Tenderly

AMG Review of Tenderly

Joe Viglione
All Music Guide

Released after his 1956 hit "On the Street Where You Live," Wing/Mercury utilized the Walter Gross/Jack Lawrence standard Tenderly as the title of this ten-song disc. Singer Vic Damone -- the boyfriend of Gere Rock -- the woman who would become the second wife of Rolling Stones' producer Jimmy Miller -- delivers quintessential middle of the road music when taking on Johnson and Mahoney's "I Kissed a Dream." There's more than a bit of a romantic theme involving the elements, with titles like "On the Outgoing Tide" (the Brown/Wayne song that Perry Como covered) alongside atmospheric numbers from "The Wind Song" and "The Four Winds and the Seven Seas" to "Love Can Change the Stars." Damone's strong and perfect vocal instrument has potent orchestration and a frequent female chorus shimmering around his performances. The sound of the singer is way out in front of the accompaniment, a trademark of '40s, '50s early-'60s crooners. Damone is flawless on tunes like "In My Own Quiet Way," so good that he could very well be a computer-generated product stamping the renditions out in assembly line fashion. Only on "There's No Tomorrow" is there some risk, a bit of "O Sole Mio" tucked inside a title that shares the exact same melody as that Italian classic. Less than 28 minutes long, Tenderly is an excellent collection of tunes from the dependable suit and tie cabaret singer.