Released the week of his 82nd birthday, German composer and big-band leader
James Last shows no signs of slowing down just yet with
Music Is My World, the latest chapter in a career which has spanned six decades and spawned an incredibly prolific near-two-hundred albums. While his name might be unfamiliar to audiences outside Europe, his trademark, swing-style interpretations of modern and classic pop songs are still a regular fixture both in the charts and sell-out arenas, and this two-disc, 42-track collection should ensure that this remains the case. Fans of his signature sound will be pleased to hear that there are still the usual mixture of instrumental party favorites (
Barry Manilow's "Copacabana,"
the Mavericks' "Dance the Night Away"), medleys of '60s and '70s classics, and foreign-language hits (
Simon Diaz's "Bamboleo,"
Adriano Celentano's "Una Festa Sui Prati"). But while his name has become synonymous with the kind of easy listening dans band arrangements usually favored by those of a similar octogenarian age, the opening three tracks show that
Last still has his finger on the pulse of the contemporary music scene. However, the likes of
Black Eyed Peas' "I Gotta Feeling,"
Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" and "Bad Romance," and a medley including
Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream,"
Enrique Iglesias' "I Like It." and
Rihanna's "Only Girl in the World" may send cold shivers down the spines of fans of the originals, thanks to their hopelessly dated treatments which turn the electro-pop stompers into the kind of relentlessly cheery theme tunes you'd find on a '70s TV variety show. But with 50 years' worth of material behind him, anyone listening to
Music Is My World should know what to expect by now.
Last has never been the most relevant of artists, but for some people of a certain age, this toe-tapping extravaganza will serve as another essential addition to his extensive back catalog. ~ Jon O'Brien