Harry Connick Jr.
To See You
Columbia
Harry Connick Jr. has built a sizeable career out of wanting to be Frank Sinatra. Let’s just cut through the cheese and see it for what it is. This is not a dis on Harry though, because in trying to copy Frank, he has invariably concocted his own adult contemporary sound. Connick helped bring big band/swing back into the mainstream and now, after two CDs of funky, crawdad dawdlings and playing a psycho killer in the film Copycat, Harry has penned an album that suits his style to a “T.” To See You is all about love. Its sound is lush. It is romantic, wonderful, if I must say. Connick has written every song on the album, and arranged a 60-piece orchestra to flesh out his sound, to great effect. This album reminds me of several early 1960s Frank albums, where he wasn’t feeling obliged to serve up a hit parade of happy singles. Harry has done the same by steering clear of trying to produce another “It Had To Be You” clone. Instead, this album carries a dark torchlight into your head and heart. Hearing Harry croon over a subdued string section is exquisite. You know you’ve always wanted a serious romantic CD in your collection of punk rock or techno. Find a copy of To See You and to hell with what your friends say! It will be your guilty pleasure, and not a bad guilty pleasure to partake of. Standout cuts include the moody “Let Me Love You Tonight” and “Let’s Just Kiss.”
