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Track Listing 1. All The Way 2. Just The Way You Are 3. Can't Help Falling In Love With You 4. And I Love Her 5. (They Long To Be) Close To You 6. Bésame Mucho [Kiss Me Much] 7. Way You Look Tonight, The 8. First Time Ever I Saw Your Face 9. Your Song 10. Some Enchanted Evening 11. And I Love You So 12. Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me) 13. Smile 14. Mona Lisa
Album Notes Personnel: Harry Connick Jr. (vocals, piano); George Doering (guitar); Ned Goold, Bill Liston (alto saxophone); Ernie Watts, Jerry Weldon, Mike Karn (tenor saxophone); Greg Huckins (baritone saxophone); Joe Magnarelli, John Eckert, Warren Luening, Wayne Bergeron, Tony Kadleck, John Fumo, Roger Ingram (trumpet); Jeff Bush, Andy Martin, Bill Reichenbach, Dion Tucker, Steve Holtman (trombone); Joe Barati (bass trombone); Dan Higgins (drums, percussion). Audio Mixer: Vince Caro . Recording information: The Music Shed, New Orleans, LA; Capitol Studios, Hollywood. Arranger: Harry Connick Jr. Much like 2001's SONGS I HEARD and 2004's ONLY YOU, 2009's YOUR SONGS finds vocalist/pianist Harry Connick, Jr. coming up with an urbane, passionate set of American popular standards and contemporary pop classics that he both performs and orchestrates. While his previous recordings leaned toward the classicist side--ONLY YOU featured songs of the '50s and '60s--YOUR SONGS features a more eclectic mix of standards and pop songs, with Connick's own lush orchestration lending an overall aesthetic of languid romanticism. To this end, Connick turns Billy Joel's "Just the Way You Are" into a kind of Herb Alpert-inspired '60s pop nugget and, conversely, the Beatles' 1964 classic "And I Love Her" gets a kind of '70s Latin lounge feel with classical guitar flourishes. However, Connick isn't only concerned with reworking tunes in unexpected ways; on the contrary, longtime fans of Connick's swinging neo-crooner vocals will be pleasantly surprised by his straightforward takes on "The Way You Look Tonight" and "Some Enchanted Evening." Similarly engaging are his renditions of such rock-oriented tunes as Elton John's "Your Song," his low-key version of Don McLean's "And I Love You So," and the Carpenters' "(They Long to Be) Close to You." Ultimately, YOUR SONG is a classy and feel-good stroll of an album.
Industry Reviews Connick accommodates with his lush and graceful big band and strings charts, staying close to the melodic intent.
The best moments are the ones in which Connick smuggles something unexpected into the utterly familiar... -- Grade: B-
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