Blue Light, Red Light Artist : Harry Connick Jr. List Price : $9.98 USD ProductGroup: Music Release Date : 1991-09-24 Studio : Sony Label : Sony Avg. Customer Rating : (32 reviews)
Reviews Customer Reviews for Blue Light Red Light What a BAND! Rating: Got this one just for Roger Ingram on "Just Kiss Me". Folks, this is how lead trumpet is done!
Customer Reviews for Blue Light Red Light Cd Probably his finest work overall Rating: Other releases of Harry's better demonstrate his jazz chops (some of the cuts on WHEN HARRY MET SALLY [ASIN B0000026V6] and 19[ASIN B0000026LW]) and others are more experimental (the Nawlins' funk expressed on SHE [ASIN B000002A64]) but as a reflection of Connick's usual big band style, this is probably his most realized attempt at offering his affection for the style by trying to add to the "Great American Songbook".
HIGHLIGHTS:
"Red Light, Blue Light" starts the disc in fine fashion with a tune that slinks along like a long lost film noir tune. (Listen to the contrast between the quiet clarinet and sections and the brassy bombast and see if you don't think "detective theme".) Connick knows that life can still be good if the bank account's not. ("Who cares if the floor ain't level/Or if the ceiling falls in....I can't be concerned/Why should I care?/No place I'd go alone would ever compare/Cuz I know/You're there") "You Didn't Know Me When" casts Connick as a rascal full of tall tales. ("If you want a resume, I'll put it in writing/It's only good for a day and the contents are frightening..") He shrugs aside suggestions of his truth-stretching by simply noting "Baby, you didn't know me when..." "He Is, They Are" follows a father through his children's eyes from days as breadwinner ("He is strong/They are secure") through a divorce ("She was gone/They were confused/He was forgetful/They were supportive") and finally as an aged man needing their help ("He is needing/they are giving/He is glad they are his own".) "With Imagination (I'll Get There)" is the most influenced by Connick's hometown, imbued with a heavy Dixieland flavour. "The Last Payday" is a cautionary tale to n'er-do-wells that reminds you that "You're always lucky/'til you get caught". It also makes nifty use of a billiard sample.
LOWS:
"Jill" is a bland sop to Connick's paramour at the time (wife now I believe). It features half-baked sentiments like "Look, my darling/And you'll hear me sing 'I love you' with my eyes". "It's Time" has way too much music and too little lyric. What could have been a decent tune if kept succinct drones on past the point of my interest. "Sonny Cried" is a sleepy affair based entirely around Connick's croon and Russell Malone's acoustic guitar. That in and of itself isn't the kiss of death but the lyric just doesn't have any real heft.
BOTTOM LINE:
Comes as close as I've heard to standing alongside Porter, Gershwin, etc. It's still the Connick CD I pull out most often. Recommended.