Standard Time

1	It Had to Be You 3:25
2	Until the Real Thing Comes Along 3:27
3	Ain't Misbehavin' 3:54
4	That Old Feeling 4:11
5	Baby, It's Cold Outside 3:20
6	Stardust 4:55
7	It All Depends on You 3:14
8	As Time Goes By 3:58
9	I Wonder 2:55
10	What a Little Moonlight Can Do 3:44
11	Why Was I Born? 3:09
12	Let's Fall in Love 2:35
13	Love Is Here to Stay 4:04
14	Someone to Watch Over Me 3:50
15	Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye 3:34
16	Remembering "Sweets" 1:41

Barnes & Noble

Sounding like an urbane Dr. John and accompanied by the best instrumental support that money can buy, vocalist Steve Tyrell returns with a new collection of standard interpretations. Much like his earlier hit album, A New Standard, Standard Time concentrates on the good old good ones: ageless songs by the likes of Kern (“Why Was I Born”), Porter (“Everytime We Say Goodbye”), Waller (“Ain’t Misbehaving”), and Carmichael (“Stardust”). Tyrell, gruff of voice but sure of swing, gives each chestnut new flair with his vivacious readings. There’s also a delightful duet with Jane Monheit on the coyly playful “Baby It’s Cold Outside.” The backing ensemble is stocked with A-list studio players including drummer John Guerin, saxophonist Plas Johnson, and pianist Joe Sample; guests include harmonica player extraordinaire Toots Thielemans and, in a prominent role, trumpeter Clark Terry. Tyrell, for his part, sounds like he’s having the time of his life: Like a kid locked in a candy shop, he indulges his passion for jazz and great songs amid a cadre of exceptional players. The enthusiasm of all involved makes this a jewel of a recording. William Pearl

All Music Guide

Steve Tyrell has had a long journeyman's career in the music business, serving as record company executive, songwriter, and producer. But no one could have predicted the twist his career took in the late '90s. After he sang standards on the soundtracks of the films Father of the Bride (1991) and Father of the Bride 2 (1995), he was signed up by Atlantic Records to make an album of similar material. A New Standard (1999), his debut album, was a sleeper, such that Atlantic cut him loose, but it was still in the traditional jazz charts two years after its release. Tyrell had joined a new wave of retro singers like Diana Krall and Jane Monheit, reinterpreting the same batch of interwar songs that traditional pop singers have been performing regularly since the 1950s. Columbia Records scooped him up, and Standard Time is more of the same. Hailing from Houston, Tyrell has the same Deep South/Southwest accent and the same raspy vocal tone as Dr. John and Leon Russell. His performances, accompanied by a small jazz band occasionally augmented by a small string or brass section, are excuses to set up solos by a group of traditional jazz veterans -- Clark Terry, Joe Sample, Plas Johnson, Toots Thielemans, and, in his final recording, Harry "Sweets" Edison. Other than giving the songs a slightly bluesy edge, the singer doesn't bring any particularly new element to his interpretations, and the soloists, with their slight variations on the melodies, don't find anything much new to say either. But then, the retro-jazz movement isn't about the shock of the new, it's about the reassurance of the old, and Tyrell, who has stumbled upon success after years in the wilderness, can't be faulted for enjoying himself in the studio with so many venerable talents. William Ruhlmann

52nd St. Jazz

Even though Tyrell surrounds himself with exceptional musicians...the raspy and New Orleansian aspects of his voice attract attention and never let it go.