Joe Williams loves the string arrangements of
Robert Farnon and the sappy ballad "Here's to Life" but in truth the charts border on muzak and the slow tempoes on this Telarc CD have little variety. Reminiscent a bit of
Nat King Cole's string sessions of the 1950s with
Gordon Jenkins, there is little jazz content to this set.
Williams is in particularly strong form, interpreting the ballads in dramatic and sensitive fashion, but, despite his charm, this is one of his lesser recordings. ~ Scott Yanow