Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil

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CD

  • Release Date: 11/18/1997
  • Sales Rank: 1,658
  • Label: WARNER BROS / WEA
  • UPC: 093624682929

Listener Rating: (1 ratings)

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  • Overview
  • Tracks
  • Editorial Reviews
  • Customer Reviews
  • Details & Credits
Track List
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Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil

1LISTENSkylark / k.d. lang 3:46
2LISTENToo Marvelous for Words / Joe Williams 3:40
3LISTENAutumn Leaves / Paula Cole 5:06
4LISTENFools Rush In / Rosemary Clooney 4:10
5LISTENDream / Brad Mehldau 5:10
6LISTENDays of Wine and Roses / Cassandra Wilson 4:47
7LISTENThat Old Black Magic / Kevin Spacey 3:33
8LISTENCome Rain or Come Shine / Alison Eastwood 4:32
9LISTENAC-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive / Clint Eastwood 3:35
10LISTENThis Time the Dream's on Me / Alison Krauss 3:46
11LISTENLaura / Kevin Mahogany 4:49
12LISTENMidnight Sun / Diana Krall 4:01
13LISTENI'm an Old Cowhand (From the Rio Grande) / Joshua Redman 4:59
14LISTENI Wanna Be Around / Tony Bennett 2:10

Editorial Reviews

As a means of telling one of the most infamous stories of Savannah, GA, jazz-student/director/actor Clint Eastwood has chosen the works of one of the most famous natives of this fabled southern city, Johnny Mercer. Not only has he and producer Matt Pierson picked some of the most beautiful and beloved selections of the Great American Songbook, but the pair have also enlisted some of the greatest musical talents to perform them. In addition to older masters such as Tony Bennett, Joe Williams, and Rosemary Clooney (who easily earns the honors of the films featured chestnut, "Fools Rush In"), the album features a collection of younger talents from the world of jazz -- such as Cassandra Wilson, Kevin Mahogony, Joshua Redman, and Diana Krall -- and a number of crooners and tunesmiths from other genres, such as k.d. lang, Alison Krauss, and Paula Cole. In addition, Eastwood himself steps up to the mike to run the appropriately chosen "Ac-cent-tchu-ate the Positive" through his smoky vocal clips. In an effort to prevent the award-winning director from having all the spotlight, leading man Kevin Spacey and Eastwood's daughter Alison (who also stars and sings in the film) also take turns in the studio. With the keyboard work of Brad Mehldau and a backing band which includes the likes of Charlie Haden, Christian McBride, Kevin Eubanks, and a host of others, this album would have to work to fail. The high points (which are high indeed) include lang's lush orchestral flow through "Skylark," Cole's sonorous head-voice rendition of "Autumn Leaves," Krauss' beguiling offering of "This Time the Dream's on Me" and, of course, Bennett's version of "I Wanna Be Around," which has every bit of swing and sting as it did when it was recorded in 1962. While Oscar-winner Spacey is a trained vocalist, and while the song is especially germane to his voodoo-lovin' character in Midnight, his spoken-song lounge-act swing through "That Old Black Magic" argues for his continued success in acting. Contrarily, the younger Eastwood's twangy torch of "Come Rain or Come Shine" demonstrates that the Eastwood musical apple has not fallen at all. Clint has made our day again, and we should all feel lucky, Punk! Matthew Robinson, All Music Guide

Customer Reviews

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  • Ratings: 1Reviews: 1

Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evilby Anonymous

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February 24, 2007: If you could buy only one CD this year, I have NO IDEA what it should be. Maybe you should get a second job, you deadbeat. But if you buy two CDs (without having to work in a salt mine, or sell Uncle Bob, piece by piece, for experiments), it should be two soundtracks: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and L.A. Confidential. Dark, ethereal, and moody, these albums have an incredible presence, and hold together on their own as great albums, able to stand apart and peer out from beneath the long, great shadows cast by their respective, impressive film counterparts. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is a Johnny Mercer 'songbook' as done by mostly modern artists, including Clint Eastwood, Midnight's director. This, of course, proves that Mr. Eastwood is a great ... director. Actor Kevin Spacey fairs better, pulling off "That Old Black Magic" without a hitch. Tony Bennett's "I Wanna Be Around" and Rosemary Clooney's "Fools Rush In" = Fabulous. But the stand-outs are Alison Krauss and k.d. lang. Krauss' "This Time the Dream's On Me" is absolutely, ... well, ... dreamy. "Skylark" as sung by Bobby Darin, is one of the great Croon Tunes, but when done here by k.d. lang, Darin gets the spanking he so richly deserves. lang's full, resonant voice fills the song with a warm, rich majesty. Majesty, my friends. It's good to be the king. And this album is king. Worth the price of admission itself. My suggestion: get both CDs, dim the lights, pour yourself a beverage or four, and listen to these two albums back to back. Repeat as necessary.