Don’t look for anything very heartbreaking or groundbreaking in the familiar musical ground surveyed by the generally joyful Judy Whitmore. When she toasts love, it’s with a glass she sees as much more than half full; in fact, it runneth over. Let’s Fall in Love is her most recent release, returning to mostly rosily romantic rhapsodies of the Great American Songbook, like a fond follow-up to her earlier album called Isn’t It Romantic. Again, only one piece that’s truly teary among the dozen items.
The most recently written piece, first heard in 1966, is “A Time for Love” — and in choosing subject matter, Judy Whitmore thought it was a time for love to be the theme — not all shades of love, but mainly basking in the bright, blissfully optimistic, contented and cloudless views: seen as serene, almost completely avoiding lyrics that speak of love that’s questionable, unquestionably unrequited, being unloved, lamenting lost love’s wounds and heartbreaks, disillusions, disasters, regrets, or resentments. This time, the only ones that have an element beyond the idea of idealized romance are the two not-so-sentimental Cole Porter classics. “It’s All Right with Me” sums up the desire to pursue someone new to distract from the memory of an ex (“There’s someone I’m trying so hard to forget”). Naming one admired body part after another, almost all of “All of You” is about purely physical attraction more than pure love, but using the word “love” to characterize the feelings and hope for what may transpire.
Her love for classic love songs is evident as she treats the words with respect. She’s earnest. Her diction is admirable. The voice is warm, but not wide-ranging. The spirit is willing, but lyrics and melodic lines that cry out for ebullient celebration or abandon sometimes seem approached cautiously. The dutiful attention comes off – at least sometimes – as studied, and a bit effortful. Bold, sustained notes and long legato lines are rather rare. The shining exception is “I’ve Got a Crush on You,” where she sounds most at ease and in a comfort zone. On the title song of Let’s Fall in Love, by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler, she’s joined by Ty Taylor and his smoother vocals make for a noticeable contrast; he’s the confident captain of his ship, guiding its glide over a sea of tranquility while her navigation is not as relaxed. Nevertheless, her pleasure is palpable, as are her sunniness and sincerity.
The orchestra is HUGE, arranged and conducted by Chris Walden. But a very big, sumptuous, sweeping instrumental accompaniment is not the best match for a singer whose vocal chops and approach aren’t equally grandiose, belting, and soaring. Note that the orchestra was recorded on its own and the vocals were added later, so Judy Whitmore was locked into following and keeping in step, with little wiggle room. Her phrasing can be so parsed as to be made up of many very small bits, equally emphasized and colored in similar hues – will the parts fit together as a mosaic or necklace on a silky thread? It’s a challenge. Still, the determined artisan is hard at work.
Those listeners who don’t know the material inside out may be more thoroughly satisfied with the results, while the respectfully traditional treatments may feel ho-hum to people who can easily hum the tunes from memory. Wanting and prizing surprises – daring interpretations, different tempi or rhythm, added drama, a punch of swing or gutsy zing – may be their goals when faced with paging through the most often perused contents of the Great American Songbook. To be fair, other journalists have reviewed the albums of Judy Whitmore more enthusiastically, becoming euphoric, heaping praise with nary a reservation. And in watching her video interviews you’ll find an upbeat, likeable lady, absent any diva airs, who is a true fan of quality material that’s close to her heart.
Still, without a really unique take or style, it’s an uphill battle to triumph in the face of comparisons to the memories of performances by iconic stars who got there first – and to be at the end of a long line of others offering the same old ballads.
To say that the vast majority of selections on her album of pretty love songs had a voluminous number of covers over the years pretty much covers describing the contents of Let’s Fall in Love. Let’s take “The Very Thought of You,” written by Ray Noble as an example. It was recorded by some legends — including those long-careered artists who seemed to have recorded almost every standard, including some others on this disc: Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, and Tony Bennett (who did it solo as well as in duet with Paul McCartney and Ana Carolina, the latter in Spanish). Michael Feinstein sang it solo and in duet with Barbara Cook. Is one of these your favorite or does another come to mind? Could it be Michael Bolton or Michael Bublé? Billie Holiday or Billy Eckstine? Johnny Mathis or Johnny Hartman? Nat King Cole or Natalie Cole? Joe Williams or Andy Williams? The Three Suns or The Four Freshmen? Doris Day or Anita O’Day? Nancy Wilson or Cassandra Wilson? Eddie Kendricks of The Temptations or Brent Spiner of Star Trek fame? Lynda Carter, who rose to fame for her TV role as Wonder Woman or Bob McGrath who rose to fame for his TV role as Bob on Sesame Street? The dulcet tones of a guy who began in rock (ya got Rod Stewart, Bryan Ferry, Kenny Rankin, Elvis Costello). Or is the version you gravitate to and groove with sung by John Pizzarelli? Pat Boone? Regis Philbin? Kevin Spacey? Molly Ringwald? Twiggy? Kristin Chenoweth? Betty Buckley? Engelbert Humperdinck? Or can you only think of next month’s release of the duet version by Barbra Streisand and Bob Dylan. The helpful website tracking such album tracks, Secondhand Songs, lists a whopping 479 recorded vocal versions in all. The very thought of you poring through all the “The Very Thought of You” renditions could make your head spin. But I bet you get the point that this standard, first crooned on disc by Al Bowlly in 1934 has a colossal number of covers. Each of the selections has been exposed by over 100 singers on disc— in almost all cases, a higher total far higher. And then there are live and TV performances, etc.
Opinions and numbers aside, what’s plainly positively true is that Judy Whitmore has fallen in love with songs about falling in love. Let’s Fall in Love shows that. She also has a love for life and reading up on her at her site or elsewhere proves she’s had a multi-faceted life — venturing into solo recording and singing on stage after decades of other pursuits: becoming a wife, mother, theatre producer, therapist, author, member of the boards of arts organizations, and licensed pilot!
Let’s Fall In Love Track Listing:
- I’ll Take Romance
- All of You
- A Time For Love
- Taking a Chance on Love
- How Long Has This Been Going On
- Let’s Fall In Love
- The Very Thought of You
- It’s Alright With Me
- Crazy He Calls Me
- More Than You Know
- I’ve Got A Crush on You
- How Deep Is The Ocean
