Sinatra does things his way–well–in powerful SPAC performance

by Barbara Fischkin, The Knickerbocker News, August 25, 1976

“The Lady is a Tramp” was almost half sung as the fan grabbed his camera and rushed closer to the stage to get an even bigger and better shot of the ever elusive Frank Sinatra.

Picture-taking was prohibited during Sinatra’s Tuesday night performance at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC), but none of the ushers seemed to be enforcing that rule.

It was probably a wise move. From the looks of things, the only one who could have gotten the amateur shutterbugs to stop was Sinatra himself.

The perennial superstar—playing to an audience officially numbered at 7,576—not only performed, but also controlled.

There appeared to be Sinatra orchestration behind almost every aspect of his one-night show.

He sang wholeheartedly but sparingly—coming out only for an hour and not doing an encore.

His back-up performers were good—but not good enough to steal the light from the star. His humor was political—and politically tried and true—and his powerful numbers were interspersed with weaker ones, often written by young composers.

Singing the new tunes, Sinatra appeared benevolent and progressive. But, by picking somewhat weak examples of recent popular pieces, he also lobbied for his old music.

His control was most obvious in the backstage area. Park Police, aided by the singer’s personal security force, were instructed to keep the press away and keep their own mouths shut. Reporters could review the concert, but they couldn’t get close enough to the man to see any scars.

“Everything’s very tight,” one of the SPAC employees emphasized.

On stage a few minutes later, Sinatra opened with “Night and Day,” and didn’t let up for conversation until he had gotten through “Once in My Life,” “Where or When,” The Lady Is A Tramp,” and “Imagination.”

The first and the last tunes of the set were well done, but not nearly as vibrant as the others. His voice may have deteriorated somewhat—and he may look older—but a few bars of “Once In My Life,” coupled with the phrasing of “The Lady Is A Tramp,” is all it takes to explain why women are still willing to marry Sinatra.

But if he keeps singing Neil Diamond songs, he may not be so lucky the fifth time around.

“Stargazer,” written by semi-rock star Diamond, is new, innocuous, and beyond any kind of help even Sinatra can give it.

Another fairly new song, “I Write the Songs,” by Barry Manilow, was enthusiastically received by a standing audience applauding at the words, “I am music, and I write the songs.” Unfortunately, the song is, at times, musically awkward and even Frank looked like he was having trouble.

Mesmerized, the audience also stood for a chilling rendition of “My Way,” which has become a Sinatra trademark. He followed the applause by shaking hands in the front rows and saying, simply, “l accept the nomination.”

Later, playing more on political humor, he said, “I may run (for president) on a write-in ballot and chase all the bureaucrats out of Washington, make the Oval Office into a bar, put slot machines all over the White House and raise a little money to pay off some of our debts.”

The audience was, according to Park Police, well-behaved. It was also talkative. Rumors flew concerning celebrities in the crowd.

One fan said he saw comedian Dan Rowan; a woman insisted she was sure “ex-Mayor Wagner” of New York City had come out the backstage door. Sinatra himself introduced composer Jimmy Van Heusen, who vacations on Brandt Lake.

Also involved in Sinatra’s show were his own musicians—who very skillfully showed they know the difference between accompanying and overpowering—Sam Butera and the Witnesses, a musical group, and comedian Pat Henгу.

Butera played fine and slinky music, undercut only by a silly group member who—when she wasn’t singing badly—spent most of her time on stage banging a tambourine gracelessly around her body.

Henry, explaining that Saratoga Springs is the “gateway to Mechanicville,” had his moments of charm.

The best one occurred when, emphasizing to the extreme the control Sinatra exercises, he said, “You know how big Sinatra is?—He wears a cross, and no one is on it.”

Views: 17