This is a review for the Harry Connick, Jr. project with One2One Network. The only compensation I received was a copy of Connick’s new album, Your Songs, released on September 22, 2009.
Let’s just go ahead and address the elephant in the room: Harry Connick, Jr. is one handsome devil, isn’t he?¬† Combine his physical hotness with his vocal hotness and well, you have the perfect package for a crooner who sings about the nuances of falling in love.¬† We, the listener, cannot help but being swept away in the romance, the tension, and the longing.
With Your Songs Connick takes much beloved songs by artists such as Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Tony Bennet, and Nat King Cole and puts his own special spin on each track.¬† The songs are one part familiar and one part new as Connick attempts to reinvent each track with new vocal arrangements and instrumentation.¬† At times, Harry Connick, Jr. makes you forget that these tracks were ever sung by anyone but him and, unfortunately, at other times, Connick’s rendition makes it glaringly obvious that some tracks and some artists are never meant to be reinvented, imitated, or copied.
My favorite tracks on the album are the ones in which Connick’s iconic vocal stylings are front and center.¬† Amongst my favorite tracks are: All The Way, Besame Mucho, The Way You Look Tonight, Some Enchanted Evening, Smile, and Mona Lisa.¬† Each of these songs is reminiscent of Harry Connick, Jr.’s predecessors from the age when crooners ruled the stage and airwaves.¬† This is the music my grandparents listened to and the only music they said was worth dancing to. As I listened to each track, I realized they were right.¬† These tracks are easy to listen to and discuss love in a way we all hope it exists.¬† As Harry Connick sang, I couldn’t help but imagine myself in some candlelit romantic comedy, and while that may not be reality, shouldn’t good music, like good literature, art, film, and food, transport us to another, better place, if even for a few minutes?¬† When these songs play you want your dance card to be full!
On the other hand, some tracks paled in comparison to the aforementioned ones.¬† Connick’s unique qualities were lost on tracks like, Just The Way You Are, Can’t Help Falling In Love With You, And I Love Her, and First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.¬† Unlike other tracks these songs don’t conjure images of romantic dances; rather, they are somewhat like listening to cheesy, karaoke, albeit well sung, covers.¬† I am a firm believer that some tracks should never be touched because the original artist made the song so iconic that you cannot separate the two.¬† This was very true for some of the covers on Your Song, which was never more true than when Connick covered Elvis Presley’s¬† Can’t Help Falling In Love With You.¬† Obviously, that song is a staple in the Presley catalog and Connick just didn’t do enough to make the song his own.¬† I found myself simply comparing the two artists instead of being swept away by Connick’s voice.
On the whole,¬† Harry Connick Jr.’s Your Songs is an album you can put on and never have to advance through a song.¬† If you would like to see more about the album follow the link to watch the “Making of Your Songs“.
Entries (RSS)