This landed on my doorstep earlier this year as part of a multi-CD "care package" from a long-time reader and friend o' the blog. Never seen the movie so I have no idea what would be on the soundtrack. I'm guessing love songs. Let's slide this thing into the tray and find out.
Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart
Tracks:
- Young at Heart - Tony Bennett and Shawn Colvin. Bennett will duet with any popular singer if it keeps him in the spotlight. I can't decide if that fact is shameful or brilliant or brilliantly shameful. Anyway, there's not much to this version, particularly since it isn't suited to Colvin's voice.
- They Can't Take That Away From Me - Billie Holiday. Ahhhh. That's the stuff.
- Now It Can Be Told - Tony Bennett. A tasteful, laid-back take on this 1938 Irving Berlin standard.
- Swingdown, Swingtown - Wynton Marsalis. From the 1992 album, Citi Movement (Griot New York), this thing sure swings but I don't care much for the non-idiomatic voicings that Marsalis sometimes uses.
- She's No Lady - Lyle Lovett. A fantastic tune from an underrated genre-bending performer. With lyrics like "she's no lady, she's my wife," I should point out that Lovett wrote the tune in 1987, several years before his marriage with Julia Roberts.
- Always - Tony Bennett. A bland, boring take on this 1925 Irving Berlin standard.
- Overture - Carter Burwell. Incidental music written for the film. Writing soundtrack scores must be a tough gig - how difficult is it to write music that adds atmosphere without being noticed?
- I Feel Lucky - Mary Chapin Carpenter. A country blues hit for Carpenter from '92. Not my thing.
- Round of Blues - Shawn Colvin. A minor hit for Colvin back in 1992 (#44 AC, #25 Alt). Not bad, but not memorable.
- The Search - Carter Burwell. Incidental music written for the film.
- Young at Heart - Frank Sinatra. The effin Chairman of the Board. That incomparable phrasing! So much better than the Bennett/Colvin take that leads the CD. Saving the best for last!
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