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ONLY YOU
(Columbia)
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Harry Connick Jr. hasn’t exactly reinvented the wheel by taking old favorites from the ’50s and ’60s like the Flamingos’ "I Only Have Eyes for You" and the Drifters’ "Save the Last Dance for Me." Yet he arranges these familiar tunes in a pleasingly understated manner. Only You is Connick’s 18th album, and though he says he’s not known for taking requests, that’s exactly what he’s done here. If he isn’t in love, he’s drawing on his acting talents. There are crooner ballads in which he sings about his wife and family — "Just Jilly and me, little baby makes three, we’re happy in my blue heaven." And though his soothing voice is the centerpiece, the subtle arrangements include cello in "My Prayer" and the full swing of an orchestra in a charming version of Stevie Wonder’s "For Once in My Life." I only wish he had put more of his piano into the mix, and he might as well have left off the one original, "Other Hours," if only to leave the album’s concept intact.
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