Apparently, this guy gets mobbed by adoring fans in China and across mainland Europe. He’s also enjoyed a string of releases topping the iTunes Jazz charts, and is considered the UK’s biggest international pop-jazz export.
I don’t get it. I mean, how can people get excited about this smooth, banal, croony cal? I get the power of nostalgia, but when you can still listen to the recordings of the rat pack and the originals, why bother with the likes of Harry Connick Jr and this guy?
The album pans out pretty much as you’d expect: the original compositions sit comfortably – like a velvet bath robe – alongside the covers of classics and standards. Songs like ‘As Time Goes By’, ‘Unforgettable’; and ‘What is This Thing Called Love?’ are predictable and safe in terms of both selection and execution (ironically, the lazy lounge salsa rendition of ‘Unforgettable’ is anything but), but Elvis Costello’s ‘Baby Plays Around’ and Michael Jackson’s ‘Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough’ show some thought. Unfortunately, the thought was actually turned into music in the case of the latter.
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Of course, the songs – the originals and the covers – are all given the same mellowcore big band treatment (and it is a big band: Strong, on piano, along with his drummer and bassist, are joined by a 16-strong ensemble who play smooth but uninspiring arrangements in a laidback fashion). And herein lies the problem: there’s easy and then there’s aural chewing gum. If anything, the renditions on here sound like Brian and Stewie Griffin performing parodic big band loungecore on ‘Family Guy’.
The fact I find ‘On a Clear Day’ to be an example of the most nauseating guff is likely a recommendation to many. Fine, but if you’re tempted, perhaps you should wait for the deluxe reissue that comes with a free pipe and slippers.
Anthony Strong Online
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