Wild about Harry Connick Jr.

It is a known fact that Harry Connick Jr. is extremely talented and as he says in his liner notes to his new album Only You, he has "…had the good fortune of picking and choosing my material throughout my recording career." Which is very true. Child prodigy, jazz sensation, composer, arranger, actor, etc., etc. Connick does well in a lot of things. So although a lot of artists have lately been immersed in the oldies phenomenon now sweeping the CD-buying baby boomers market, think Streisand, Stewart, Lauper, Scaggs and etc., etc., Harry initially had no intention at all of again recording old songs for such an album. Why, he can easily write, arrange, orchestrate and sing something that is all his own. Besides, he has already done something similar with his Grammy winning Songs I Heard.

Very right but also ironic. This is because Harry is one of those artists born with an innate feel for the music of generations ago. Proof of this is the fact that he made his pop breakthrough with his version of It Had to be You that was used in When Harry Met Sally with Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal. In fact, he was even hailed as the new Sinatra. If I remember right, he also has a good rendition of Stardust. Still, talented Harry made no secret of the fact that he preferred to concentrate on his own music. To be fair he did come up with a succession of exceptional albums over the past decade or so. But I still have to admit what I want to hear from him is more of It Had to be You and other songs from the past.

Well with Only You, Harry did finally get around to recording more of the songs I believe he was born to sing. It was former Columbia Records president Donnie Ienner who asked Connick if he would consider making a CD of songs from "his generation." Harry considered the suggestion and it did not take him long to say yes, after taking a look at the veritable mine of beautiful materials from the past. The result is Only You, an entire album arranged, orchestrated and conducted by Harry Connick Jr., singer and pianist. And as any sucker for sentimental love songs will surely say, it is one of his best.

Harry did zero in on Ienner’s generation. The songs he chose to do were all very popular during the late ’50s and early ’60s or the period right before the Beatles invasion. Some were of older vintage, the ’40s or the ’30s but had new popular remakes during that time like My Blue Heaven by Fats Domino, My Prayer by the Platters, The Very Thought of You by Rick Nelson, I Only Have Eyes for You by Cliff Richard and Good Night My Love (Pleasant Dreams) by The Fleetwoods. With his well-thought out arrangements and easy but expressive vocals, Harry does justice to all of them.

The other songs in Only You are: More, Save the Last Dance for Me, You Don’t Know Me, All These Things, For Once in My Life, and the title cut, an adaptation of another Platters goodie. Though I am sure he found working on this album a joy, Harry still could not resist adding one of his own originals to the collection. This is Other Hours. This was originally written for the Broadway musical Thou Shalt Not. Don’t worry, the song might be new compared to the others but it does not detract in any way from the concept. As mentioned before, Harry has a natural affinity for oldies and this comes out even while he is writing new songs.

Connick made his recording debut with a jazz album when he was only 10. He was an old hand with his own trio by the time he was 18, and an acclaimed singer two years later. He has also distinguished himself in the field of acting with Independence Day, Memphis Belle and Hope Floats among his most memorable films. You might have also seen him in the TV sitcom Will & Grace where he has a recurring role as a modern "knight in shining armor." For those still unfamiliar with Harry, you might be interested to know he looks as good as he sounds. Looks should really have no bearing on the quality of the music but in Connick’s case, it cannot be denied that the way he looks does add to the charm of his songs.