Kenny Rankin Album - This by far is his most soulful album. It is so relaxing and mellow. A great blast from the past. He still sounds great even today.
One of my all-time favorites - This was one of the few albums in my small (but highly-selective) LP collection when I was a very broke college student during the 70s. I played it until I wore out the grooves, and I am so excited to have found it in CD format. Every cut is a winner, and after all of these years, this album still gives me chills and thrills.
Back in Print !!! - So glad to see that this great CD is back in print after being unavailable for quite a while. That was truly an injustice. I ve been a fan of Kenny since the mid 70s and his jazzy, tranquil vocals and acoustic guitar and nice arrangements are as enjoyable now as back then. This as well as his other music as simply timeless! For $9.98 this CD is a steal!
What a voice and way with a song!!! - Kenny Rankin has an unmistakable voice and way with a song. Beautiful, mellifluous and fluid. In this particular recording he tackles well established pieces surrounded by Don Costa s excellent string arrangements. When Kenny covers a piece it will be done in that unique way that completely reconfigures it. That s the way it should be. Why do it otherwise? Kenny can take a piece like The Rascals Groovin and put it it in a completely different context, without losing that Sunday morning feel that the piece always had. His vocal here is amazing, giving the piece a bit of drama in the process, when he leads you to an amazing octave leap and fluid modulation. You re airborne in the process. He can take a saccharine little prom slow dance ditty, like You Are So Beautiful into something unique and take it from saccharine to a sense of romance. House of Gold is done with integrity and real feel for the song and it s country leanings. When Sunny Gets Blue is, to my ears, better than the original. With a jazz bass intro and Roy McCurdy s brush work, it becomes a jazzy standard without losing that sense of melancholy the original had. On and On again outdoes the original simply because Kenny is a much better vocalist than Stephen Bishop and he invests himself much more in the song and it s sentiment. The arrangement is crisp and inobtrusive. This his excellent pop single material. For any fan of good singing in a perfectly symbiotic setting with good accompaniment and arrangment. For any fan of the art of reinterpretation. This is the recording for you.
This is the Kenny Rankin You Have Got To Own - This is the real foundation of great love sounds - everyone who loves love must own this album.