looks both forward and backward: 's arrangements boast a subtle soulfulness clearly inspired by the dominant pop sensibilities of the late 1960s, but the material is steadfastly -- even defiantly -- patrician, foregoing contemporary fare in favor of pages from the Great American Songbook. Taken together, the songs paint a portrait of romantic disillusionment and despair, and seizes upon the album's smoky, boozy atmosphere with gusto. In its way, the album is his own , and while it boasts neither the brilliance nor melancholy elegance of its forbear, it's nevertheless a record made by and for adults alienated from the counterculture and the sexual revolution it portended. ~ Jason Ankeny