Frank Sinatra's 'Watertown', A Concept Album Set In Upstate NY, Gets New Life

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A little-known Frank Sinatra concept album set in upstate New York is getting a new life.

“Watertown”, recorded by Ol’ Blue Eyes in 1969 and released in 1970, is being newly mixed and remastered by producer Charles Pignon from the original session tapes for a new reissue. The title track’s 2022 mix debuted on Spotify, Apple Music and other digital and streaming platforms last week.

“Old Watertown / Everybody knows / The right crime / Killin’ time,” Sinatra sings on the album Opener, which is named after the Jefferson County town.

Sinatra, who died in 1998, was one of the best-selling music artists of all time, playing jazz, swing and easygoing songs such as “Fly Me to the Moon,” “Young at Heart,” “The Way You Look.” -Gives listener vocal hits. Tonight,” “Strangers in the Night,” “My Way” and the Jimmy Van Heusen-written “Love and Marriage.” The crooner was also noted for his Las Vegas residency with the Rat Pack, high-profile romances (with wives Ava Gardner and Mia Farrow), and his acting career, which included an Oscar-winning role in “From Here to Eternity”. .

“Watertown” was not a commercial success, but stood out as a concept album—something Sinatra pursued himself (such as 1955’s “In the We Small Hours” and 1958’s “Come Fly With Me”)—and A radical stylistic departure, not storytelling from Sinatra’s point of view. Decades later, fans and critics praised the drama and heartbreak story, and in 2007, it was declared “one of his greatest works” by The Guardian.

The song, co-written by Bob Gaudio (of Seasons Four) and Jake Holmes, chronicles a personal tragedy about a working man raising his two young sons in Watertown, NY, when his wife suddenly leaves him. . As the singer, Sinatra personifies both the sadness and resilience of the character.

Sinatra sings, “If I lived in the past, looked from yesterday to today / I’d be in love anyway / If I knew you’d leave me, if I knew you wouldn’t / I’d be in love anyway, Fourth track, “I’ll Be in Love (Anyway).”

“Watertown”, released by Frank Sinatra in 1970, has been remixed and remastered for a re-release in 2022. The concept album tells the story of a man in Watertown, NY, whose wife abandons him and their children. (rendered album art)

A bonus track, “Lady Day”, was first released in 1994 and would be included in the re-release. Although the title comes from Billie Holiday’s nickname, Holmes stated in the liner notes that the song represents the woman, Elizabeth, who left the album’s protagonist for a musical career in the big city.

“I saw that woman as someone who had talent. She wanted to be an artist or a singer. He was a hometown man. His entire focus was family and business. He was the kind of guy who actually lived in Watertown,” Holmes wrote. “She was more restless—a more contemporary woman. She wanted to do other things. She wasn’t free enough to tell him, and she didn’t think he’d understand. He was basically a nice guy, but he Wanted more. She abandoned her family and went for a career. The postscript was whether she got it or not and whether it was worth it.”

But why Watertown? Dr. Lisa Scrivani-Tid, professor of music at Jefferson Community College, told WWNY last month that Gaudio is believed to have picked it at random.

“Supposedly, the story goes that Bob Gaudio, who composed all the music, actually opened up the map of New York State and chose Watertown,” Scrivani-Tid said.

Sinatra’s “Watertown” will be released by Frank Sinatra Enterprises and UME on June 3. The original album sequence will be available on vinyl, while the digital and CD versions (available for preorder here) will feature eight bonus tracks, including “Lady Day,” session recordings and radio promos. The package included new liner notes, a track-by-track breakdown from Gaudio, and quotes from Sinatra, as well as essays by Frankie Valli, co-writer Jake Holmes, among others who were involved in the original project.

Satellite radio station Siriusly Sinatra (SiriusXM Ch. 71) will also broadcast a special “Watertown” special in May.