So Much in Love

AMG Review of So Much in Love

Greg Adams
All Music Guide

So Much in Love, like the earlier albums It's the Talk of the Town and Young at Heart, shifts the emphasis away from Ray Conniff's trademark blend of voices and instruments to concentrate on the vocal chorus. One of Conniff's favorite tricks is to split the chorus and give the men and women contrasting vocal lines, and that technique is used throughout the album. "Autumn Leaves" and "Chances Are" turn the spotlight on the women, "Just Walking in the Rain" is handled mostly by the men, and the combined chorus brings a majestic lushness to "I Wish I Didn't Love You So." So Much in Love made the Top Five on the album charts in 1962, showing what a huge adult audience still existed for raditional pop music in the ock & roll era. There are no snappy rhythms or "tic tac" electric basslines on So Much in Love -- it is a straight choral pop album with orchestral accompaniment and classic songs.