Star Turtle

Performer: Harry Connick Jr.
Engineer: Gregg Rubin
Producer: Tracey Freeman
Distributor: Sony Music Entertainment

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 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..."

Harry Connick, Jr. is an accomplished singer, pianist, and actor who emerged in the late 1980s as a Sinatra-style crooner for a new generation. As a musician, his influences include bebop, New Orleans jazz, and big-band swing. His score for the film WHEN HARRY MET SALLY brought him national acclaim and an Oscar. He subsequently appeared in a number of films, and made forays into pop music.

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