Seth MacFarlane takes us to the vintage days of Capitol Records, where Frank, Nat and Dean ruled the airwaves. He’s got a strong, confident and upbeat voice on this mix of vintage tunes and obscurities, while Joel McNeely’s arrangements sound like they came off the floor of Nelson Riddles office during a Swingin’ Lovers session.
Upbeat Rat Pack strings and horns team with an optimistic groove on charmers such as “The First Time It Happens” and innocent “Have You Met Miss Jones.” Some Al Viola-inspired guitar joins with Seth on a rich intro to For You Me Forever More” while a cozy “Like Someone In Love” features the vocalist teamed with a simpatico piano for the lead in. Dreamy oboes float with strings as MacFarlane goes bel canto on “But Beautiful” and a duet with Elizabeth Gillies includes a hot clarinet for a snazzy “My Buick, My Love and I.” Nostalgia successfully modernized for the Millennials.