Cara Mia: The Best of Jay Black features latter-day stereo re-recordings of some songs
Jay Black became famous during his career as the frontman for
Jay & The Americans, and
Cara Mia filled out with typically grandiose
Black takes on classics like
Roy Orbison's "Crying." It features the title track, "Come a Little Bit Closer," "This Magic Moment," and "Let's Lock the Door [And Throw Away the Key]," the latter being the standout since it retains most of the original version's vim and vigor. That's the problem with this collection: though
Black's enormous voice has lost little of its power, the modern-day arrangements are phoned-in at best. The songs don't ring with that intangible charm that made hits out of them originally. But even so, for
Jay Black fans or the oldies nostalgia circuit, this collection will do the job. Just don't listen to the backing tracks too closely. ~ Johnny Loftus