Frank Sinatra WATERTOWN (LP)

Recorded at Columbia Studios, New York. Includes liner notes by Ed O'Brien.
All songs written by Bob Gaudio and Jake Holmes.
Since Sinatra was pretty much the originator of the concept album, it was only natural that during a time when rock bands were acting like they invented the idea, he should remind everyone 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 use of the rock world's innovations, making this a thoroughly contemporary album, striking in its originality and its unsentimental worldview.

• Format: Vinyl
• Genre: Jazz