WATERTOWN (LP)

Vinyl LP repressing of this album from the legendary crooner. Released in 1969 on Reprise, Watertown is Frank Sinatra's most ambitious concept album and the only album he ever voiced over pre-recorded orchestral tracks. It was produced and co-written by Bob Gaudio, one of four members of the 1960s pop vocal group the Four Seasons. In a series of soliloquies, the nameless narrator tells his heartbreaking story of personal loss: his wife has left him and their two boys for the lure of the big city. The album was released to mixed critical reviews and poor sales, Sinatra's only major album release not to crack the Billboard Top 100; the packaging was uncharacteristic of typical Sinatra album designs. Later, many critics hailed the album as a misunderstood gem in SinatraAEs catalog.