There are people who miss Harry Connick Jr at his commercial peak, and who love that big band swing sound of yesteryear. Plenty of them, in fact. Sure, retro’s where it’s at and there’ll always be an audience for smooth crooner types but Kevin Ahart’s take on the easy listening style is just so ‘by numbers’ one has to wonder as to what the point is. There he is, on the album cover, looking dapper in his suit, the tie dragged down a way and the collar unbuttoned on his crisp white shirt and you know without even putting the disc in the player that he’s going for the rat pack style, the R2 audience and, primarily, women over 45.
‘There’s no limit to the sky’ he sings cornily on ‘The World My Love’, before breaking out into some bap de la bap scat. The big brass arrangements and strolling piano swing may be executed nicely, but are precisely of type. Should we be impressed by how well they manage to ape the long-established and once-popular style? Doubtless some will be.
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So, he wants to be Frank Sinatra and audiences would probably go wild for his shtick if he were to do a turn on ‘Stars in Their Eyes’. It’s all fine in itself, but he’s not ol’ Blue Eyes, and he’d probably fare better as a Sinatra tribute than trying to cut it as a new original artist.
Kevin Ahart Online
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