September Of My Years – FRANK SINATRA*****

The September Of My Years/How Old Am I/Don’t Wait Too Long/It Gets Lonely Early/This Is All I Ask/Last Night When We Were Young/The Man In The Looking Glass/It Was A Very Good Year/When The Wind Was Green/Hello Young Lovers/I See It Now/Once Upon A Time/September Song

The acclaimed September Of My Years sees Sinatra coming to terms with middle age. The album achieved a Grammy for best record of the year and the song It Was A Very Good Year also won a Grammy for best vocal performance. (US:5)

"September Of My Years is a perfectly arranged selection of songs recorded as Sinatra neared his 50th birthday. It is outstanding, in that the thirteen songs absolutely belong together, perfectly realized by Sinatra's mellow voice of the 1960s."

"This is essential Sinatra, certainly the best concept album on Reprise. The listener can feel that Sinatra is singing part of his autobiography here."

"Some of his greatest performances are here, bookended by two masterpieces - The September Of My Years and September Song. The songs selected flawlessly support the album's concept of the singer looking back from his approaching 50th birthday, and Sinatra doesn't hit a wrong note anywhere."

"This is Ol' Blue Eyes best recording. Not a weak moment. The songs, the melodies, the arrangements, the orchestra, the voice - it all comes together in perfect harmony. A cornerstone in every record collection. Beautiful beyond words."

"When he sang It Was A Very Good Year I totally realized how great, how truly magnificent he was. Nobody else could have performed this song but Sinatra."

"With his 50th birthday looming, Sinatra took stock at mid-life and recorded thirteen songs with arranger Gordon Jenkins. Their choices delicately balanced a nostalgic look at the successes of youth, poignant thoughts on the limitations brought on by age, and optimistic visions of what time was still left to live. Sinatra had never before sounded this personally vulnerable, and the realization of his own mortality comes across like a genuine first thought."

"This album is by far the best thing Frank Sinatra released while on the Reprise label and can be argued to be the best concept album of his entire career."