Review

Harry Connick Jnr: Your Songs

‘Your Songs’ the newest release from crooner Harry Connick Jnr finds him tackling a number of well known songs. The singer, also known as an actor, and like Nat King Cole, a dextrous and talented piano player is joined by a full orchestra, and such other luminaries as Wyton and Branford Marsalis, and Leroy Jones.

The songs tackled range from the Beatles ‘And I love Her’ to Billy Joel’s ‘The way you look tonight’ to Nat King Cole’s ‘Mona Lisa’ and Frank Sinatra’s ‘All the Way’ The playing is good from all of the musicians, and Connick Jnr’s is of the usual smooth, tuneful high standard we are used to. Folk songs such as Ewam McColl’s ‘The First time I ever saw your face’ fit in with the album, as does Burt Bacharach’s ‘Close to you’, although it takes some getting used to a male voice singing it if you are familiar with the Carpenter’s version.

Although there are cynics who will look at this album and its play-list and think it was a simple cash-in for the Christmas market, that really under-sells the album. It shows a lot of good songs in a new light, played, produced and arranged by musicians at the top of their game, and it is a worthwhile addition to Harry Connick Jnr’s catalogue.
Words BEN MACNAIR