A New Chairman of the Board

When you hear the name Harry Connick Jr., what comes to mind?  Gorgeous blue eyes?  Talented actor? Talented musician and singer?  Personally, I think of all that and more, a real renaissance man, a modern day Frank Sinatra.

Thanks to my affiliation with One2OneNetwork, I had the pleasure of listening to Harry's new album, Your Songs, before it's official release on September 22.  Each time I listen to it, I melt.

Your Songs is filled with Harry's take on familiar songs.  It is a smooth, mellow throwback to a different era.  It transports you back to a time when the Rat Pack reigned supreme.  I grew up listening to all kinds of music, including the oldies.  I can honestly say, Harry Connick Jr. is as good, if not better, than Ol' Blue Eyes himself in his heyday.  Between Harry Connick Jr. and Michael Buble, a whole new Rat Pack era could be ushered in.

Album Tracklisting (Originally performed by):

  1. All The Way (Frank Sinatra)

  2. Just The Way You Are (Billy Joel)

  3. Can’t Help Falling In Love With You (Elvis Presley)

  4. And I Love Her (The Beatles)

  5. (They Long To Be) Close To You (The Carpenters)

  6. Besame Mucho

  7. The Way You Look Tonight

  8. First Time Ever I Saw Your Face (Roberta Flack)

  9. Your Song (Elton John)

10. Some Enchanted Evening

11. And I Love You So (Don McLean)

12. Who Can I Turn To? (Tony Bennett)

13. Smile (Charlie Chaplin)

14. Mona Lisa (Nat King Cole)

My favorite tracks on the album are All The Way (#1), Can't Help Falling In Love With You (#3), And I Love Her (#4), Close To You (#5), and Your Song (#9).  Actually, I really liked every song on the album with one exception.

Harry Connick Jr. puts his own touch on all the songs on the album, he arranged and orchestrated the entire project.  Most of the songs already fell into his genre, that smooth jazz/big band sound.  His arrangements of The Beatles And I Love Her, Elvis' Can't Help Falling In Love, and Elton John's Your Song, are pleasant and unique twists on well known and loved songs.  He has made those three songs sound like they were written as jazz classics, he has made them his own.  Unfortunately, I can't say the same for his take on Billy Joel's classic Just The Way You Are.  It may be my own prejudice as a huge fan of Billy Joel, but I was really disappointed with this song.  Unlike with the other 13 songs, I just couldn't sing along with this track.  My mind kept trying to "hear" Joel's version.  I couldn't let myself go and just enjoy Connick Jr.'s take.  But hey, to love 13 out of 14 tracks on an album, well that's almost unheard of, a real testament to Harry Connick Jr.'s talent.

If you were a fan of Sinatra, jazz and the big band era, this is the perfect cd for you.  If you just love music of all kinds and want a change of pace, pick up this album, you won't be disappointed.

You can catch Harry Connick Jr during the following television appearances:

9/25 – Oprah “Live Friday”

9/28 – Today Show

9/29 – The View

9/30 – Imus in the Morning

9/30 – Letterman

10/1 – Today Show

Week of 10/5 – Rachael Ray

For a behind the scenes look at the making of Your Songs, click here