About this Artist

• Biography

Editorial Reviews

Prior to this, his debut album, Noel Harrison's claims to fame were his actor father Rex Harrison and his brief guest spots on The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (which had already made a recording artist out of David McCallum). From a cursory listen to this LP, his singing doesn't appear to have much appeal. His vocal style, not surprisingly given his pedigree, tends to sound slightly like an actor singing his lines. Granted, his material is well-chosen -- including songs by Bob Dylan and the Beatles and Charles Aznavour -- but hundreds of aspiring singers could have come up with the same batch of songs. Harrison did have a special talent, however, which was to balance the persuasive power of a good actor or poet delivering his lines with the emotional power of a good singer able to weave together words and melodies. (This is more difficult than it sounds; for comparison, think of Leonard Cohen as opposed to Richard Harris.) This special talent was heard to best effect by Harrison a few years later, both on his hit "Windmills of Your Mind" and his surprisingly good Reprise LPs, but it's still very appreciable here, even when the arrangements occasionally devolve into a Carnaby Street sense of musical hipness. Harrison picks the Dylan songs that work best for his abilities, a trio of detached gems ("To Ramona," "Love Minus Zero," "It's All Over Now Baby Blue"), and only fails with the Beatles nugget "She's a Woman." His Aznavour songs are better than the Dylan material, delivered in the same knowing yet detached manner. John Bush, All Music Guide

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