Neal McCoy has always been known as something of a crooner, but that usually means he was a balladeer along the lines of his idol
Charley Pride. However,
You Don't Know Me, his 2016 album, finds the veteran country singer subscribing to the classic notion of crooning: he's revisiting the Great American Songbook in an intimate setting buttressed by strings.
You Don't Know Me may bring
Sinatra to mind, but that's only because Ol' Blue Eyes is shorthand for this kind of classic pop.
McCoy is too clean and straight a singer to truly evoke
Frank, plus the arrangements are bright and airy, suggesting an heir to either
Ray Charles or
Nat King Cole. All this is quite pleasing:
McCoy may not dig into the lyric, and the arrangements may not be a surprise, but it's all cheerful, classy, and sweet nonetheless. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine