Star Turtle

Performer: Harry Connick, Jr.
Engineer: Gregg Rubin
Producer: Tracey Freeman
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (

Notes: Personnel: Harry Connick, Jr. (vocals, tenor saxophone, trumpet, trombone, tuba, clarinet, piano, Fender Rhodes, Hammond B-3 organ, Mini-Moog synthesizer, acoustic & electric guitars, acoustic & electric basses, drums, bass drum, congas); Tony Hall (vocals, guitar, bass); Ned Goold, Jerry Weldon (tenor saxophone); Dave Schumacher (baritone saxophone); Jeremy Davenport, Dan Miller (trumpet); Lucien Barbarin (trombone, percussion, cymbal); Mark Mullins (trombone); Jonathan DuBose, Jr. (guitar); Raymond Weber (drums, snare drum, percussion). Recorded at Power Station, Studio A and Sony Music Studios, Studio D, New York, New York in December 1995. This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files. Star Turtle is Harry Connick, Jr.'s most ambitious album, a four-part suite that attempts to tell the evolution of jazz and R&B to funk and rock. Given such an unwieldy concept, it's surprising how well the album works, actually. Connick can play jazz and R&B with flair, if not much identity. What sinks the album is when he treads too closely to contemporary waters, because he sounds old-fashioned and surprisingly conservative when he works in a rock & roll or funk-oriented idiom. Nevertheless, Connick's revivalism works quite well when he sticks to more traditional forms and that's what makes Star Turtle an entertaining listen. ~ Thom Owens When Harry Connick first emerged as a teenager, he was hailed as a pianist-singer with great potential in the jazz world who might possibly keep swing and older standards alive. Unfortunately the ensuing years have not seen any significant improvement or development in his musical skills and Connick has veered toward routine pop. In fact Star Turtle is strictly a pop/rock set with no real piano solos. The emphasis is put on Connick's forgettable originals and his rather limited voice, with the derivative results failing not only as jazz but also as pop music. ~ Scott Yanow STAR TURTLE is a concept album about a giant turtle from outer space who lands in New Orleans and meets up with Harry Connick, Jr., who proceeds to show the shelled alien behemoth a good time in the Crescent City's various musical hot spots. This is the most prominent role played by a turtle since the Grateful Dead's TERRAPIN STATION, and perhaps the most ridiculous plot for a concept album since the Who's TOMMY; it's also a wonderfully dizzying tour through this great city's musical stylings, with Connick as the consummate tour guide. Connick, who seems to have abandoned his Sinatra-inflected crooning style for good with the 1994 album SHE, dives head-first into the sounds of local heroes (the Meters, Neville Brothers and Radiators all loom large), out-of-town heroes ("Boozahound" is permeated by Elton Johnish honky-tonk inflections), and jukebox heroes ("Eyes Of The Seeker" is Steve Miller-esque). The turtle, by the way, has a great night and proves to be quite a dancer.

Q (9/96, p.110) - 3 Stars - Good - "...STAR TURTLE now stretches the canvas to include pop...and rock...amongst funk strutters..."

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