Moon River [Collectables]

Performer: Andy Williams
Distributor: Gotham Distributing Corp.

Notes: This ten-song budget sampler, running less than half an hour, presents highlights from the first two decades of Andy Williams' recording career. It dates back to his 1956 Top Five hit "Canadian Sunset," originally recorded for Cadence Records, and continues up to his 1974 Columbia recording of "You're the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me." In between come his signature song, "Moon River," the 1962 number one hit "Can't Get Used to Losing You," early-'60s movie themes "Days of Wine and Roses" and "Dear Heart," early-'70s movie themes "(Where Do I Begin) Love Story" and "Love Theme From 'The Godfather' (Speak Softly Love)," and a couple of '60s LP tracks, "It Might As Well Be Spring" and "You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You." Of course, there were many more albums and many more hits, but for an inexpensive collection, Moon River is a good survey of some of the gems from Williams' catalog. That may help explain its longevity. First assembled by the Special Products division of what used to be called CBS Records, the album was reissued after that company was acquired by Sony, and in 2002 it was licensed by Collectables Records for its "Priceless Collection" series. The Collectables reissue adds generic biographical liner notes. Remarkably, it is not only identical to the original release, it is the original release: When you open up the jewel box, the disc inside is on CBS Special Products, copyright 1990. ~ William Ruhlmann

Pop crooner Andy Williams came to be known as "the Emperor of Easy" for his smooth, silky tone and understated vocal style. Williams was a virtual hit machine throughout the '60s, from the stop-time melancholy of "Can't Get Used to Losing You" (later covered by ska revivalists the English Beat) to the uptempo, brassy "Music to Watch Girls By" in addition to his definitive version of "Moon River." Williams was also a TV star, whose Christmas specials became an American tradition. In the '90s, he wrote a second chapter to his career by starting his own theater in Branson, Missouri, where fans would flock to his daily shows. Later in that decade, Williams was swept up in the lounge movement and rediscovered by a new generation of fans.

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