Frank Sinatra - "Watertown"
Dec 7, 2003 5:24:27 GMT -5
Post by stevie nice on Dec 7, 2003 5:24:27 GMT -5
OK, really, really pulling this one out of leftfield, but that's what I'm here for. And I can really type a lot now, but I know it will go to waste here, and I don't necessarily blame you all because I am not a very big Sinatra fan. However, my daddy was, in fact, I think he was about 20 songs away from having every single song Frank ever recorded that was released on vinyl (he stopped searching around 1981 when he moved to Beirut, which was right before the CD infiltrated the marketplace, and I don't think those 20 ever made it to CD either, most were soundchecks or something that were very very rare things.) This album came out in either 1969 or '70, not sure which, and I bring it up because my brother inherited my Dads love for Frank, and gave me a copy of this and a few others he had already bought for himself, but found some Frank stuff on Ebay and got doubles of this, and another great album "September Of My Years" and A GHs album that had several of his big 60s hits. But that's neither here nor there.
This is a concept album; it was written and produced by Bob Gaudio, who was the producer for the Four Seasons, and did most of their hits. This is not the Frank Sinatra of "New York, New York" or "Summer Wind" or "Love and Marriage" fame. This is a totally, thoroughly depressing album in the best sense of the words. The story, and while it may seem more common today, it wasn't in the 60's cause most albums were a collection of a couple singles and filler, but this had one theme through it. Opening with the title song as the first track, it's about a man whos wife has left him and their two kids, and I'm not positive, but it sounds like she left them, not for another man, but for the excitement of the big city.
There is nothing here that is remotely uplifting, there is nothing in this album that suggests a happy ending, except for a very brief track called "She Says," where Frank sings about how they got a letter about how she's coming back. The following song, "The Train" has him singing about how he's waiting on the platform at the station for her train to pull in, in the rain, and train finally pulls in, she's not there, train pulls out, lyrics are loosely, not direct quotes, but something like, and this is with some like semi 60s sounding pop music going on, 'i think i see the train, the sun is gone and my face is getting hit with pouring rain, the train is leaving and i can't see you anyplace, it would be hard for me to not recognize your face." or something like that, but you get the idea. actually I coulda just pulled out the lyric sheet but I was too lazy, but thats close enough. now the cd version has a song after "The Train" which according to the CD was an add on that didn't make original vinyl, and it doesn't really add to the story much.
This was certainly different territory for Sinatra, he had done some torch songs before definitely, but this was a whole concept album, and his voice, over the album just sounds like a totally defeated guy. Another great song on the album "Michael and Peter" is him opening the song telling her how Michael looks like him and Peter looks like her, but both kids are the product of he and his estranged wife. It really is an amazing track, it builds into a song about him talking as if he's talking to her (one song he mentions how he has a bunch of letters he wrote that he never sent to her, so maybe these are the letters. every song on this album he is speaking to her, not the listener.) 'The roses we planted last year have bloomed now' the old guy that mows the law asks where you where, but I keep telling him and he doesnt remember' 'your mom takes the kids when she can, u know, she really needs a man." really deep personal stuff which must have been totally unexpected of Frank in the late 60s, even if he didnt write this stuff. You just have to hear him, a totally broken, lost man, and you really do feel for him, he sings these songs perfectly, not really a glimmer of hope or optimism anywhere, and you hear it in Sinatras voice. There's a song called "Goodbye She Quietly Says" where he sounds like he's totally bewildered sitting by himself at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee, saying, there's no big ending, no major fight or anything, she just up and leaves!!
Really interesting stuff actually, and a nice little dig into the archives if any adventurous types are interested.
This is a concept album; it was written and produced by Bob Gaudio, who was the producer for the Four Seasons, and did most of their hits. This is not the Frank Sinatra of "New York, New York" or "Summer Wind" or "Love and Marriage" fame. This is a totally, thoroughly depressing album in the best sense of the words. The story, and while it may seem more common today, it wasn't in the 60's cause most albums were a collection of a couple singles and filler, but this had one theme through it. Opening with the title song as the first track, it's about a man whos wife has left him and their two kids, and I'm not positive, but it sounds like she left them, not for another man, but for the excitement of the big city.
There is nothing here that is remotely uplifting, there is nothing in this album that suggests a happy ending, except for a very brief track called "She Says," where Frank sings about how they got a letter about how she's coming back. The following song, "The Train" has him singing about how he's waiting on the platform at the station for her train to pull in, in the rain, and train finally pulls in, she's not there, train pulls out, lyrics are loosely, not direct quotes, but something like, and this is with some like semi 60s sounding pop music going on, 'i think i see the train, the sun is gone and my face is getting hit with pouring rain, the train is leaving and i can't see you anyplace, it would be hard for me to not recognize your face." or something like that, but you get the idea. actually I coulda just pulled out the lyric sheet but I was too lazy, but thats close enough. now the cd version has a song after "The Train" which according to the CD was an add on that didn't make original vinyl, and it doesn't really add to the story much.
This was certainly different territory for Sinatra, he had done some torch songs before definitely, but this was a whole concept album, and his voice, over the album just sounds like a totally defeated guy. Another great song on the album "Michael and Peter" is him opening the song telling her how Michael looks like him and Peter looks like her, but both kids are the product of he and his estranged wife. It really is an amazing track, it builds into a song about him talking as if he's talking to her (one song he mentions how he has a bunch of letters he wrote that he never sent to her, so maybe these are the letters. every song on this album he is speaking to her, not the listener.) 'The roses we planted last year have bloomed now' the old guy that mows the law asks where you where, but I keep telling him and he doesnt remember' 'your mom takes the kids when she can, u know, she really needs a man." really deep personal stuff which must have been totally unexpected of Frank in the late 60s, even if he didnt write this stuff. You just have to hear him, a totally broken, lost man, and you really do feel for him, he sings these songs perfectly, not really a glimmer of hope or optimism anywhere, and you hear it in Sinatras voice. There's a song called "Goodbye She Quietly Says" where he sounds like he's totally bewildered sitting by himself at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee, saying, there's no big ending, no major fight or anything, she just up and leaves!!
Really interesting stuff actually, and a nice little dig into the archives if any adventurous types are interested.
