| Product Summary | | Label: J-RECORDS | | UPC: 00828766928624 | | Release Date: 10/18/2005 | | Buy.com Sku: 64011193 | | Item#: M2LP2E | | Buy.com Sales Rank: 25050 | Format:  CD |
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| | Rod Stewart's Grammy winning, chart topping Great American Songbook series continues with Thanks For The Memory...The Great American Songbook IV. Produced by Steve Tyrell and Clive Davis, Thanks For The Memory is highlighted by vocal duets featuring Rod with Sir Elton John (on Ray Charles' signature remake of "Makin' Whoopee") with Chaka Khan (on Sam Cooke's "You Send Me"), and with Diana Ross (on the Gershwin's "I've Got A Crush On You," from 1940's Strike Up The Band, echoing the original duet by Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland). The new album is the follow-up to 2004's No. 1 Stardust - The Great American Songbook Volume III, also produced by Tyrell and Davis, which won Rod's first Grammy this year for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.
Performing on the album Thanks For The Memory are a number of guest star appearances of major virtuoso instrumentalists who span several generations: guitarist George Benson on Harold Arlen's "Let's Fall In Love," trumpeter Chris Botti on "I Wish You Love," trumpeter Roy Hargrove on '"My One And Only Love," and Dave Koz on "Nevertheless (I'm In Love With You)."
Other solo performances by Rod slated for Thanks For The Memory include a pair of Irving Berlin standards, "Blue Skies" and "I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm," Jerome Kern's "Long Ago & Far Away," Vernon Duke's "Taking A Chance On Love," Rodgers & Hart's "My Funny Valentine," and the title song, Bob Hope's eternal theme, "Thanks For The Memory."
| | Album Notes and Credits |
Notes & Personnel Info |  | Personnel: Rod Stewart; Gayle Levant (harp); Lorenz Gamma, Lisa Dondlinger, Irina Voloshina, Anatoly Rosinsky, Gil Romero, Ana Landauer, Lily Chen, Melissa Phelps Beckstead, Kevin Connolly, Sid Page, Roberto Cani, Julie Gigante, Phillipe Levy, Armen Garabedian, Darius Campo, Berj Garabedian, Endre Granat, Haim Shtrum (violin); Kenneth Burward-Hoy, Dan Neufeld, Vicki Miskolczy, Robert Becker, Keith Greene, Simon Oswell, David F. Walther, Andrew Duckles (viola); Paula Hochhalter, Trevor Handy, Vahe Hayrikyan, Timothy Landauer, Tina Soule, Dan Tobin Smith, Larry Corbett, Stephen Erdody, David Low , Steve Richards (cello); Gene Cipriano, Greg Huckins, Bill Liston, Bob Sheppard (clarinet, saxophone); Philippe Saisse, Lee Musiker, Quinn Johnson (keyboards); David Finck, Ed Howard (bass instrument); Bob Mann (guitar, keyboards); Dan Higgins (clarinet, saxophone); Dave Koz (saxophone); Warren Luening (trumpet); Kenny Ascher (piano, keyboards); Allan Schwartzberg (drums); Chris Botti, Elton John, George Benson , Roy Hargrove, Diana Ross, Chaka Khan. | | Audio Mixer: Andy Zulla. | | Recording information: Capitol; Deep Diner Studios, New York, NY; Larrabee Studios, Los Angeles, CA; Schee Studios. | | Author: Rod Stewart. | | Photographer: John Swannell. | | Arranger: Bob Mann. | | Fourth album, same as the first. Ever since he successfully reinvented himself as a lazy lounge singer in 2002 with It Had to Be You: The Great American Songbook, Rod Stewart has been reliable as clockwork, releasing a collection of classic pop standards -- predictable choices performed predictably -- every second or third week of October. Four albums in, producers may have come and gone -- Phil Ramone left last time, Richard Perry is no longer around, leaving producer Steve Tyrell and arranger Bob Mann as the men in charge (of course, Clive Davis, the mastermind behind this whole shebang, is still around) -- but it's nearly impossible to tell the differences between Thanks for the Memory: The Great American Songbook, Vol. 4 and the first or either that came between. Sure, there is an ever-increasing number of duets on the records -- the first had none, the second had two, the third had four, and this has seven, including instrumental appearances by George Benson and Chris Botti -- but the arrangements never are risky and always sound better suited for background music in a cocktail bar than on record. Needless to say, it makes for rather boring listening and Stewart is starting to seem a little restless too, interjecting more "baby"s and "oh, Diana"s to his duet with Diana Ross on "I've Got a Crush on You" than necessary. He didn't do that kind of ad lib on the first three