More old songs from Luis Giraldo

My only problem with recording the old songs is that it lessens the chances of discovering new works that will be the oldies of the future. That is bad for the music business and there might come a time when we will run out of old to record. Besides, every cover version released means missing out on an original by somebody who has something important to say with his music. What if that somebody was another David Gates or Stevie Wonder and we never got to hear his songs.

Well, it looks like nobody is thinking along those lines these days. We just keep doing the oldies and even the biggest stars here and abroad are opting to mine the oldies catalogues instead of searching for or writing new materials. On the other hand though, it cannot be denied that the old songs have already proven their worth with the passage of time. They remain beautiful through the ages. Not only that they come with lots of memories and as a boon to arrangers and performers can be rearranged in so many ways.

Very mellow is how crooner Luis Giraldo does his versions. Giraldo is a unique blend of Latin sensibility and Western pop. He is often compared to Diana Krall because they both come from Vancouver. A bit on the jazzy side, his singing has a soothing quality that has endeared him to music lovers who wish to take respite from all the complicated rhythms and vocal stretching that now plague popular songs.

Giraldo is an artist who will never make it to American Idol. He does not even swing like Michael Bublé or rock like Rod Stewart. He puts further emphasis on this quality in his singing by having laid back arrangements that at times feature only a solo piano. So if you want music for your quiet but seductive moments then you might wish to check out what he has to offer.

Giraldo’s latest album is titled When I Fall in Love. He made a great debut with a similar, self-titled collection a year ago and should have a ready market for his new CD. Like the first one, When I Fall in Love mirrors his personality. It covers a wide range of materials with standards like When I Fall in Love, pop classics like If, Latin favorites like Corcovado and Motivos and even an unlikely choice that I have not heard in years Beautiful Love.

But then, that is how mining the oldies should be done. You should go deep, deep, deep to find songs that have not yet been rediscovered to make your own. So although most of the songs Giraldo has in his album have already been recently covered by others, from Rod Stewart to Nonoy Zuñiga, he has something like Beautiful Love that no one has sang for a long time.

The other songs in the album are The Nearness of You, Moon River, Misty, The Shadow of Your Smile, Fly Me to the Moon, There’s a Lull in My Life, Annie’s Song, Dancing on the Ceiling, I Think You Get What I Mean, Let’s Get Lost, Day by Day and Dream Dancing.

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To continue the oldies kick, 26 songs that range from Ave Maria to You’re Still You and a line-up of artists that go from Luciano Pavarotti to the all-female instrumental group Bond are featured in the album Eternity. The two-disc light classical compilation is so star-studded and hit- studded, it must be one of this year’s most important releases. Of course it is a compilation of previously released materials. But then I do not know where else you can find Placido Domingo, Cliff Richard and Josh Groban together in one blissfully sublime album.

Richard, who is one of the world’s most enduring pop stars, sings All I Ask of You from Phantom of the Opera with the musical’s original Christine, Sarah Brightman. The album also features Ave Maria by Placido Domingo, You’re Still You by Josh Groban, Amazing Grace by Hayley Westerna, You are so Beautiful by Russell Watson, Serenade by Irish flautist James Galway, Henry Mancini’s Love Theme from Romeo & Juliet and others.

Change your usual summer soundtrack to the music of Eternity and I am sure you will find lots of positive changes in your life this year.