Ol Blue Eyes Is Back
Having announced his retirement from the music biz in 1970, Sinatra returned in 1973 with this sadly uneven record. Though its title suggests a triumphant mood, the feel of the album is surprisingly down. "Let Me Try Again," "Nobody Wins" and "There Used to Be a Ballpark" revisit the pessimism ofThe September of My YearsandWatertown(albeit with less satisfying results), and his cover of "Send in the Clowns" is a bummer on several levels. The arrangements, by Don Costa and Gordon Jenkins, are overly slick and soggy, and Sinatra doesn't seem too excited about returning to the recording studio. This was Ol' Blue Eyes' biggest album of the '70s, but is hardly his best or most memorable.--Dan Epstein