"The World We Knew" was Sinatra's third attempt at connecting with the 1960s' flower generation. His first, "Strangers In The Night" was a good record that yielded two smash singles and sold quite well. Next was "That's Life," which, though holding a major hit single in the title track, is today widely regarded as one of his weakest. After returning to his roots for his masterful collaboration with Antonio Carlos Jobim, Frank unleashed "The World We Knew." The result was a somewhat mixed but overall enjoyable record.
The album contains some of Frank's strongest material of the latter 1960s', a period often ignored aside from the few hits. The opening title song is up there with Frank's best, and it's also significant as it's probably the closest Frank ever came to doing a rock song; guided by a darkly textured guitar line and a sinister waltz melody, Frank gives the song a brooding, intense reading that rivals any other ballad he ever did. It also houses one of the very best vocals he ever cut, leaping from booming lows to powerful highs spanning nearly two octaves throughout the song's chorus.
The rest of the album's high points all play to Frank's signature: a mournful, soulfully sung saloon standard (Johnny Mercer's "Drinkin' Again"), a brash, confident Vegas-style swinger ("This Town"), tender love songs ("This Is My Love," a rewrite of the much sadder "This Was My Love," and the sappy yet touching "Younger Than Springtime"), and a haunting, climactic ballad ("You Are There"). Even Frank's nigh on blasphemous swing redux of the classic ballad "Some Enchanted Evening" is a blast thanks to his ballsy vocals.
At its worst, "The World We Knew" suffers from the same pitfalls as his previous attempts at a contemporary record, best exemplified by his cover of Petula Clark's "Don't Sleep In The Subway": from the 'go-go dancer' backing vocals to the generic, lifeless Vegas arrangement, to Frank's lazy vocal, it's an embarrassing effort (though I do enjoy the irony of Frank singing the line "It's sad when your ego's deflated"). At least the version of Clark's "Downtown" on "Strangers In The Night" had a winking irony where Frank sounded like he knew he was taking the piss there, a self awareness lacking on "Subway."
Other lows include Frank phoning in "Born Free" with a bored, completely powerless rendition of a song he could've taken to towering heights; imagine what he could've done with this on "The Concert Sinatra." It's a song that feeds on bombast as opposed to subtlety, and Frank really missed the mark here. And while I know it was huge hit and people love it, I've always hated "Somethin' Stupid." It's hideously cheesy and honestly a pretty creepy song to sing with your daughter.
"The World We Knew" is not a masterpiece, and came at a rather fallid time in Frank's career. His streak of classic records had long ended (save for the Jobim team-up). It has many of the hallmarks of Frank's worst material from this time, but it also contains several underrated gems that elevate to a quite decent effort. It's not an album you'll return you from start to finish after your initial lesson, but the best stuff here is compelling enough to warrant repeat listens.
