One doesn't usually think of
Andy Williams as someone ahead of the curve in popular music trends, but in 1973 he anticipated the comeback of
Neil Sedaka by recording the songwriter's tune "Solitaire" and using it as the title track and lead single of an album. Unfortunately, getting out in front of fashions is as commercially dicey as falling behind them, and while
Sedaka himself went on to commercial resurgence in 1974 and "Solitaire" became a hit for
the Carpenters in 1975,
Williams did not benefit from his prescience (except in the U.K., where his version made the Top Five). With his record sales falling,
Williams did not make a spring album in 1973, waiting until the fall to issue
Solitaire, on which he not only cut his interpretations of recent pop hits ("You Are the Sunshine of My Life," "My Love") but also worked a little harder at song selection, resurrecting
the Everly Brothers oldie "Walk Right Back" and covering LP tracks by
George Harrison ("That Is All") and
Nicky Hopkins ("The Dreamer"). There was also an excellent movie song, "Last Tango in Paris," with lyrics by
Dory Previn. In keeping with the tone of the title track, the arrangements and
Williams' tone tended to emphasize melancholy, so that even "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" sounded somewhat sad.
Solitaire was a cut above most
Andy Williams albums, but commercially that didn't matter. The singer had not found a way to reverse his career decline, and the album barely grazed the charts. ~ William Ruhlmann