Paul Williams - Just an Old Fashioned Love Song (2008)

Here Williams came into his own, writing the bulk of his material single-handedly. Just an Old Fashioned Love Song boasts "We've Only Just Begun" -- one of his signature compositions -- and finds him in wistful, melancholic form. The uncluttered arrangements, and the fact that Williams has learned to use his voice for emotional effect, make his second album a comparative success. While it's not really right to assess him in singer/songwriterly terms (he never played piano, guitar, or indeed any instrument, and is more accurately termed an easy listening tunesmith), Just an Old Fashioned Love Song is a worthy addition to the genre. "Waking Up Alone," "A Perfect Love," and "Gone Forever" form a touching triptych of moving, and surprisingly subtle, love-gone-wrong songs. Each adequately displays Williams' growth as both a performer and composer.