As usual,
Big Daddy takes a collection of familiar hits and renders them in late 1950s/early '60s rock 'n' roll arrangements. Okay, it's a one-joke idea, but it also brings out the silly aspects of some of these hits, as when, On "The Greatest Love Of All" (done a la
Danny And The Juniors), the backup singers intone, "I love me so," which, after all, is that song's real message. There's a certain appropriateness, too, in rendering
Paul Simon's "Graceland" in
Elvis Presley rockabilly style. In other cases, as in the
Harry Belafonte stylings on
Talking Heads' "Once In A Lifetime," the results are not so much funny as unrecognizable. On the whole, this is a good record for parties, although you might not want to play it frequently. ~ William Ruhlmann