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"Songs I Heard"
This album's full title should read
Songs I Heard When I Was a Kid and Never Forgot, as Harry Connick
covers a selection of familiar, if unlikely, chestnuts. Who can
deny the appeal of classics such as "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious"
and "Spoonful of Sugar" (from Mary Poppins) and "Oompa
Loompa" (from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory)? Connick
proves his worth as an arranger, especially on the tracks that
get the full New Orleans swing treatment. Boasting several excerpts,
The Wizard of Oz must have made quite an impression on young
master Harry: "Ding Dong" becomes a zippy big-band
number and "Over the Rainbow" begins with a thunderous
intro before segueing into the familiar melancholy tune. But
the best is the obscure "The Jitterbug," a brilliantly
catchy number that had been cut from the movie's final version.
Still, as good as they are, Connick's arrangements don't quite
match Herbert Stothart's original ones. The CD ends with The
Sound of Music's "Edelweiss" and "Do Re Mi,"
the latter in a swell finger-snapping version. Connick's silliest
record to date is also his most warmly endearing. --Elisabeth
Vincentelli |
