A collection of "great love songs,"
And I Love Him! leads with the title track, a
Beatles cover and an R&B hit, featuring a soft yet tremendously effective performance from the great
Esther Phillips. Elsewhere
Phillips wears her
Dinah Washington influences well, stretching out her voice and exercising it with a sly, nuanced delivery while tackling a few excellent choices for material: "Shangri-La," "Out of the Blue," and "I Wish You Love." Surprisingly, she also exhibits a sure hand with some odd crossovers like "Moonglow & Theme From Picnic," "People," and "Girl From Ipanema." The arrangements, by Ralph Ellis, are definitely geared toward adult pop, but fortunately they're never so ostentatious that they get in the way of
Phillips' idiosyncratic voice and gorgeous performances. ~ John Bush