John Stevens - Red (2005) 320kbps

John Stevens was on "American Idol" before I started watching -- I think I was scheduled to work on those nights. "Red" sounded interesting from the reviews and is a genre I enjoy. Maroon 5's "This Love" is one of the most interesting tracks on the CD. Like Paul Anka's several recent outings, Stevens takes a pop song and reinvents it, making it into a lush Spanish-flavored ballad, "Touching your tender lips, moving my fingertips over every inch of you because I know that's what you want me to do." Some of the standards work better for me than others. "The Shadow of Your Smile," like many standards, has been recorded by numerous artists. Think about a song that's been recorded by Shirley Bassey, Tony Bennett, Perry Como, Bobby Darin, Marvin Gaye, Astrud Gilberto, Dexter Gordon, Jack Jones, Brenda Lee, Peggy Lee, Johnny Mathis, Johnny Rivers, Frank Sinatra, Nancy Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Sarah Vaughn, Bobby Vinton, Nancy Wilson and Stevie Wonder! What can John Stevens bring to it? He does well with this lovely ballad, his voice hushed and thin polishes the lovely melody. "All of Me" also fares extremely well here with Stevens' enthusiastic delivery and the punchy arrangement. Steve Tyrell, known now as the lead from the "C.S.I." TV series, has a long musical history, finding B.J. Thomas and producing "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head." He does a great job here making John Stevens sound like a confident young singer. A couple tracks work less well for me. The Beatles' "Here, There & Everywhere" sounds like a male version of Claudine Longet's thin wispy voice. "Someone to Watch Over Me" may tend to make you fall asleep. However, most of this disc is well done. Whether Stevens develops his skills and earns the popularity of Michael Buble or my favorite in this genre, Peter Cincotti, remains to be seen. Enjoy! ~Lee Armstrong