Older than
John Lennon but younger than
Elvis Presley,
Jack Jones broke through in the early 1960s, when rock & roll temporarily seemed to be on the wane and light pop on the way back. But when
the Beatles invaded in early 1964, the 26-year-old singer, like most of his contemporaries, suddenly seemed permanently passé. He responded by recording movie themes, and he finally returned to favor in late 1964 with the Grammy- and Oscar-nominated song "Dear Heart," from the movie of the same name, which resembled "Moon River" by
Henry Mancini. The song became
Jones' second Top 40 hit, and Kapp Records naturally wanted an album quickly. The result was this,
Jones's fifth Kapp LP, on which he was accompanied by three different arranger/conductors (Don Costa, Jack Elliott, and Harry Betts). He performed some contemporary material, such as the
Johnny Mandel-
Johnny Mercer theme from the film The Americanization of Emily ("Emily") and Hugh Martin's "You'd Better Love Me" from the then-current Broadway musical High Spirits, but mostly turned to old standards, such as the Gershwins' "Love Is Here to Stay,"
Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II's "All the Things You Are," and Lerner and Loewe's "Thank Heaven for Little Girls." The arrangements were sympathetic, and
Jones gave the songs his usual warm, well-articulated interpretations. The result was his highest charting album so far, demonstrating that, at least as of early 1965, good old pop music could still hold its own against rock & roll. ~ William Ruhlmann