The last solid
Hi-Lo's LP before the quartet folded in 1964,
This Time It's Love was a ballads-only album, and thus much less snappy and swinging than previous records like the
Marty Paich extravaganza And All That Jazz or the
Rosemary Clooney collaboration Ring Around Rosie. The gauzy harmonies of
the Hi-Lo's were perfectly suited to slow-dance material, though, and the selections are perfect, arranged by
Hi-Lo's associate
Clare Fischer (who often played piano with the quartet). The performances are uniformly solid, great examples of close harmony abounding on "The Second Time Around," "My Foolish Heart," and "Catch a Falling Star." The liner notes make reference to one of "the unique characteristics of
the Hi-Lo's [is], the fact that every word they sing can be understood." Hardly a ringing endorsement for music fans, but
the Hi-Lo's were vocal masters with much more talent than artifice. Ironically, just as
the Hi-Lo's were about to call it quits, a style of song they'd helped usher in was about to hit big on the pop charts (courtesy of
the Sandpipers as well as myriad others), and not just with older audiences. [A 2003 reissue of the album on Collectables more than doubled the track listing, including tracks from 1957-1960, some with a whitebread backing chorus but others closer to the original LP's material. Three are unreleased, including a tender reading of the Rodgers & Hart standard "Nobody's Heart."] ~ John Bush