Pardon a belated thanks. It is a remarkable essay. I had heard Sinatra sing many of the "moon" songs, but hadn't known about the existence of an album devoted to them.
"The September of My Years" as an album is to me a masterpiece, flawless, whatever superlative comes to mind. The song itself proved that after thirty years of writing canon - worthy popular music, James Van Heusen still had it. And who would ever have imagined that Frank Sinatra, of all people, would sing a lyric which goes, "Children, when you shoot at bad men, shoot at me"
I think it's the confessional quality the album has which accounts for its hold on Sinatraphiles.
For example, I've always thought that Sinatra took to "It Was a Very Good Year" not alone because it's a marvelous song, but because the lyric, which is a pearl, seems to be telling the saga of the Sinatra of the American mind. When the narrator was 21, it was a very good year, but still an unspectacular one. The line could be about Sinatra's life in Hoboken in 1936. When next we hear from him, he's telling us about blue blooded women with whom he'd ride in limousines when he was 35. If this isn't alluding to the Sinatra of "High Society" and especially of "Pal Joey," pedantic considerations of actual chronology notwithstanding, I'm baffled that any lyricist came up with it.
I had wondered if Ervin Drake had written the song specifically for Sinatra, and was surprised to learn a few years ago that it had been around for a while. ( Of course, this doesn't mean Drake didn't have Sinatra in mind as his ideal performer of the song when he was writing it. )
For me, though, "When the Wind Was Green," which is somehow just a weird song, is the most beautiful thing on the album.
I'd enjoy your take on Sinatra's anomaly of five years later, "Watertown." I find the album so moving I can't listen to it. It says something about Sinatra as a great artist that he would want to do such an album, which to me seems as if it might have been written for Glen Campbell. One of Sinatra's daughters said the album's failure to catch on with the public hurt him personally more than anything else in his career.
As far as I know, Drake wrote the song specifically for the Kingston Trio but no matter, it's Sinatra's song. I remember hearing it as a kid back in the eighties on the radio and fascinated by how each verse advanced through time. That Sinatra recorded it in 1965, just as he turned 50 (footage of the recording session exists - part of it was included in the CBS special that Sinatra and company on edge) brings a whole lot of subtext to it, including, as you astutely point out, his story.
Agree about 'When the Wind Was Green' - the lyrics may be a bit simplistic but Sinatra's delivery is wondrous and elevates the song to another, transcendental level.
I have 'Waterdown,' have listened to it a few times and find it interesting, certainly the most interesting thing I've heard from those years between 'Strangers in the Night' and his "retirement" in 1971. My bias with Sinatra is always toward his recordings of the Great American Songbook but something like 'What's Now Is Now' has some of that magic. I need to re-listen to it at some point to have perhaps a more considered opinion.
I've seen film of Sinatra while he's listening to the playback of "It Was a Very Good Year," and it looks as though his eyes are brimming with tears.
"Frank Sinatra Has a Cold" has one of the funniest things I've ever read, recorded for posterity, when in Sinatra's cross examination of an unimpressed Harlan Ellison about Ellison's boots, which Sinatra hates, Sinatra says to Ellison, "Expecting a storm?"
A wonderful read, as usual! I came across a copy of "September of My Years" yesterday while doing some crate digging. I passed on it, but after reading this, I'm thinking I should go back and see if it's still there.
Pardon a belated thanks. It is a remarkable essay. I had heard Sinatra sing many of the "moon" songs, but hadn't known about the existence of an album devoted to them.
"The September of My Years" as an album is to me a masterpiece, flawless, whatever superlative comes to mind. The song itself proved that after thirty years of writing canon - worthy popular music, James Van Heusen still had it. And who would ever have imagined that Frank Sinatra, of all people, would sing a lyric which goes, "Children, when you shoot at bad men, shoot at me"
I think it's the confessional quality the album has which accounts for its hold on Sinatraphiles.
For example, I've always thought that Sinatra took to "It Was a Very Good Year" not alone because it's a marvelous song, but because the lyric, which is a pearl, seems to be telling the saga of the Sinatra of the American mind. When the narrator was 21, it was a very good year, but still an unspectacular one. The line could be about Sinatra's life in Hoboken in 1936. When next we hear from him, he's telling us about blue blooded women with whom he'd ride in limousines when he was 35. If this isn't alluding to the Sinatra of "High Society" and especially of "Pal Joey," pedantic considerations of actual chronology notwithstanding, I'm baffled that any lyricist came up with it.
I had wondered if Ervin Drake had written the song specifically for Sinatra, and was surprised to learn a few years ago that it had been around for a while. ( Of course, this doesn't mean Drake didn't have Sinatra in mind as his ideal performer of the song when he was writing it. )
For me, though, "When the Wind Was Green," which is somehow just a weird song, is the most beautiful thing on the album.
I'd enjoy your take on Sinatra's anomaly of five years later, "Watertown." I find the album so moving I can't listen to it. It says something about Sinatra as a great artist that he would want to do such an album, which to me seems as if it might have been written for Glen Campbell. One of Sinatra's daughters said the album's failure to catch on with the public hurt him personally more than anything else in his career.
As far as I know, Drake wrote the song specifically for the Kingston Trio but no matter, it's Sinatra's song. I remember hearing it as a kid back in the eighties on the radio and fascinated by how each verse advanced through time. That Sinatra recorded it in 1965, just as he turned 50 (footage of the recording session exists - part of it was included in the CBS special that Sinatra and company on edge) brings a whole lot of subtext to it, including, as you astutely point out, his story.
Agree about 'When the Wind Was Green' - the lyrics may be a bit simplistic but Sinatra's delivery is wondrous and elevates the song to another, transcendental level.
I have 'Waterdown,' have listened to it a few times and find it interesting, certainly the most interesting thing I've heard from those years between 'Strangers in the Night' and his "retirement" in 1971. My bias with Sinatra is always toward his recordings of the Great American Songbook but something like 'What's Now Is Now' has some of that magic. I need to re-listen to it at some point to have perhaps a more considered opinion.
I've seen film of Sinatra while he's listening to the playback of "It Was a Very Good Year," and it looks as though his eyes are brimming with tears.
"Frank Sinatra Has a Cold" has one of the funniest things I've ever read, recorded for posterity, when in Sinatra's cross examination of an unimpressed Harlan Ellison about Ellison's boots, which Sinatra hates, Sinatra says to Ellison, "Expecting a storm?"
Magnificent essay.
And, just like Frank [whose phrasing he listened to carefully] Miles Davis is still around.
Thanks for posting.
Thank you for reading and for the kind words.
Great essay! Amazing music from an eternal voice!
Thanks for the kind words!
A wonderful read, as usual! I came across a copy of "September of My Years" yesterday while doing some crate digging. I passed on it, but after reading this, I'm thinking I should go back and see if it's still there.
Run, don't walk! It's a marvellous record.