Search - Harry Connick Jr. :: When Harry Met Sally: Music From The Motion Picture

Okay, so it's not THE soundtrack....but it's good

Alex Diaz-Granados | Miami, FL United States | 11/27/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Fans of Rob Reiner's 1989 romantic comedy "When Harry Met Sally..." will tell you that this Harry Connick, Jr. album that's sold in the Movie Soundtrack section of most music emporiums (including online stores such as this) is not, in fact, from the original motion picture soundtrack. Instead, Columbia Records released this non-soundtrack as When Harry Met Sally...Music From the Motion Picture. Yes, the songs played and sung here by Connick were heard in the movie...but most of them were performed by other artists.
This doesn't mean the album is bad; it's not. It just isn't an "original soundtrack album."That having been said, this 10-track set is an enjoyable collection of romantic standards, some of them now over six decades old yet sounding timeless. Some of them are cheerful and peppy ("It Had To Be You," which is heard in two versions here), some are riffs on loneliness and separation ("But Not For Me" and "Don't Get Around Much Anymore"),others still are odes to romance ("I Could Write a Book" and the gently reflective "Where or When"). There is even a little bit of the holiday spirit added in for good measure (a solo piano rendition of "Winter Wonderland").Connick pulls double duty as vocalist and piano player in most of the tracks (with the exception of "But Not For Me," with Marc Shaiman doing the honors at the piano), ably reflecting each song's emotional context with his old-fashioned stylings and New Orleans accent. Listen carefully to the World War II-era "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" and there's a sense of longing there for an absent spouse or lover. In his rendition of "Where or When," Connick conveys the feeling of awe everyone feels when he or she has fallen in love with someone, yet can't figure out "where or when" the transition occurred. I suppose I like this album because I am, as Louis Renault said of Rick Blaine in Casablanca, a "rank sentimentalist" -- a charge to which I cheerfully plead guilty. The fact that these songs were around 30 or more years before my birth over 40 years ago and can still touch people's hearts and minds is proof that some things are indeed timeless. Connick and Shaiman (who also produced the album) chose their material well, making When Harry Met Sally....Music From the Motion Picture a fine addition to anyone's library of jazz and easy listening CDs."

False advertising

Greg Brady | 04/29/2002

(2 out of 5 stars)

"For anybody who thinks they're buying the soundtrack of "When Harry Met Sally," this CD is a disappointment. This is NOT the soundtrack of the movie, but rather a collection of remakes of the movie songs. Don't get me wrong, I love Harry Connick Jr, and this is a nice CD. But I love the original music of "When Harry Met Sally," and I wish I could buy the actual movie soundtrack, which is what this is advertised to be."

How good this is depends on what you're looking for

Greg Brady | Capital City | 11/03/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"If you're looking at this because you want the actual songs played in the movie WHEN HARRY MET SALLY, this ain't it. These are songs that were heard in the movie in renditions by New Orleans jazzer Harry Connick, Jr. (who was quite literally a 'young lion' at the time of this recording..just 21) rather than the cuts from Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, Ray Charles, Bing Crosby, and Frank Sinatra that were in the flick. [Connick DID sing "Don't get around much anymore" in the movie along with a medley of "It had to be you/Let's call the whole thing off/But not for me" (over the ending credits) but those are different versions than the ones heard here.] Connick's band DID provide much of the score with instrumental renderings of "Autumn in New York","Isn't it romantic?", "I could write a book", "The tables have turned". "Stomping at the Savoy", "But not for me", "Say it isn't so" and "Don't be that way".



So if you are looking for an actual soundtrack to WHMS, sorry to tell you it doesn't exist. You'll need to buy several CDs and burn your own. If however you're open to hearing more of that voice from the movie, read on.



Connick could be one of the last of the crooners, utilizing creamy smooth vocals, however he keeps the delivery diverse thanks to his jazz chops. He's not afraid to do new things with arrangements of hoary old standards (like his take on "Winter Wonderland" that turns the familiar carol into Naw'lins boogie-woogie or making big band showcase "Stompin' at the Savoy" into a trio number).



Those who are looking for "big band" might find this recording disappointing: only "It Had to Be You", "But Not for Me", and "I Could Write a Book" actually fit THAT mold. Most of this reminds me more of a smoky nightclub: tasty small combo playing with an emphasis on subtlety more than brassy braggadocio. The focus is quite squarely on Connick's vocals and piano. For this reason, this is probably a love it or hate it proposition: If you don't like Connick's voice you'll loathe it, if you like it you'll adore the disc.



HIGHLIGHTS:

A bossa nova backbeat from the sticks of "Tain" Watts makes for a distinctive version of "Love is Here to Stay". Frank Wess contributes a breathy tenor sax to the proceedings, commenting on the phrases Connick sings before adding a relaxed solo. A trio of Connick, bassist Benjamin Jonah Wolfe, and drummer Watts conjures up plenty of sound on a swinging version of Benny Goodman stand-by "Stompin' at the Savoy". Harry's work on the ivories is shown to best advantage here. For "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" he plays it two ways: Is the character simply too LAZY to "get around"? The lackadaisical tone up until the bridge would suggest that, but then the band charges in up until the close to reveal the passion and fire lying underneath...he really CAN'T bear it without her after all. Connick adlibs "I need you baby" as he faces the prospect of yet another lonely night. The finger-snapping hipster opening of "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" is delightful. By the end of the tune, Connick is a jovial store-front preacher testifying to his band as they shout out "Call it off!" in reply.



LOWS:

There's way too much melodrama in "But not for Me"..it sounds a bit too much like a Walt Disney song. The arrangement of "Autumn in New York" is simply too busy...too much is happening with the rhythm that distracts from the melody.



BOTTOM LINE:

It's not the soundtrack. It IS nice modern jazz interpretations of time-tested classics and it hangs together well. If you have a love for vocal jazz, you should give this a listen.



3 1/2 stars"