Moonlight Serenade (CD - 2005)

Personnel: Carly Simon (vocals); Vin "Vinny" D'Onofrio, Vincent D'Onofrio (guitar); Mark Robertson , Shalini Vijayan, Samuel Formicola, Samuel Fischer (violin); Danny Seidenberg (viola); Victor Lawrence (cello); William Galison (harmonica); Alex Navarro (string synthesizer); Chris Golden (bass instrument); John "Hot Fat Reynolds" Ferraro, John Ferraro (drums); Sammy Merendino (percussion, programming, drum programming); Doug Webb (flute, clarinet, saxophone, stritch); Tom Evans (saxophone); Lee Thornburg (trumpet, flugelhorn, trombone); Larry Lunetta (trumpet); Mike Thompson (piano, Fender Rhodes piano, synthesizer, string synthesizer, vibraphone); Jim Cox (piano); Andy Chukerman (synthesizer, string synthesizer).

Audio Mixer: Bobby Ginsburg.

Photographer: Bob Gothard.

Arrangers: Richard Perry; Mike Thompson ; Andy Chukerman; Lauren Wild.

Moonlight Serenade, Carly Simon's fourth collection of standards in 25 years, digs a little deeper than her previous outings. Perhaps it's the plethora of standards outings by popular artists -- Rod Stewart's done three in a row -- perhaps it's because of her pedigree and background; perhaps it's simply because she thinks she can pull it off; and indeed she can. She delivers these 12 songs with panache, savvy, and just a touch of sass. Produced by Richard Perry, these tracks are not so much elegant as enigmatic. Simon appreciates the swing inherent in delivering a standard, even if it's a ballad. Her smoky voice lends itself well to "I've Got You Under My Skin" and "My One and Only Love," and her sense of theatrics is drop-dead gorgeous on "I Only Have Eyes for You," which is a bit of a radical reworking that actually works. The slippery delivery on these songs -- her read of "All the Things You Are," for example, may be considered vulgar by some, but it's utterly lovely and brave -- is what lends them their unique, sexy character. This isn't for everyone, but it's a winner nonetheless. ~ Thom Jurek

Since 1981's TORCH, Carly Simon has recorded three more collections of pre-rock standards. 2005's MOONLIGHT SERENADE is the best of the lot, and one of the best albums of standards yet recorded by a singer of Simon's generation. It beats the pants off of similar sets by Linda Ronstadt and Rod Stewart, for example. For one thing, Simon is simply a great singer, even at this late stage in her career; she's taken care of her instrument, and her tone throughout MOONLIGHT SERENADE is superb, as is her increasingly jazzy and unconventional phrasing. (Listen to her subtle but effective vibrato on "All The Things You Are," for starters.) More importantly, Simon chooses songs to suit her voice, not her audience's expectations, which means that along withsuch familiar tunes as "I Only Have Eyes For You," listeners are treated to readings of relative obscurities like "My One and Only Love" instead of the umpteenth rendition of "Stardust." minimize