Harry Connick, Jr. - Come By Me (1999)

A Connick big band album released eight years after his previous big band recording, Blue Light, Red Light. What had happened in those 8 years? A swing music revival spurred along by the 1996 movie, Swingers. This album seems to be Connick response to groups like Squirrel Nut Zippers and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy: step aside, here's how it's done. And although the selections tend to be on the slow side (more for late night listening than top-down-open-road), Connick is in great voice, arrangements are top-drawer, and the band swings hard - what's not to like?

When fronting a big band, Connick often gets grief from critics that he sounds too much like Sinatra. Getouttahere with that mess. Hell, if you could sing like Sinatra, why wouldn't you?

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #36
• Billboard Jazz: #1 (also #1 for the year)

Tracks: 5 of the 13 tracks are Connick originals and they're all pleasant (the title track and Next Door Blues are the cream of that crop), but somewhat pale when compared to tunes from masters like Berlin, Porter, Mancini, and Kahn. Of the standards, my favorites here are Change Partners (Berlin, 1938), You'd Be So Easy To Love (Porter, 1934), and Cry Me A River (Hamilton, 1953). The only misstep is the painfully slow take on Danny Boy.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: none, but I might be mixing this nicely with a blend of Sinatra, Bublé, and Ronstadt alongside some cognac real soon.

Previously revisited for the blog:
She (1994)
When My Heart Finds Christmas (1993)
We Are In Love (1990)
Music from the Motion Picture When Harry Met Sally (1989)
20 (1988)

Harry Connick, Jr. - We Are In Love (1990)

On this ambitious release, Connick mostly puts aside his piano and focuses on composing and singing, backed by big band and Nelson Riddle-esque orchestra. Comparisons to Sinatra were inevitable, and while Connick isn't quite in that league, it's still good stuff. Connick was 23 at the time and sounds (and writes) much older than that - you can tell he's been at this since he was young (first public performance at age 5, first recording at 10). This was Connick's most successful non-Christmas album, going double platinum, but I still prefer She.

Here's a nice take on this album: Popdose Flashback by Robin Monica Alexander.

And here's Harry guest starring as Woody's cousin on Cheers, singing a song from this album: "A Diminished Rebecca with a Suspended Cliff" (1992).

Press of the time:

• Entertainment Weekly: "all charm and no substance"
• Billboard: "as de-lovely as ever"
• Stereo Review: "his talent still lags behind the hype"

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart:  #22

Tracks:  Of the 12 tracks here, only two are standards, both well done: A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square (with a wonderful, tasteful tenor solo by Branford Marsalis) and Cole Porter's It's Alright With Me.  Of the 10 original compositions, I like We Are In Love and Forever For Now. I usually skip Drifting and Just A Boy.

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go visit The Legend of the Longbox.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD:  None. I should take the wife to see Connick. I'd enjoy the music and she'd be content just to look at him.

Previously revisited for the blog:
She (1994)
When My Heart Finds Christmas (1993)
Music from the Motion Picture When Harry Met Sally (1989)
20 (1988)

Harry Connick, Jr. - Music from the Motion Picture When Harry Met Sally (1989)

Note: this release was originally purchased as a cassette tape, later replaced by a CD.

Harry crooning standards. Although this music perfectly fits the movie, this is the rare soundtrack album that truly succeeds as a stand-alone release. That could be because most of these recordings weren't actually heard in the movie. A true soundtrack would have been heavy on Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong; and it would be fun to piece together an actual soundtrack compilation (like I did here for Sixteen Candles). But no matter - it's still a great album. Recorded around the same time as 20, this is a great companion CD to that. It's my favorite Connick jazz album, although I still prefer the NOLA funk of She.

