For that Cole Porter fan on your Gift List, Harry Connick, Jr.’s new CD, True Love: A Celebration of Cole Porter provides wonderful music by a performer who truly appreciates Cole Porter’s songs. I particularly liked Connick’s version of “All of You” (take a listen below). Very moving. You could consider True Love as Cole Porter’s Greatest Hits. This is a perfect Stocking Stuffer! My only quibble is that Harry Connick, Jr.’s cover photo looks him look like a Bad Guy in a Spaghetti Western. Do you have a favorite Cole Porter song? GRADE: A
TRACK LIST:
1. Anything Goes
2. I Love Paris
3. I Concentrate On You
4. All Of You
5. Mind If I Make Love To You
6. Just One Of Those Things
7. In The Still Of The Night
8. Why Can’t You Behave
9. Begin The Beguine
10. You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To
11. True Love
12. You’re Sensational
13. You Do Something To Me
Anything Goes would probably be my favorite. I do have one song that I can’t stand though which is Begin the Beguine. It’s like nails on the blackboard for me. Won’t be getting this. I just can’t stand Connick. Not sure why. I dislike him as an actor and found him unlikable as a daytime talk show host. Just something smarmy about him.
Steve, I’m with you on “Begin the Beguine.” But I enjoyed the rest of the songs on this CD. Diane has been a fan of Harry Connick, Jr. since WHEN HARRY MET SALLY where Connick did most of the soundtrack. I prefer Michael Buble.
Ella Fitzgerald doing “My Heart Belongs to Daddy.” I like Connick (and Porter) just fine, but Ella did the definitive recording of many of Porter’s songs, imho, and I really don’t have much of an interest in adding this CD to my collection.
Incidentally, it looks like Harry’s been hitting the Botox pretty hard. Look at the cover model on the following book (yes, I am an unashamed romance-novel-cover-model maven). I call him, “If Harry Connick, Jr., and Clayton Kershaw had a really hot baby”:
https://www.amazon.com/Roughneck-Payne-Brothers-Romance-Book-ebook/dp/B07QNCL2V8/ref=mp_s_a_1_6?keywords=sosie+frost+payne+brothers&qid=1576668002&sprefix=sosie+frost&sr=8-6
Deb, you’re right about Ella Fitzgerald’s collection of Cole Porter songs. I’ll have to dig it out and listen to it again. Clearly, TRUE LOVE is a Connick vanity project. Some of our female friends consider Connick “a hottie.” That guy on the book covers looks like Connick has been moonlighting…
Nice one, Deb! It does look like him. I think he looks like he’s in the middle of a (geezer bus reference here) three day bender. Jackie likes Connick better than I do but he’s OK.
Favorite Cole Porter songs?
Just One of Those Things
I’ve Got You Under My Skin
It’s All Right With Me
Night and Day
Jeff, I sometimes think Connick tries to channel Sinatra a little too much. Nice list of favorite Cole Porter songs!
I should add that Connick is a New Orleans native son who started playing piano and singing at a very early age—there’s video of him on local tv appearances when he was about six years old, knocking out the boogie-woogie classics on the keyboard. His father was District Attorney here for many years and his brother also works in the legal system, I believe.
Deb, Connick speaks about his New Orleans roots in many of his interviews. There’s a YouTube video of Connick playing with a symphony orchestra as a kid. Clearly, a child prodigy.
Not a prodigy, but always a Sinatra wannabe. Don’t much care for him. As for Cole Porter, Deb has it right. Her Songbook album of Cole Porter is definitive.
Rick, now I’ll have to accelerate my search for Ella’s Cole Porter CDs!
Dang it, George! You’re making me channel my inner Cole Porter. Please feel free to delete this if you fell it’s not appropriate for the blog:
**hums**
In current days a glimpse of Donny Trump
Reminds me of an orange donkey’s rump.
And, Heaven knows,
I sure hope he goes.
**bowing to overwhelming applause, i graciously leave the stage**
Jerry, well done! You’ve got my vote!
If I had to choose one composer to hear on a desert island, it would be Porter. And Connick is an okay interpreter although I would prefer diverse voices.
Patti, Cole Porter wrote dozens of classic songs that I never get tired of listening to.
Way too late to the party, so this is just for you, George:
We have two Cole Porter compilations. One is A Cole Porter Collection from Jass Records in 1991. This one is mostly recordings from the 1930s, and is a great selection of period pieces. It might be the same one called Centennial Celebration. The other, from Polygram in 1990, is primarily from the 1950s. It’s called The Cole Porter Songbook: Night and Day, and is still in print.
We enjoy both of these.
Jeff, thanks for the heads up! I’ll try to track those CDs down especially CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. I think I might have THE COLE PORTER SONGBOOK: NIGHT AND DAY somewhere around here.