Search - Harry James :: Still Harry

An inferior sequel

Matthew Watters | Vietnam | 07/05/2009

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Like all sequels, this follow-up to James' similar 1976 project for Sheffield Labs, called The King James Version, doesn't really measure up to the original. Both were audiophile recordings of the James orchestra made in a chapel in Los Angeles using a single microphone, and both have great sound. But, while the 1976 set caught the band at the right time and doing a strong set of standards, this 1979 set suffers from some personnel changes that have left the ensembles a little less impressive and some really egregious pop covers. A big band version of the "Sanford and Son" theme might have been fun, but the arrangement is distressingly bland, and there's just no excuse for James to be doing Kris Kristofferson tunes. Still Harry After All These Years is not an unpleasant record, but it's an utterly inessential one."