Reviews/ratings:

• Rolling Stone (★★★½): "a winning showcase for those unfortunate millions who've yet to discover him."
• Stereo Review: "a very talented young man"
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★★★

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #42
• Billboard Jazz: #1
• Billboard Pop CD: #14

Tracks: My favorites with vocals are Love Is Here To Stay, Don't Get Around Much Anymore, Let's Call The Whole Thing Off. My favorite instrumentals are Stompin' At The Savoy, Winter Wonderland, and It Had To Be You.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: My new bride and I saw this movie in Carrollton not long after we were married. We loved it and had decided to buy the soundtrack before we left the theater.

Previously revisited for the blog:
She (1994)
When My Heart Finds Christmas (1993)
20 (1988)

Harry Connick, Jr. - When My Heart Finds Christmas (1993)

Up to this point in his career, Connick focused on his stride piano playing and jazz. Here, he focuses more on his vocals, being backed by a big band or orchestra. No jazz and very little piano playing. Even though it is weak in the middle, I do like most of the big band numbers here.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #13 (Jan 1, 1994)

Tracks: My favorite big band numbers on the CD are Sleigh Ride and Let It Snow. The CD closes with one of my favorite renditions of What Are You Doing New Year's Eve? 2 of the 4 original compositions are good: the NOLA-flavored (It Must've Been Ol') Santa Claus and I Pray On Christmas. The weakest cuts are Ave Maria, What Child Is This?, and O Holy Night.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: (It Must've Been Ol') Santa Claus is a family favorite. I'm pretty sure there was a TV special that accompanied this release in '93. For some reason, I remembering Carol Burnett in it, but I could be way off base on that one.

Previously revisited for the blog:
She (1994)
20 (1988)

Harry Connick, Jr. - 20 (1988)

NUMBERS WEEK (MARCH 14-20, 2011)

Recorded when he was 20 years old, this simple release has Connick trying to find his voice. It's all standards from the American Songbook, but for the most part the only musician is Connick, either playing solo piano, or accompanying himself while singing. This was released before Connick became popular through his association with the 1989 movie, When Harry Met Sally. Over the last 20+ years, Connick has been an actor, a big band singer, and a funk musician, but this remains one of his better releases. Connick would go on to release CDs titled 25 and 30, but I haven't heard them. After 30, he stopped naming albums after his age. Ah, denial.

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #133
• Billboard Jazz: #6

Tracks: Connick has some good takes on Blue Skies, Lazy River, and Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me. Dr. John sits in on Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans and it is on of the better songs on the disc. Carmen McRae sings with Harry on Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone and takes Connick to school. Having a much better singer guest on your album is a rookie mistake and you hate to see it, but it didn't seem to slow down Connick's career. Easily the worse track is Stars Fell On Alabama which sounds like Connick was sightreading or drunk, or sightreading while drunk.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I remember listening to this as a newlywed in our little rental house on Cameo Lane in Farmers Branch.

Harry Connick, Jr. - She (1994)

In 1994, Harry Connick, Jr. temporarily left his big band Sinatraesque song stylings for some New Orleans funk. While this abrupt change upset many of fans, it produced this, my favorite Connick CD. I would be jealous of Connick's musical skills alone, but he's also good-looking, an actor, and married to a Victoria's Secret model. Talk about being born under a good sign. Sheesh.

Press of the time:

• CashBox: "was saving his best trick"
• Billboard: "veers down a road no one expected him to travel
• Entertainment Weekly (C-): "just another version of Connick nostalgia, this time for the sweetly soulful Lite FM of the Jimmy Carter age"
• Robert Christgau: C+

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #16

Tracks: The title track is my favorite, but Between Us, Trouble, To Love The Language, and Whisper Your Name are all good as well. Some tracks that beg to be skipped are That Party, Follow The Music, and its companion, Follow The Music Further. The instrumental Joe Slam And The Spaceship wouldn't be out of place on a Tarentino movie soundtrack. The CD falls apart near the end, but I say that about a lot of CD's, so that could just be me.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I remember listening to this on a trip from Bay City to Mo-Ranch in the summer of 2004 or 2005. James P. and I traveled together for some reason, and he had never heard this CD before. As I recall, he enjoyed it.