Come by Me

1	Nowhere With Love 3:57
2	Come By Me 4:01
3	Charade 3:40
4	Change Partners 5:43
5	Easy For You To Say 4:54
6	Time After Time 5:30
7	Next Door Blues Instrumental 4:11
8	Easy To Love 3:06
9	There's No Business Like Show Business 4:48
10	A Moment With Me 4:26
11	Danny Boy 5:15
12	Cry Me A River 4:46
13	Love For Sale 8:29

Barnes & Noble

The spirit of Ol' Blue Eyes lives on in COME BY ME. Fortified by meaty big- band-and-strings arrangements, Connick, the ambitious vocalist and pianist, sets his sights on invoking Sinatra's majestic Capitol recordings of the 1950s. If this former wunderkind doesn't ever make you forget Francis Albert's incomparable achievements, he still makes a fine showing for himself. Connick is smart enough to know his own strengths -- he never pushes his voice past its modest, appealing range, and makes the most of his easy behind-the-beat delivery. He's also got solid taste: who could argue with songs like Berlin's "Change Partners," Porter's "Easy To Love," Mancini's "Charade" and Porter's "Love for Sale." But Connick has some surprising tricks up his sleeve. His own retro-styled tunes nestle comfortably amongst the standards -- "Nowhere with Love" and "A Moment with Me" are standouts -- and he features the gifted players in the band during the extended instrumental workout "Next Door Blues." Connick has also tapped into one of Sinatra's greatest strengths -- he isn't afraid to show a little heart-on-the-sleeve sentimentality. Hear Connick's subtle take on "Danny Boy" and just try to surpress a tear. William Pearl

All Music Guide

By 1999, Harry Connick, Jr. found himself in a curious place. Undoubtedly, he was one of the artists that kick-started the whole neo-swing movement that peaked in the late '90s. However, he was always too serious and traditional -- too much of a musician, really -- to fit in with the likes of the Cherry Poppin' Daddies. Furthermore, he was too much of a veteran. When he was reviving swing, it was in the late '80s, when nobody else believed it could be hip again. Surely, he must have been a little irked when he saw legions of groups that were nowhere near as musically fluent or as knowledgeable as he was cultivate huge followings. So, there was only one solution -- return to big-band swing, after years of attempting some sort of amorphous New Orleans funk and R&B. Of course, he'd probably be offended if anyone suggested that Come by Me was actually a response to neo-swing, but it's easy to interpret it that way, especially since he shows what the younger swing groups are missing. Connick knows what makes big bands work. He makes the classics sound fresh and newer songs sound like classics. More importantly, age suits him well; he no longer sounds like a young kid singing his father's music, he sounds natural and inspired. True, he occasionally sounds a bit too close to Sinatra for some tastes, but at least he can really sing, along with knowing how to make a big band swing, which, ironically, not all neo-swing acts can do. That alone makes Come by Me a welcome comeback. Stephen Thomas Erlewine