It Had to Be You: The Great American Songbook
It Had To be You... The Great American Songbook
It's the kind of concept that seems brilliant on paper: revive the career of one of the great vocalists of the rock era by having him sing the great American pop songs of the pre-rock era. It was done before with Linda Ronstadt and it worked well, so why not Rod Stewart whose career was in shambles in 2002 following the disastrous modern R&B record Human Clive Davis the man behind Santana s comeback, masterminded the whole thing, and It Had to Be You was born. Again, the whole thing sounds good on paper, but in practice, it's a bit of a mixed bag. Certainly, following a throat operation, Stewart is singing better than he has in years, and he feels much more comfortable here than he did on Human but the whole project has an artificial undercurrent that's hard to shake, especially since the song selection, the arrangements, and the performances play it so safe they're largely undistinguished. It's not necessarily bad, but it doesn't have much character outside of Rod s voice, and his soulful rasp isn't really suited for these songs. Nevertheless, this is exactly what it's billed as -- Rod sings the Great American Songbook -- and it's done with professionalism and ease, so it's a pleasant listen. But it won't replace Sinatra of course, or even Ronstadt s similar work with Nelson Riddle ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
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Credits »
Rod Stewart - Main Performer
Michael Brecker - Soloist
Dave Koz - Soloist
Jeremy Lubbock - Conductor
Jeremy Lubbock - String Arrangements
Jeremy Lubbock - Woodwind Arrangement
Jeremy Lubbock - String Conductor
Rob Mounsey - Conductor
Rob Mounsey - Rhythm Arrangements
Arturo Sandoval - Soloist
Andrew McPherson - Photography
Jill Dell'Abate - Production Coordination
Jill Dell'Abate - Contractor
Tal Bergman - Arranger
Tal Bergman - Associate Producer
Tal Bergman - Drum Programming
Thom Cadley - Mixing
Clive Davis - Producer
Don Sebesky - Arranger
Don Sebesky - Conductor
Don Sebesky - Rhythm Arrangements
Don Sebesky - Orchestral Arrangements
Larry Emerine - Production Support
Frank Filipetti - Engineer
Frank Filipetti - Mixing
Dan Higgins - Soloist
Willie Hollis - Arranger
Willie Hollis - Synthesizer Arrangements
Willie Hollis - Soloist
Ted Jensen - Mastering
Doug Katsaros - Arranger
Doug Katsaros - Conductor
Doug Katsaros - Rhythm Arrangements
Bob Mann - Arranger
Bob Mann - Soloist
Stephen Marcussen - Mastering
Jeff Mironov - Soloist
Joel Moss - Engineer
Lee Musiker - Introduction
Joseph M. Palmaccio - Mastering
Richard Perry - Arranger
Richard Perry - Producer
Phil Ramone - Producer
Phil Ramone - Vocal Producer
Philippe Saisse - Conductor
Philippe Saisse - Orchestral Arrangements
Chris Steinmetz - Engineer
Jeffrey "Woody" Woodruff - Engineer
Alex Gibson - Engineer
Alex Gibson - Digital Editing
Bill Zehme - Liner Notes
J.D. Blair - Engineer
J.D. Blair - Digital Editing
Freddy Piñero, Jr. - Engineer
Jeri Heiden - Art Direction
Trent Slatton - Engineer
Trent Slatton - Digital Editing
Don C. Tyler - Production Support
Alli Truch - Creative Director
Renato Neto - Arranger
Renato Neto - Associate Producer
Carter Humphrey - Engineer
Carter Humphrey - Mixing
Pete Karam - Digital Editing
J.J. Blair - Engineer
J.J. Blair - Digital Editing
Brian Dixon - Assistant Engineer
Johnny Kubelka - Engineer
Johnny Kubelka - Digital Editing
Andrew Felluss - Digital Editing
Andrew Felluss - Assistant Engineer
Andrew Felluss - Mixing Assistant
Ryan Smith - Assistant Engineer
Mark Valentine - Engineer
Bryan Cook - Engineer
Bryan Cook - Digital Editing
Ben McCarthy - Production Coordination
Keith Naftaly - A&R
Nick Howard - Assistant Engineer
Lauren Wild - Production Support
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