When Harry Met Sally...

by

Harry Connick, Jr.

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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.

"Music from the motion picture", what a misleading title. If you do not pay particular attention to this, you might think that the songs in this CD are those heard in the movie. In fact, none of them is, including those songs sung by Harry Connick, Jr., his versions here are different from those in the movie.

The followings are the songs featured in the movie and their origin:

1. Our love is here to stay - Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong

2. Let's call the whole thing off - Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong (the above two comes from the Verve CD "Ella & Louis Again")

3. Don't pull your love - Hamilton, Joe Frank and Reynolds (From the MCA CD "Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds - Greatest Hits)

4. Rambling man - Allman Brothers (From the Polygram CD "A Decade of Hits 1969-1979)

5. Right time of the night - Jennifer Warnes (From the Arista CD "The best of Jennifer Warnes)

6. Where or when - Ella Fitzgerald (From the Verve CD (1) "Sings the Rodgers and Hart Song Book [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]" (2) "The very best of Rodgers and Hart Song Book" released in 2007. (Updated on 29 Feb 2008)

7. Winter Wonderland - Ray Charles (From the CBS CD "The spirit of Christmas")

8. Have yourself a Merry little Christmas - Bing Crosby (From the Capitol CD " Bing Crosby's Christmas Classics [ORIGINAL RECORDING REISSUED] [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED])

9. It had to be you - Frank Sinatra (From the WEA International CD "Romance"[IMPORT])

Two songs were sung by Billy Crystal in the movie:

1. The Surrey with the fringe on top (with Meg Ryan when singing thru the Karaoke machine)(originally a song featured in "Oklahoma! by Gordon MacRae/Shirley Jones/Charlotte Greenwood ", my choice is Frank Sinatra's version from "Sinatra Sings Rodgers & Hammerstein" which I think is the most appropriate version)

2. Call me (singing to the answering machine of Sally)(originally a hit by Petula Clark in the 60's)

The following are the music heard in the movie:

Songs sung by Harry Connick, Jr. featured in the movie included:

1. Don't get around much anymore

2. The Tables have turned (Composed by Marc Shaiman)

3. Medley : It had to be you/Let's call the whole thing off/But not for me (heard at the end credit sequence)

"Adante of Mozart's String Quintet in E Flat, KV 614" is performed during the wedding ceremony of Carrie Fisher and Bruno Kirby. "Autumn in New York","Isn't it romantic", "I could write a book", "Stomping at the Savoy", "But not for me", "Say it isn't so" and "Don't be that way" all featured in the movie as score and are beautifully played (as shown in the end credit, some of these songs are performed by Harry Connick, Jr Trio, Orchestrations by Marc Shaiman and Thom Sharp), but you can only hear them in the movie.