Album Review
High Fidelity Magazine
1973
I don't know how Perry Como does it,
how he hangs in. But he surely does, singing as calmly, easily, honestly
as ever. In no way does he
kowtow to the market; yet he makes it work for him.
"It's Impossible"
definitely was. Everyone knew
it couldn't possibly be a hit, except the public. Then there was another
I forget the title. I don't say that Como sells as many singles as Neil
Diamond, but both sell. Como's recent success is "And I Love You
So" ( the title of this album ), written by Don McLean who
also wrote "American Pie" and who is young enough to be Mr.
Como's son and then some.
The first reason that Perry Como can
sing contemporary songs in a timeless way and make them work is that he
chooses extremely well and appears to like what he sings. Another reason
is that Como has always been inordinately true to his material. This
is precisely the reason that singers such as Steve Lawrence cannot sing
contemporary songs convincingly. Lawrence became successful by putting
style ahead of song, the how before the what. It worked beautifully until
the public's sense of vocal style changed, at which point Lawrence stopped
selling records. One cannot be stylish with today's songs. Como has no
fixed style. That is his style.
He includes the exquisite
"Aubrey"
by David Gates of Bread; "Killing Me Softly with Her Song";
"For the Good Times". There are ten in all; you get less
music for your money these days; so nu ? The orchestrations are vanilla
models of original versions. Como is not trying for inventiveness. He
leaves that to the younger, more restless guys.
Como is comfortable. He also sings in
tune, with no wavers on the ends of notes. He looks fantastic.
One more thing. From Dennis Day to
Elton John, all pop-music artists face the same dilemma; how to stay in
business. As the pace of life speeds up, the task becomes even more
difficult, so that almost no pop artist stays on top for more than three
or four years now. Perry Como gets seven gold medals for sheer endurance.
Morgan Ames High Fidelity Magazine
September 1973
Perry Como ~ And I Love
You So
Produced
by Chet Atkins
Recorded at RCA's "Nashville Sound" Studios,
Nashville, Tennessee
Recording
Engineer: Tom Pick
Recorded
in Stereo and QuadraDisc 4-Channel
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