After 10 years,this Album is priceless.Carly has taken us to the great standards of the 40's.Frank Sinatra's,"In the wee small hours of the morning,"while our GI's were fighting for our country.Fred Astaire's,"I'll go my way by myself." And Carly's own original,"What has he got." This album is a classic. Carly's voice is perfection.My Mom loved this tape,especially "My funny Valentine." It brought back all the great memories of the 40's when she was a young girl,back to life. There still playing cuts from this CD on the radio,and "My Romance" is on a TV perfume AD sung as a duet with Ben Taylor.I loved Carly's HBO special with most of these songs featured,along with Harry Connick,Jr. Anyone that wants to hear some good music for a change,play this record tonight.

Carly's second full album of Pop standards and pre-Rock show tunes pays homage to songwriters and composers that she loved as a child. Her devotion to and affection for this music is obvious, and entirely commendable. Where "Torch" (her previous foray into this genre) added contemporary production techniques and jazzy flourishes to classic songs, "My Romance" has the feel of a period recording, complete with orchestra. There is little or no overdubbing in this recording, and that "live" sound has the feel of an intimate club performance.

Given the quality of the material and the directness of the sound, it's hard to point out flaws in "My Romance" without taking issue with Carly's vocal performance. As a singer, Carly has always had a very warm, inviting vocal tone, and that charm generally "carries" her when her material isn't up to snuff. But as an interpreter, the dynamics of her voice fall short, particularly when the material calls for delicate phrasing or emotional subtlety.

Carly's fans go back and forth on the merits of her singing, and which album presents her in "prime" voice. But to say that she offers "rich" vocal interpretations of these songs is little more than wishful thinking. Carly's strongest musical gift has always been her ability to write memorable and affecting (modern) Pop music...and her "best" performances as a vocalist have usually been on songs that she wrote herself.

Though there are personal touches embedded in "My Romance," Carly never really comes close to "stealing" these songs from any of the legendary singers who made them great. Bear in mind that this is not a condemnation or put-down, simply a matter of putting this album in perspective. As musical entertainment, "My Romance" is a sincere pleasure, particularly for listeners who are unfamiliar with previous versions of the songs contained in it. There is passion, pathos, and simple devotion in Carly's performance, and these qualities should not be dismissed in light of her vocal technique.

Listeners who enjoy this album would do well to search out the home video version of "My Romance" in Concert, which includes some wonderful spoken introductions from Carly, as well as a couple of duets with guest Harry Connick Jr. If her love of these songs isn't readily apparent to you by listening to the CD, her joyful and heartfelt performances on video will convince you.

-Mic

I always love Rock,but Carly has taken us to the Great Standards of the 40's. Frank Sanatra's"In the wee small hours of the Morning" while are GI's were fighting for our country. Fred Astaire's,"I'll go my way by myself." And Carly's own original,"What has he got," This Album is a Classic. Carly's voice is perfection. My Mom,who died four years ago loved this CD. It brought back all the great memories of the 40's,when She was a young girl,back to life. Thank you Carly,for taking us on another Musical Adventure.

This is a nice collection of essentially Broadway show tunes generally well performed by the distinctive vocalizations of Carly Simon. Ms Simon's type of voice requires careful material selection and for the most part that quality is evident on this CD. She does struggle a little on a few tracks, most notably on My Funny Valentine and her own composition, What Has She Got, ( which incidentally begins with a terrific verse but falls short of the mark afterwards ). She makes up for these few deficiencies however with fine work on the majority of tracks including outstanding efforts on Little Girl Blue and He Was Too Good To Me. All in all, a fine edition to your late night, pour the wine collection.

Any Carly Simon fan knows Carly's classic CD "Torch" is her best

CD of standards. "My Romance" is just as good. "Torch" was a

collection of torch songs Carly recorded after the break-up

of her marriage with James Taylor. "My Romance" is a beautiful

collection of love songs. You can tell Carly loves these songs

she sings them with such ease. The orchestrations are beautiful

and the production top of the line. If you liked "Torch" you will be suprised at the beauty of "My Romance"