albums, and he sounds a lot more casual overall on this fourth volume than he has before, but these are very minor differences: this remains the same sleepy, faux-classy music as before. Rod's voice is still not suited for these songs and the songs aren't arranged imaginatively; they're arranged to remind the listener of other, better versions of the same tunes. So, they're not great records, either by the yardstick of Rod Stewart's own work -- and, don't forget, he's made more than his fair share of great records -- or by the standard of traditional pop. But they are successful, since they appeal to listeners raised on rock yet who are nostalgic for their parents' music, without wanting to hear the original recorded versions. So, bully for Rod the Mod -- he's found a way to have a successful career as a veteran without embarrassing himself as he did on Human. But for fans who not only cherish his '70s work, but stuck by him through the patchy '80s and could find worthwhile moments on such latter-day albums as When We Were the New Boys, these Great American Songbooks are not just tiresome, but rather depressing. And, in that light, Rod's promise in the liner notes of "just think, this is only Volume IV" reads a bit like a threat. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine | | Ever since he successfully reinvented himself as a lounge singer in 2002 with It Had to Be You: The Great American Songbook, Rod Stewart has been reliable as clockwork, releasing a collection of classic pop standards every second or third week of October. Four albums in, producers may have come and gone -- Phil Ramone left last time, Richard Perry is no longer around, leaving producer Steve Tyrell and arranger Bob Mann as the men in charge (of course, Clive Davis, the mastermind behind this whole shebang, is still here) -- but Thanks for the Memory: The Great American Songbook, Vol. 4 is like the preceding discs in the series. There are more duets -- the first volume had none, the second had two, the third had four, and this has seven, including instrumental appearances by George Benson and Chris Botti -- and Stewart does sound a lot more casual overall on this fourth volume than he has before, but these are very minor differences. These volumes are successful because they appeal to listeners raised on rock yet who are nostalgic for their parents' music, without wanting to hear the original recorded versions. So, bully for Rod the Mod -- he's found a way to have a successful career as a veteran without embarrassing himself as he did on Human. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine | | Apparently, Rod Stewart's desire to cover American jazz/pop classics is as great as the titular SONGBOOK itself, since this is the gravelly voiced British singer's fourth foray into standards territory. THANKS FOR THE MEMORY features more guest artists than the two previous discs in the series, with Stewart's collaborators ranging from R&B legend Diana Ross (on the playfully romantic "I've Got a Crush on You") to smooth-jazz trumpeter Chris Botti (who lends his pleasant horn lines to "I Wish You Love"). Stewart is also joined by fellow 1970s-rock icon Elton John for a breezy take on "Makin' Whoopee." Of course, Rod the Mod is fully capable of carrying a tune by himself, as best revealed on string-laden renditions of "Blue Skies" and "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm." Given Stewart's consistently laid-back, straightforward interpretations, fans of earlier installments in the SONGBOOK series will find this set just as entertaining as it predecessors. |
Producer: Steve Tyrell; Clive Davis; Bob Mann; Steve Tyrell; Clive Davis; Bob Mann |
Engineer: Al Schmidt; Bill Schnee; Jon Allen; Carter William Humphrey; Darius Fong; Darwin Best; Dan Garcia; Ryan Petrie; Doug Epstein; Matt Still; Bobby Ginsburg; Andy Zulla; Al Schmidt; Bill Schnee |
Musical Guests | | Cher | | Queen Latifah | | Dave Koz | | Eric Clapton | | Stevie Wonder | | Bette Midler | | Dave Grusin | | Arturo Sandoval | | Dolly Parton | | Diana Ross | | Chris Botti | | Chaka Khan | | Elton John | | George Benson |
| | Compilation Appearances |
| | Associated Artists and Works |
| | Technical Info | | Release Date : 10/18/2005 | | Original Release Date : 2005 | | Catalog ID : 69286 | | Label : J-Records (USA) | | Number of Discs : 1 | | Studio/Live : Studio | | Mono/Stereo : Stereo | | SPAR Code : n/a | | UPC : 00828766928624 |
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