Emerging from the same '50s revivalist scene that spawned Top 20 albums from
the Baseballs and
the Puppini Sisters, five-piece vocal group
the Overtones have been described as the
Take That of doo wop. Whether you believe their fairytale rags-to-riches background or not (the quintet of painters and decorators were apparently signed by Sony after a talent scout overheard them singing during a tea break in London's Oxford Street), their modern take on the old-fashioned genre is certainly an intriguing proposition. While their clean-cut boy band image may indicate teen-friendly bubblegum pop, their debut album,
Good Ol' Fashioned Love, packed with soaring harmonies which far belie their late twenties/early thirties age range, instead successfully re-creates the vintage R&B of the likes of
the Ink Spots,
the Platters, and
the Drifters. Alongside faithful cover versions of some of the doo wop sound's breakthrough hits (
the Chords' "Sh-Boom,"
Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers' "Why Do Fools Fall in Love"), there are also clever interpretations of
Dionne Warwick's debut recording "Don't Make Me Over," the
Cole Porter-penned Rosalie theme "In the Still of the Night," and Scotty Wiseman's country standard, "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You." Unlike 2010's other new purveyors of vintage vocal pop,
the Great British Barbershop Boys,
the Overtones aren't content to merely replicate other artists' work, and surprisingly, for an album of this ilk, there are several brand new compositions penned by the bandmembers themselves. However, any fears that they would pale in comparison are unfounded as the likes of the infectious
Frankie Valli-inspired lead single, "Gambling Man," and the "Stand by Me"-esque melodies of the title track are almost as authentic as the originals from their '50s and '60s repertoire. With its combination of Great American Songbook classics and radio-friendly jazz-pop new material,
Good Ol' Fashioned Love is a consistently well-produced collection of songs which, like
Michael Bublé's work, could well find an audience outside its obvious influences. ~ Jon O'Brien