Swings Cole Porter - John Barrowman

...album title is 'John Barrowman Swings Cole Porter', but he doesn't really. Swing, that is. Most of the songs plod along quite happily, at a medium tempo, with little or no evidence of any tendency to break loose or swing in any fashion. Even the usually manic 'Anything Goes' just ambles slowly along. You can hear each wonderful word, but because there's a lack of excitement or involvement in the track (apart from a nice interjection from the brass ...
...should be a glorious firework turns into a damp squib.

Elsewhere, he sings a number of Cole Porter's sad songs of regret, a genre which includes (from this album) 'Just One of Those Things', 'After You, Who?' and 'Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye'. Usually heart-rending, these songs just come across as pretty. On the opening track, 'Just One of Those Tings', the sad subtext is lost somewhere, and the superficial message comes through instead. ... more

John Barrowman has recently leapt into the spotlight due to a major role in the first series of the BBC's 'Doctor Who' relaunch, but has been known as a star of musicals for quite some time, and has also made various appearances in films and sitcoms. This album was presumably inspired by his recent involvement in two Cole Porter projects - the National Theatre's revival of Anything Goes and the Porter biopic De-Lovely, where he dueted with Kevin Kline on the song 'Night and Day'.

Barrowman is one of those implausibly talented people - he's ludicrously handsome, he has a great singing voice, and he's an accomplished singer and dancer. The sort of man that inspires much jealousy, in short. His singing style is open and approachable, no nasal whining here. He has a wide range (he doesn't strain on any of the high notes) and you can make out every single word he sings, which makes a pleasant change! On this album he sticks entirely to songs with both words and music by Cole Porter, and the track list includes some of the greatest songs of the early-mid twentieth century. It is hard to dispute the greatness of 'It's All Right With Me', 'Just One of Those Things' and particularly the heartbreakingly simple 'Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye.' With arrangements by Larry Blank, he is accompanied by a large, accomplished orchestra - the Pro Arte Orchestra of London. The strings section is particularly beautiful on 'In the Still of the Night'. So this should be an incredible CD, right? Sadly, wrong. I really wish it was.

I can't pinpoint where the problem lies. The CD is perfectly acceptable to listen to in the background and there's nothing obviously wrong or bad about it. As I said earlier, you can't fault Barrowman's singing, the orchestra is perfect and there's not a single bad choice of song. But it lacks a spark. The album title is 'John Barrowman Swings Cole Porter', but he doesn't really. Swing, that is. Most of the songs plod along quite happily, at a medium tempo, with little or no evidence of any tendency to break loose or swing in any fashion. Even the usually manic 'Anything Goes' just ambles slowly along. You can hear each wonderful word, but because there's a lack of excitement or involvement in the track (apart from a nice interjection from the brass section towards the end), the song just falls flat. What should be a glorious firework turns into a damp squib.

Elsewhere, he sings a number of Cole Porter's sad songs of regret, a genre which includes (from this album) 'Just One of Those Things', 'After You, Who?' and 'Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye'. Usually heart-rending, these songs just come across as pretty. On the opening track, 'Just One of Those Tings', the sad subtext is lost somewhere, and the superficial message comes through instead. We should get the impression that it was NOT just one of those things at all, but the regret at the loss of the love affair does not come through. This problem crops up for the happier songs as well. 'What Is This Thing Called Love?' should be questioning or confused, 'Ca, C'est l'Amour' should be excited and 'I Happen To Like New York' defiant. But they're not. They're perfectly sung, and that may be the problem. The songs are being sung, rather than performed. John Barrowman is certainly capable of performing a song, but that happens rarely on this album, which is a sad waste of a great performer and great songs. Is this his own fault, or is it the fault of the arranger, the conductor or something in the recording process? I don't know, but it is a real shame.

There are some bright spots, though (you may have noticed the word 'rarely' towards the end of the last paragraph). One of these is 'Don't Fence Me In', which makes the ears perk up with joy. This one lopes amiably along like most of the other tracks, but is has a country feel to it and contains some amusing interaction between John and the members of the orchestra. It feels like everyone is enjoying themselves, and so I find I enjoy the track as well. Another highlight follows straight on from this track - an intimate, wistful performance of 'Miss Otis Regrets' accompanied by solo piano, which gets right through to the core of the song and is a change from the more usual upbeat takes on the song.

Towards the end of the album, the final 'proper' track, in fact, the swing promised in the title suddenly makes an appearance, and sounds just great. The track in question is 'Its Alright With Me', where the singer happily contemplates two-timing his true love, and I've never heard it with this sort of arrangement. It adds an unexpected new twist to the lyrics and the sound is exhilarating. If only the album had more of this!

The CD then ends with a bonus track, in the form of John Barrowman's rendition of 'Easy To Love' taken from the recording of the 2003 revival of Anything Goes. This is a nice track and has a sumptuous arrangement. The liner notes are very brief - a list of orchestra personnel and other people who need to be thanked, plus a brief word from John Barrowman on why he likes Cole Porter so much. I would have liked a bit more about the individual songs or some more information on either Cole Porter or John Barrowman (preferably both!). The cover photograph is certainly striking, though - such blue eyes!

I really wish I could recommend this album. Cole Porter is one of my favourite songwriters, and John Barrowman is one of my favourite performers. But there is no spark on this album, and although it's perfectly OK as background music, it's just not interesting or exciting enough to repay a proper listen. If for no other reason than that this rendition of 'Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye' (my favourite sad song of all time) leaves me cold, I have to suggest looking elswhere for a collection of Cole Porter songs or an introduction to John Barrowman.

- - - - -

Further details:

The full list of songs on the album is 'Just One Of Those Things', 'What Is This Thing Called Love?', 'In The Still Of The Night', 'I Happen To Like New York', 'Anything Goes', 'After You, Who?', 'Ca C'est L'Amour', 'Don't Fence Me In', 'Miss Otis Regrets', 'Do I Love You?', 'You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To', 'Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye', 'It's Alright With Me' and the bonus track 'Easy To Love'. Total running time just a shade under 45 minutes.

The CD is on the First Night label, with catalogue number CASTCD 91. Price (in pounds sterling) ranges from 10.99 (Play) to 15.99 (HMV online). 

...less