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Editorial Reviews

Collectables Records' two-fer CD reissue of 1973's And I Love You So and 1970's It's Impossible combines on one disc Perry Como's last two successful albums, each of which made the Top 40, as did their title songs. In each case, it was the title song that inspired the album. By the early '70s, Como was recording less frequently, and with "It's Impossible" and "And I Love You So" he scored surprise crossover singles that topped the easy listening charts and also scaled the pop charts. The albums were rushed out to take advantage of those hits, with Como quickly cutting his own versions of some contemporary hits. Thus, this disc can be thought of as "Perry Como Sings the Hits of the Early '70s." Songs associated with the Carpenters ("Sing," "[They Long to Be] Close to You," "We've Only Just Begun") are especially prominent, along with music associated with the Beatles ("Something") and Simon & Garfunkel ("El Condor Pasa"), and there are three songs written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David ("Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head," "A House Is Not a Home," "[They Long to Be] Close to You"). Producers Chet Atkins and Don Costa use contemporary soft rock arrangements similar to the hit versions, which means Como, a former big-band singer used to lightly swinging, has to be more on the beat than he may have been accustomed to. The rendition of the Partridge Family's "I Think I Love You" gives him particular trouble in this regard, in addition to being a singularly unsuitable piece of material for him. But he negotiates most of the songs well, and, of course, the two title songs remain signature songs for him. William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide

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