Your Songs

Connick arranged these selections himself, so even classic gems like the Beatles’ “And I Love Her” as well as the Elvis Presley hit “Can’t Help Falling In Love With You” sound like the kinds of ‘40s cocktail jazz numbers covered by various members of the Rat Pack during the early ‘60s — though the trumpet solo at the end of the latter sounds more like Chuck Mangione than Pulitzer Prize winner Wynton Marsalis, who actually recorded it (his brother Branford also contributes some saxual healing on the album). Connick’s father Harry Connick, Sr. (former district attorney of the Parish of Orleans) suggested the Spanish sung “Bésame Mucho.” Even Billy Joel’s “Just the Way You Are” hardly resembles the theme song for TV sitcom Bosom Buddies, though it treads dangerously close to Barry Manilow territory. A sunny rendition of Burt Bacharach’s “(They Long to Be) Close to You” is a true standout.