Autumn in New York

AMG Review of Autumn in New York

John Bush
All Music Guide

An early LP for Jo Stafford (and the LP format itself), 1950's Autumn in New York assembled a dozen standards set at ballad tempo and arranged with crying strings by Stafford's primary arranger (and husband), Paul Weston. Most of them were show tunes, some dating back to the '20s, and all seemed tailor-made for Stafford's sweet, pure tone and way with a lovelorn lyric. The title song and "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" earned pride of place, but there simply wasn't a deficient tune in the bunch -- "Sometimes I'm Happy," "Some Enchanted Evening," "Just One of Those Things" -- and Stafford treated them all with the reverence and devotion they deserve. The LP was released in several formats, including a collection of 78-rpm EPs, while a 2009 reissue by DRG boasted 11 bonus tracks, including a few previously unreleased songs as well as a pair of big hits: "Jamboree Jones" (featuring Johnny Mercer) and "Tim-Tayshun (Temptation)" (Stafford's cornpone sendup of the Bing Crosby standard).