Track Listing

1. Avalon
2. Blue Skies
3. Imagination
4. Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?
5. Basin Street Blues
6. Lazy River
7. Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone
8. Stars Fell on Alabama
9. 'S Wonderful
10. If I Only Had a Brain
11. Do Nothin' Till You Hear from Me

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #147423 in Music
• Released on: 1990-10-25
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.com essential recording
Recorded while he was still a 20-year-old piano bar junkie in New Orleans, Harry Connick Jr.'s second album sweeps along with a stripped-down, heartfelt flair. This set of mostly unaccompanied piano and vocal music tracks features a variety of jazz standards, often pointing to Connick's Southern heritage. It's no coincidence that the best of these, "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans," features a slow, sweaty organ solo from Dr. John, guest-appearing here with several other jazz veterans. The presence of such luminaries grounds the young man, producing some of the best work in his entire catalog. Consider the vocal he shares with Carmen McRae on "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone." The song springs to life on McRae's entrance, and Connick delivers a smooth duet around her familiar vocal colorings, tickling rich accompaniment from a dusty piano. The whimsical quality that Connick often brings to his work is here also, most notably in a touching rendition of "If I Only Had a Brain." Imbuing the Tin Man's lament with low, quiet chords and a warm, vocal treatment could seem silly in another artist's hands. Connick reaches just a little lower and finds the melancholic heart at the song's core. It's a fittingly personal take, from a young man looking to fulfill his own promise and discover his own voice as a musician. --Matthew Cooke

Amazon.com
This album seems like it came out a lifetime ago. Connick was destined to become the next James Booker/Thelonious Monk, not a brand-new Frank Sinatra. He arrived in the late 1980s like some kind jazz purist's savior on horseback, only to disappear beneath a stack of overamped blues/funk/rock records and one overrated soundtrack disc. His second disc is easily his best. Less affected, this is more the sound of a talented young man willing to listen to such elders as Dr. John and Carmen McRae, who make welcome cameos here. --Robert Wilonsky

Customer Reviews

Hear Where It All Started
In 1988, Columbia Records took a chance on a kid from New Orleans named Harry Connick Jr. And very soon into the album you'll understand why. His blend of good ol' New Orleans jazz and ragtime in "Avalon", will make your jaw drop. His rendition of "Blue Skies" sounds like it is impossible to play but easily rolls off the keyboard. His carefree style is refreshing and relaxing. It gives you the same feeling as sitting on a porch or by the pool with a tall glass of lemonade on a hot, lazy afternoon. The third track, "Imagination", introduces us to the voice that drove crowds to the record stores to pick up "When Harry Met Sally".

One of the standout tunes on this album is "Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans." On this tune Harry is joined by one of the greatest Creole musicians, Dr. John. Not only does the good doctor lend his singing talents to this piece, but he also gives a soulful organ solo.

For those of you who love Harry's big band sound, I'm warning you, you won't find it here. It's just Harry on piano joined by Robert Leslie Hurst III on bass. But even without the big band, this album is a winner. Pick up this album, sit back, relax and enjoy.

How to Make a Woman Delirious in 5 Notes or Less
I got this album when I was 14, more than a decade ago, and is still one of my top 3 favorite albums ever. It is my desert island album.

Harry makes playing the piano sound easy, as if the music just happens when he waves his fingers over the keys. The lyrics pour out effortlessly, melting from despair and sorrow (If I only Had a Brain) to longing (Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans) to playful indifference (Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me). The man is simply a musical genius. And he did this when he was twenty!

This is classic old New Orleans - as if you wandered into a sleepy Bourbon Street bar after hours in 1940. Just thinking about it makes me woozy for a strong shoulder to rest my head against as we slowly sway across a small dance floor in a smokey club.

You don't even have to like jazz to love this album. After one listen, I bought everything else he had, then went through my dad's old Sinatra albums.

Buy this album or spend the rest of your days knowing you have no appreciation for the finer things in life.

Essential Harry
I like Harry Connick's big band work, and even some of his more experimental pieces, but this is essential Harry. I was born and raised near New Orleans, and good jazz and blues were standard fare for us growing up -- other people had nursery rhymes;we had Jelly Roll Morton. This album is vintage jazz/blues -- all you need to add is a smoke filled room and someone to snuggle with. It includes the classic "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans" featuring the inimitable Dr. John, making this Crescent City favorite a standout piece. Mr Connick takes several standards, like "Avalon" and "Blue Skies" and makes them his own, using amazing piano work. His version of "If I Only Had a Brain" is almost tear jerking in its heartfelt halting phrasing, while "Imagination" is beautifully done -- you can hear the longing and insecurity in his voice. This is the album you want to slow dance to next to the fireplace with your one true love. If I were told I was going deaf next week, this would be the last album I would listen to, to imprint its rich and yet sparingly simple tunes on my memory.

I actually wrote this review in 2003, before Katrina. After the storm, pieces like "Basin Street Blues" and "Do You know What It Means To Miss New Orleans" mean even more than they did before. Many good albums have been recorded to benefit the city and its musical community; please purchase them and support a good cause. But please also listen to this album with a new understanding of what we as Americans (as well as the rest of the world) stand to loose if this city and its priceless musical heritage are lost. Vive la Nouvelle Orleans!