Can't go wrong with CDs of 'Love Songs'

Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Feb 11, 2005 by Chris Hicks Deseret Morning News

What does it mean when Deseret Morning News music critic Scott Iwasaki dumps a stack of CDs on my desk, and they're all sappy collections of love songs by older recording stars?

First, it means he's too busy and doesn't want to review them himself. Second, it means the singers are old. And third, it means he thinks I'll like them, and therefore will be willing to write about them myself.

And of course he's right on every count.

There are nine albums in this year's "Love Songs" collection, released by the Legacy label in conjunction with Arista, RCA and Buddah. (And others are out there, released in previous years.)

Each album is titled simply "Love Songs" and features one artist or group: Air Supply, the Delfonics, Neil Sedaka, Waylon Jennings, Nina Simone, Lena Horne, Dionne Warwick, Harry Belafonte and Gladys Knight and the Pips.

C'mon. Nina Simone? Lena Horne? Harry Belafonte? Gladys Knight? How could I say no to them?

Scotty also gave me a 10th album of "Love Songs," which is by Chicago, but it's not part of the collection; it's merely a coincidence that this Rhino release has the same title. (And it's more of a sacrifice for Scotty; I know how much he likes Chicago.)

Of course, it's not a coincidence that all of these discs are being released just in time for Valentine's Day. (If your loved one has sworn off chocolate or is allergic to roses, here's an alternative.)

As you have no doubt guessed, all of these albums are sort of romantic "greatest-hits" collections; not new songs. So it's no surprise, for example, that Warwick's album has some of her earliest successes -- "Alfie," "Walk On By," "I Say a Little Prayer," etc. And it's also no surprise that to call some of these "love songs" may be stretching the definition of that title. "Alfie"?

But Warwick fans won't complain. It's a nice mix, spanning 1964- 94, and it includes her rendition of Sting's "Fragile" and a medley of songs by Antonio Carlos Jobim, as well as duets with Luthor Vandross, Whitney Houston and Johnny Mathis, and "That's What Friends Are For," with Gladys Knight, Elton John and Stevie Wonder.

And that pretty much tells you how the rest of these play out (listed alphabetically).

Air Supply: "Lost in Love," "Every Woman in the World," "The One That You Love," and others from the early to mid-1980s, before the Australian band's 1988 breakup and 1991 reunion.

Belafonte: "I Do Adore Her" and "Suzanne" are great early tunes, and there's a nice spin on "And I Love You So," as well as a pair from "Porgy and Bess" (both duets with Lena Horne), among others.

Delfonics: "La-La Means I Love You," "I'm Sorry," "Ready or Not Here I Come," and other soul hits.

Horne: "Love Me or Leave Me" starts this one off, with many others recorded in the 1950s and '60s -- "Someone to Watch Over Me," "At Long Last Love," "The Man I Love" (the latter recorded live), etc.

Jennings: Willie Nelson's "It's Not Supposed to Be That Way," Dolly Parton's "Waltz Me to Heaven," Hank Williams' "Let's Turn Back the Years" -- mostly from the '70s.

Knight/Pips: "Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me," "Midnight Train to Georgia," "Love Finds Its Own Way" -- nothing terribly unexpected.

Sedaka: "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do," "You Mean Everything to Me," and others, with a surprising number of covers of other people's songs. (The bulk of his biggest hits are not here.)

Simone: "I Loves You, Porgy" (a gold record for her in 1959), beautiful takes on "Suzanne" (Leonard Cohen's, not Belafonte's), "Cherish," "The Look of Love" and others.

And, of course, the Chicago album: "Colour My World" and "Beginnings" represent the earliest songs, with "Happy Man," "You're the Inspiration," etc., and one oddity -- "After the Love Has Gone," a live song with Earth, Wind & Fire that features Chicago's Bill Champlin!

If your beloved is a fan of any of these artists, you can't go wrong.

E-mail: hicks@desnews.com