ON A RAINY AFTERNOON (1958)
Track Listing:
1. The World Is Your Balloon
2. I Remember You
3. Why Was I Born?
4. Miss Otis Regrets
5. I've Got Sand In My Shoes
6. Long Ago And Far Away
7. You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To
8. Have You Met Miss Jones?
9. You Came Along
10. It Could Happen To You
11. Darn That Dream
12. Back In Your Own Back Yard
This was the very first of Tony's albums I ever bought, and was also the very first time I heard him sing - I didn't really know what to expect and pretty much had all my fingers crossed as I hit the "Play" button, hoping it would be good. As the instrumental intro to "The World Is Your Balloon" began, I held my breath. By the end of the first verse and the beginning of the piano solo, he had me grinning like a cheshire cat. Good, would not be an accurate way to describe On A Rainy Afternoon. A 'diamond in the rough' perhaps?
As much as I enjoyed his debut album, and even though by comparison this might be seen as a slightly weaker vocal performance, this one firmly remains my favourite. I consider myself very fortunate that his genre of music appeals to my taste. And I was utterly astounded at how talented he is at controling every cyllable he sings, every single word is given delicate attention, and you will find yourself hanging on every line even during the slowest numbers. I was only able to recently pinpoint what it is that makes Tony's albums sound so special. The clarity on all of the CDs is astounding - for such old and rare recordings, they make it sound as if he is still with us, as if the album was only made yesterday. For someone like myself who curses the fact that I was born too late to enjoy his career as it progressed, it was very moving to listen to. Here he covers what is in fact a favourite song of mine, "Have You Met Miss Jones?", it was great to hear him sing something I was already familiar with, but my favourite on this particular album is "Miss Otis Regrets" - his smooth voice and all of the instruments work together seamlessly, whereas on many of the others it feels like he takes a break in between verses to make room for improvised jazz solos.
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