove the rule and this Reprise album along with "Frank Sinatra and Antonio Carlos Jobim" are, for me, incredible exceptions.
I've owned this album since I bought my first vinyl copy in 1970 and was delighted to obtain a back up copy on CD. Buy this for yourself and watch a master balladeer hit it out of the park, one last time.

not a fan - but
First of all I must say that I am not a fan of Sinatra, but came to this album in 1970 via the Four Seasons "Genuine Imitation Life Gazette" and I will say I fell in love with this album. I found that Frank Sinatra could put over the feeling that this song cycle needed. From the moving "Michael & Peter" you can picture a lone parent giving information to the other half. But to me the best track by far is "What's Now is Now" you can just hear the pain, asking that she stay he just doesnt mind what has happened but just wants her,in fact needs her.Brings tears to the eyes for anyone who has lost a loved one.

I would say that this could have been a 5 star but cannot understand why "Lady Day" was included spoils the whole album.

But buy it and just listen to a life broken but still has hope. All we need now is for the " Life Gazette" to be issued.

keith warden