John Gary - Spanish Moonlight (1967) [Hi-Res]

Not long after John Gary's fifth album hit the record industry trade papers’ best-selling charts, RCA Victor Vice-President Steve Sholes suggested John make an LP of Irish tunes. All five of the albums, as John Gary fans know, had been collections of beautiful, well-known standard songs with an occasional new composition thrown in There had at no time been any self-imposed barriers or limitations, ethnic or otherwise, on the repertoire to be presented.
Nevertheless. Steve’s idea was accepted by John with great enthusiasm, and in his usual fashion he worked diligently with arranger Marty Gold on the twelve Irish songs finally selected. It’s now record history that A Little Bit of Heaven was, and is, just as successful a John Gary album as any of his other best sellers
When it came time to plan his twelfth album. John himself suggested that he felt he was ready to undertake an LP of Latin songs As his manager, and a very active participant in the planning of anything to do with John’s professional career, 1 must admit here-although 1 never admitted it to him—that I was a little more concerned about the Latin album than I had been about the Irish album
There was no doubt in my mind that with his Gaelic origins and his Irish heart, John would be able to make one of the finest albums of Irish songs ever recorded But I did wonder, since he does not speak Spanish, whether John would be able to achieve the same heights with a Latin album including many songs which he would sing in a language completely foreign to him
I should have known better In working with him for four years, I have seen John tackle one difficult assignment after another. His preparation for any task is so intense, so painstaking, that he never fails to deliver a truly perfect job.
Spanish Moonlight is no exception. The album literally sings for itself. You may be startled to hear the ease with which John sings the Spanish lyrics in Yours (Quiereme Mucho), La Malaguena, Guantanamera, Love Me with All Your Heart (Cuanilo Calienta el Sol), Cu-Cu-Rru-Cu-Cu, Paloma, Spanish Moonlight and You Belong to My Heart. In Yours, for example, which is a most intimate and exciting love song, John sings the lyric in Spanish with the same vibrant emotion, the same burning passion, as he sings the portion in English You would swear he had been speaking— and singing—Spanish all his life.
Similarly, after reading the brief philosophical introduction to Guan-tanamcra in English—"I want to share my fate with the poor people of the world . . ."—John sings the song in a Spanish that tells the story, whether or not you understand the language.
Of course. I should tell you the secret of how John achieved this feat For some six weeks before he recorded the album, he worked with his wife. Lois, and her brother Robert on Spanish as a language and, in particular. on the lyrics of the songs he was to do. Both Lois and Robert grew up in Albuquerque, New' Mexico, and speak Spanish well. And both of them were present at every recording session during the making of this album, checking John's Spanish
As I listened to the recording of Spanish Moonlight again and again, in getting ready to write these notes, it struck me that there was one more reason why Spanish Moonlight may come to be regarded as John Gary’s greatest album to date, even more appealing and artistically rewarding than A Little Bit of Heaven. So many great Latin songs seem to be created for singers with a wide range—and John’s range is three octaves, as his fans know. In Cu-Cu-Rru-Cu-Cu, Paloma and Granada, to cite just two examples, John demonstrates his virtuosity in wide-range vocalizing, hitting and holding high notes few other popular singers in America would care to tackle
In Paloma he climbs unbelievably from key to key until you feel it is impossible for him to hit the note. But he docs—and with a purity and clarity and intensity that suits the melody, the lyric and the arrangement.
His performance in Granada is virtually a masterpiece, demonstrating a breath control, a gift of phrasing, an ability to hit and sustain high notes that must be heard to be believed. I feel this is one of the most dramatic interpretations of a popular song I have ever heard. Marty Gold’s arrangement is colorful, marked with great fire and passion, and John’s vocal matches the arrangement, phrase for phrase.
Of course Marty Gold’s arrangements are a great factor in making this another superb John Gary album. Enough cannot be said of them But in the final analysis, it is John’s impeccable performance which, in my opinion, makes this his finest album to date.
It’s so good, I’m afraid some people are going to think Irishman John is really a Latin.

Joseph Csida

Tracklist:
01 - John Gary - La Malaguena (3:25)
02 - John Gary - Your (Quiereme Mucho) (2:34)
03 - John Gary - Poinciana (2:59)
04 - John Gary - Made For Each Other (2:17)
05 - John Gary - You Belong To My Heart (3:36)
06 - John Gary - Cu-Cu-Rru-Cu-Cu, Paloma (3:07)
07 - John Gary - Guantanamera (3:12)
08 - John Gary - Granada (3:16)
09 - John Gary - Maria Elena (2:43)
10 - John Gary - Spanish Moonlight (2:53)
11 - John Gary - Without You (2:15)
12 - John Gary - Love Me With All Your Heart (2:15)