Seth MacFarlane - Music Is Better Than Words

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:42
Size: 121,0 MB
Art: Front

(2:58)  1. It's Anybody's Spring
(3:23)  2. Music Is Better Than Words
(4:03)  3. Anytime, Anywhere
(2:38)  4. The Night They Invented Champagne
(4:28)  5. Two Sleepy People (feat. Norah Jones)
(2:25)  6. You're The Cream In My Coffee
(4:17)  7. Something Good
(3:14)  8. Nine O'Clock
(3:53)  9. Love Won't Let You Get Away (feat. Sara Bareilles)
(5:07) 10. It's Easy To Remember
(2:57) 11. The Sadder But Wiser Girl
(5:30) 12. Laura
(3:44) 13. You And I
(2:59) 14. She's Wonderful Too

A vanity project that evades any rational explanation, as its flights of fancy are so far removed from its creator’s home turf, Music Is Better Than Words is a traditional big-band album from Seth MacFarlane, the self-satisfied wise-ass behind Family Guy. Demonstrating precisely the same amount of imagination that led him to creating no less than three permutations of Wait Till Your Father Gets Home, MacFarlane plays it straight throughout Music Is Better Than Words, hiring American Dad composer Joel McNeely to create approximations of Nelson Riddle, Gordon Jenkins, and Billy May's arrangements for Frank Sinatra's deathless, mid-century records for Capitol. These classic concept albums are clearly the blueprint for Music Is Better Than Words, which was, after all, recorded at Capitol Records' legendary studio with MacFarlane singing into the very same microphone Sinatra used all those years ago, and there is a bit of a concept to this 2011 LP, too, with the cartoonist selecting songs never recorded by any member of the Rat Pack along with a couple recent tunes like “She’s Wonderful Too,” which McNeely originally wrote for The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles for his tribute to that ring-a-ding-ding swing. MacFarlane and McNeely don’t attempt to ape the pizzazz of Frank’s Reprise years, nor do they spend much time with May’s snazzy snap, they stick with Riddle and Jenkins, keeping things sentimental and lush even when the words crackle with wit. Then again, MacFarlane is so concerned about inhabiting Sinatra’s silken suits he doesn’t really care about the meaning of the songs; all that matters is sounding like Ol' Blue Eyes, which MacFarlane does about as well as any number of hotel lounge singers this world over. Sure, it’s a surprise that he can carry a tune, but it’s no surprise that MacFarlane, who came to fame and fortune by telling obvious jokes so slowly a dog could understand, considers his competence as proof of his excellence, his smugness bearing no swagger, his self-satisfaction undercutting his otherwise perfectly pleasant surroundings. ~ Tomas Erlewine https://www.allmusic.com/album/music-is-better-than-words-mw0002154821

Personnel: Larry Koonse (guitar); Jo Ann Turovsky (harp); Joel Pargman, Lorenz Gamma, Alyssa Park, Henry Gronnier, Helen Nightengale, Phillip Levy , Tamara Hatwan , Mark Robertson , Cheryl Norman, Julie Rogers, Sid Page, Richard Altenbach, Roberto Cani, Bruce Dukov, Julie Gigante, Clayton Haslop, Roger Wilkie, Josefina Vergara, Endre Granat, Tereza Stanislav (violin); Victoria Miskolczy, Michael Nowak , Marlow Fisher, Robert Brophy , Brian Dembow, Dave Walther (viola); Steve Kujala, Geri Rotella (flute); David Weiss (oboe); Kenneth Munday (bassoon); Dan Higgins , Brian Scanlon (alto saxophone); Bill Listen, Pete Christlieb (tenor saxophone); Greg Huckins (baritone saxophone); Chuck Findley, Warren Luening, Wayne Bergeron, Bob Summers (trumpet); Alex Iles, Steven Holtman, Andrew Martin , William Frank "Bill" Reichenbach Jr. (trombone); Daniel Kelley , James Thatcher, Dave Everson (horns); Alan Broadbent (piano); Peter Erskine (drums); Alan Estes, Wade Culbreath (percussion).

Music Is Better Than Words

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