Watertown
is
Frank Sinatra
's most ambitious concept album, as well as his most difficult record. Not only does it tell a full-fledged story, it is his most explicit attempt at rock-oriented pop. Since the main composer of
Bob Gaudio
, the author of
the Four Seasons
' hits "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You," "Walk Like a Man," and "Big Girls Don't Cry," that doesn't come as a surprise. With
Jake Holmes
,
Gaudio
created a song cycle concerning a middle-aged, small-town man whose wife left him with the kids. Constructed as a series of brief lyrical snapshots that read like letters or soliloquies, the culminating effect of the songs is an atmosphere of loneliness, but it is a loneliness without much hope or romance -- it is the sound of a broken man. Producer
Charles Calello
arranged musical backdrops that conveyed the despair of the lyrics. Weaving together prominent electric guitars, keyboards, drum kits, and light strings,
Calello
uses pop/rock instrumentation and production techniques, but that doesn't prevent
Sinatra
from warming to the material. In fact, he turns in a wonderful performance, drawing out every emotion from the lyrics, giving the album's character depth.
[The 2022 deluxe edition of
is distinguished by a new remix that has a strikingly different feel than the original LP. Bright and open, the remix pushes
's vocals to the front, a move that has the effect of lightening the melancholy of
ever so slightly. The CD edition of this 2022 reissue contains three versions of "Lady Day," a tribute to
Billie Holiday
that was included in on the original
Reprise
CD reissue but is present in various session takes. "Watertown," "Goodbye," and "The Train" are also here in session takes, as are radio promos for the album. All of these are nice bonuses, neither adding or detracting from the finely crafted original concept album.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine