Old Watertown/Nothing much happening down on Main, 'cept a little rain...

Something's happening in Watertown - on June 3, to be precise.  That's the date when UMe and Frank Sinatra Enterprises (FSE) will release a remixed and expanded edition of Frank Sinatra's 1970 masterwork Watertown on CD and digital/streaming platforms.  In addition, the remixed album only will be reissued on vinyl.

Watertown remains an album unlike any other in the Sinatra discography.  The seeds of the two-part suite were planted when Sinatra met with Frankie Valli of The Four Seasons.  Valli's longtime musical partner Bob Gaudio explained to Ed O'Brien in 1994, "Frankie spent some time with Frank, and they got to be real friendly.  They started talking about a project, and Frankie made the suggestion that Frank and I should meet and talk about doing something contemporary, something maybe a little different and unusual, something he hadn't done before."  Gaudio and Sinatra met in mid-1968, and within months, the producer-composer began crafting the album that became Watertown.  He enlisted Jake Holmes (the original "Dazed and Confused") as lyricist.  Gaudio and Holmes had collaborated on The Four Seasons' most ambitious album, The Genuine Imitation Life Gazette, released in January 1969.  For Sinatra, they would create a concept album that shared some of Genuine Imitation Life's DNA in its mordant look at American life.  "We hit on putting him in a small town.  Having a small-town approach, and taking it down as much as we could to basic life in middle America," Gaudio explained.  "We tried to strip all of the gloss and sheen off of it."

Jake Holmes remembered that the album's story sprung from the song "Goodbye (She Says): "It was such an interesting concept - a man left by his wife.  He has two young boys.  The story really intrigued me.  It was Bob's idea to call the place Watertown.  He got it off a map of New York state...I had a line in my head.  'There was no tempest in the tea.'  That's what led me there.  I love the idea of those kinds of goodbyes that people have where nothing is happening emotionally.  It knocks me out when there is nothing on the surface."  Sinatra, of course, was a master of subtext, and brought his unparalleled interpretive skills to imbue Gaudio and Holmes' thematically connected and often impressionistic songs with a deep authenticity and emotional honesty.  Four Seasons collaborators Charlie Calello and Joe Scott were brought in to arrange and conduct Watertown.  Orchestral tracks were recorded in New York City on July 14-17, 1969 while Sinatra would record most of his vocals on August 25-27 in Los Angeles.  It showed the measure of trust Sinatra had in his collaborators that he was willing to record over pre-existing tracks rather than with a live orchestra as was his custom for the entirety of his career.

The result was a stunning concept album from the artist who had nearly singlehandedly invented the genre.  Sinatra's performances were raw, vulnerable, and moving.  "It was the thing about him that killed me," Holmes recalled.  "His respect for the words.  I had never realized how seriously he took his craft.  It was a big revelation for me...This man studied like an opera singer.  It was so impressive."  Gaudio and Holmes' musical settings owed more to rock and contemporary pop than to the Great American Songbook yet fit Sinatra like a glove.

Watertown was released by Reprise in March 1970, but listeners weren't prepared for its haunting, subtle drama.  Sinatra's two previous albums were My Way (featuring the hit title track and covers of such staples as "Didn't We," "Yesterday," and "Mrs. Robinson") and A Man Alone, the collaboration with popular poet-songwriter Rod McKuen.  Watertown was utterly unlike both and had little precedent in his discography; a one-man TV special starring Sinatra originally planned to introduce the songs to audiences never materialized.  The LP missed the top half of the Billboard 200, although the single "I Would Be in Love (Anyway)" reached the top 40 of the Easy Listening chart.  Much like The Four Seasons' Genuine Imitation Life, it would take decades for Watertown to be rediscovered and appreciated for its innovation.

Watertown has only seen one previous CD remastering: the original 1994 Reprise CD mastered by Lee Herschberg which added the later version of "Lady Day" (as well as a thick booklet with lyrics, liner notes by Ed O'Brien, and O'Brien's interviews with Bob Gaudio and Jake Holmes).  The upcoming edition from UMe and FSE has been completely remixed by Larry Walsh from the original multitrack tapes.  The CD and digital/streaming versions add eight bonus tracks: the outtake "Lady Day" and subsequent single re-recording from November 1969 arranged by Don Costa; session alternates of four songs; and two period Reprise radio promo spots.  The booklet includes new liner notes, a track-by-track breakdown from Bob Gaudio, quotes from Sinatra, and essays by Jake Holmes, Frankie Valli, and others who were involved in the original album.  The vinyl LP features the original 10-track album sequence in a package with all original lyrics, a printed sleeve with new liner notes, a track-by-track breakdown from Bob Gaudio, and a 12" X 24" poster.

All version of Watertown are due from UMe/FSE on June 3.  You'll find pre-order links below.

Frank Sinatra, Watertown: Expanded Edition (Reprise FS 1031, 1970 - reissued UMe/FSE, 2022) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Original Album [2022 Mix]

1. Watertown
2. Goodbye (She Quietly Says)
3. For A While
4. Michael & 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. The Train

Bonus Tracks (Tracks 13-18 previously unreleased)

11. Lady Day (Session Outtake)
12. Lady Day (11/7/69 Single Version/Reprise single 0970, 1971)
13. Watertown (Session Take)
14. Goodbye (Session Take)
15. The Train (Session Take)
16. Lady Day (11/7/69 Session Take)
17. 1970 Reprise Radio Promo #1
18. 1970 Reprise Radio Promo #2

Frank Sinatra, Watertown [2022 Mix] (Reprise FS 1031, 1970 - reissued UMe/FSE, 2022) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Side 1

1. Watertown
2. Goodbye (She Quietly Says)
3. For A While
4. Michael & Peter
5. I Would Be In Love (Anyway)

Side 2

1. Elizabeth
2. What A Funny Girl (You Used To Be)
3. What's Now Is Now
4. She Says
5. The Train