Compatible with all MP3 players including iPod, iPad, iTunes and Window Media Player
In the liner notes of ONLY YOU, crooner Harry Connick tells how the impetus for the album was Columbia honcho Donny Ienner's request for the singer to record some songs from Ienner's youth (1950s/'60s hits). Whether this was an entreaty or an ultimatum, Connick sagely turned it to his advantage, inching up a decade or two from his usual selection process and cherry-picking some of the finest tunes from that era (even if a couple were originally written decades earlier). Connick breaks some new stylistic ground too, dipping into the country songbook ("You Don't Know Me") and even slipping into doo-wop territory ("I Only Have Eyes for You" and the title track").
The most impressive thing about ONLY YOU is that instead of twisting himself into a stylistic pretzel in order to accommodate these varied modes, Connick artfully reinvents these tunes (not only as vocalist, but as arranger/conductor) to suit his own Sinatra-influenced pop/jazz style. His treatment of the aforementioned "I Only Have Eyes for You," for example, brings out the inherent spectral qualities of the song, turning it into an ethereal tour de force for his moody arrangement and cool vocal. Throughout the album, Connick manages to turn such tricks consistently, proving himself an able interpreter of more than one chapter in the Great American Songbook.
Lush Standards W/ Big Band & Orchestra. March Pbs Special.
Recorded at Capitol Studios, Hollywood, California in 2003.
Personnel: Harry Connick, Jr. (vocals, piano); George Doering (guitar); Bruce Dukov (violin, strings); Dennis Karmazyn (cello); Endre Granat (strings); James Greene, Charles "Ned" Goold (alto saxophone); Jerry Weldon, Jimmy Greene (tenor saxophone); David Schumacher (baritone saxophone); Derrick Gardner, Joe Magnarelli, Roger Ingram (trumpet); John Allred, Mark Mullins (trombone); Joe Barati (bass trombone); Arthur Latin (drums); Alex Acuña, Paulinho Da Costa (percussion).
Audio Mixer: Gregg Rubin.
Liner Note Author: Harry Connick, Jr.
Recording information: Capitoal Studios, Hollywood, CA (05/13/2003-05/22/2003).
Photographer: Palma Kolansky.
Arranger: Harry Connick, Jr.
Personnel: Harry Connick, Jr. (vocals, conductor, piano); James Greene, Charles Goold (alto saxophone); Jerry Weldon, Mike Karn (tenor saxophone); Dave Schumacher (baritone saxophone); Roger Ingram, Derrick Gardner, Leroy Jones, Joe Magnarelli (trumpet); Mark Mullins, Joe Barati, Craig Klein, John Allred (trombone); Neal Caine (bass); Arthur latin II (drums); Paulinho Da Costa, Alex Acuna (percussion).
The Cream Of The Crop Of All Mr. Connick’s CDs Harry Connick, Jr. is one of the most versatile artists in the music industry. He’s also an occasional actor. His piano skills and his mellow voice make him one of the admired performers of all-time. I have collected a number of his CDs, but this one in my opinion is the cream of the crop. These beautiful standards from the 50’s and 60’s were performed, arranged, orchestrated and conducted by Harry himself in a very enthralling manner, from the first track and my topmost favorite, “More” to the last track, “Goodnight My Love”. According to Harry, these songs are a combination of his personal favorites and suggestions by his friends. Great choices and great performances, indeed!
This CD has a very special spot in my collection, all the tracks are noteworthy and you can listen to it repeatedly and the more you listen to it, the more you will appreciate it. His flawless and heartfelt rendition of “More” is simply awesome, a masterpiece, the most beautiful version I’ve ever heard. The string instruments, french horns and percussions are very distinctive. The solo violin on “My Prayer” is breathtaking and very soothing. He sings it almost like Frank Sinatra’s style. Unlike other crooners whose finale is commonly “That’s All”, Harry’s finale is “Goodnight My Love”, a song popularized by the Fleetwoods in the 60’s.
My favorites aside from “More” and “My Prayer” are “The Very Thought Of You”, “I Only Have Eyes For You”, “Goodnight My Love”, “Save The Last Dance For Me”, “My Blue Heaven” and of course the title track, “Only You” with very meaningful lyrics as follows:
“Only you can make this world seem right
Only you can make the darkness bright
Only you and you alone
can thrill me like you do
and fill my heart with love
for only you….
Only you can make this change in me
For it’s true, you are my destiny
When you hold my hand
I understand the magic that you do
You’re my dream come true
My one and only you…..
I highly recommend this enchanting CD for your listening pleasure. You will enjoy it as much as I do. Thank you Mr. Connick for coming up with this marvelous CD. It’s definitely a keeper!
Submitted by Rebecca B. Preciado (CA, USA) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo 1 of 1 found this helpful.
Great cd with a wonderful collection of songs I really enjoy listening to this cd. It is relaxing and nostalgic. Being a baby boomer, I was familiar with all the songs.
Thanks CD Universe. Submitted by aalexander4 (Columbia, SC) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
Harry schmaltzes my childhood! Harry Connick breathes new life into some of the best remembered love songs of the fifties. his take on them is a little saccharine sweet but if you want to hear a class voice singing some old familiar melodies in a manner tyo soothe you into romanticism then buy this album. Submitted by mikehardacre (wolverhampton UK) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
a pleasure to listen to, but more to come Connick is maturing superbly. His voice is maybe half an octave deeper than the precocious talent who soared to fame on the back of It Had To Be You from the soundtrack of When Harry Met Sally. This album contains many fine moments, not the least of which is the first listenable version I have ever heard of Only You, a song which has been murdered by many artists of equal stature and greater popularity. The trite tune More is given a new subtlety and depth by Connick, an artist who, given clay, makes china. My Blue Heaven is turned into a song of relaxed satisfaction - listening to its rockabilly versions of the fifties, one could have been forgiven for wondering whether some previous singers were considering the lyrics at all.
There is, however, a feeling reminiscent of a tiger with only cooked meat to eat. Connick could sing these songs in his sleep, and with his incredible gift for music perhaps he does. They've been done so many other times by so many other artists. Perhaps Columbia were thinking of cashing in on the current popularity of artists such as Michael Bublé. If so, they are making a mistake. What people such as Bublé do is great. They are the successors to the Tony Bennett's and the Johnny Mathis's of this world. But Harry Connick Jr is more of a Louis Armstrong, or a Count Basie. They need to create as well as interpret. Roy Orbison said all that needed to be said about My Prayer (a song that doesn't, contrary to the advertising blurb from this album, come from the fifties or sixties, but dates back to at least the Glenn Miller era). Tony Bennett and Stevie Wonder have encompassed all that can be done with For Once In My Life. The direction Connick should be proceeding in comes on track 10 with Other Hours, a track that fits perfectly here (though again it doesn't come from the fifties and sixties, as he wrote it himself).
A very pleasant album to listen to, and certainly worth buying. It might even turn people on to this kind of music. However, I feel Connick can do more than this, and I'm already looking forward to seeing what that will be. Submitted by A music fan (London, United Kingdom) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
Poor musical effort. Old standards sung by an artist who sounds like he was only going through the motions of complying with a piano
bar request. I didn't
like it at all. Submitted by Ray (Coeur d'Alene, Id.) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
The Cream Of The Crop Of All Mr. Connick’s CDs
Poor musical effort.
Share this Product