Thanks for the Memory: The Great American Songbook Vol. IV

1	I've Got a Crush on You 3:08
2	I Wish You Love / Chris Botti 3:36
3	You Send Me / Chaka Khan 2:49
4	Long Ago and Far Away 3:27
5	Makin' Whoopee 3:11
6	My One and Only Love / Roy Hargrove 3:10
7	Taking a Chance on Love 2:43
8	My Funny Valentine 3:09
9	I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm 3:50
10	Nevertheless / Dave Koz 3:25
11	Blue Skies 3:38
12	Let's Fall in Love / George Benson 3:15
13	Thanks for the Memory 3:44

Barnes & Noble

You have to give it up for Rod Stewart -- he isn't afraid to share the spotlight. On the fourth volume of his hugely, if surprisingly, popular Great American Songbook series, the late-blooming crooner surrounds himself with other vocal icons, including Diana Ross, Elton John, and Chaka Khan, as well as a few instrumental stars (saxophonist Dave Koz and trumpeters Chris Botti and Roy Hargrove). Again, Stewart sets his sights on the cream of the cream: aged-in-oak songs like "Blue Skies," "My One and Only Love," and "Thanks for the Memory" are practically insured: Treat them right and they'll come through for you in Technicolor glory. Stewart also throws in the R&B classic "You Send Me" as a tribute to his idol Sam Cooke, and to give him a chance to mix it up with the mighty Khan. Rod also gets to ham around with Elton John on "Makin' Whoopee" (!) and coo with Ross on "I've Got a Crush on You." As on the previous volumes, old songs are buffed up and packed with a present-day charge that suits Rod and his pals to a tee. Produced by retro singer Steve Tyrell and star-maker Clive Davis, Thanks for the Memory holds its own with its worthy predecessors. William Pearl

All Music Guide

Ever since he successfully reinvented himself as a lounge singer in 2002 with It Had to Be You: The Great American Songbook, Rod Stewart has been reliable as clockwork, releasing a collection of classic pop standards every second or third week of October. Four albums in, producers may have come and gone -- Phil Ramone left last time, Richard Perry is no longer around, leaving producer Steve Tyrell and arranger Bob Mann as the men in charge (of course, Clive Davis, the mastermind behind this whole shebang, is still here) -- but Thanks for the Memory: The Great American Songbook, Vol. 4 is like the preceding discs in the series. There are more duets -- the first volume had none, the second had two, the third had four, and this has seven, including instrumental appearances by George Benson and Chris Botti -- and Stewart does sound a lot more casual overall on this fourth volume than he has before, but these are very minor differences. These volumes are successful because they appeal to listeners raised on rock yet who are nostalgic for their parents' music, without wanting to hear the original recorded versions. So, bully for Rod the Mod -- he's found a way to have a successful career as a veteran without embarrassing himself as he did on Human. Stephen Thomas Erlewine