Harry Connick, Jr. has built a reputation for musical and emotional honesty. Never one to rest on his ever-growing list of laurels, Connick exposes his feelings as never before on Every Man Should Know – released 11th June on Sony Music.
The album contains twelve original songs for which Connick wrote music, lyrics and arrangements.
“No rules, no limits,” is how the multi-talented artist describes the songs in his liner notes for the new collection. “I don’t recall ever reaching quite as deeply – or confidently – into my inhibition pool.”
The title track is indicative of how anecdote and imagination yield inspired results. “I was building a workbench with a carpenter friend,” Connick explains, “and my lack of any knowledge about carpentry left me feeling so inadequate. It led me to think about other things that every man should know, like how to change a tyre. Then I began thinking about what everybody should know how to do, and that’s to love.”
Connick is quick to credit his collaborators, including guest soloists Branford Marsalis (whose soprano sax enriches ‘Let Me Stay’ ) and Wynton Marsalis (extending the reflective mood of ‘Being Alone’ with his trumpet) and longtime Band regulars Jerry Weldon on tenor sax and old friend Jonathan DuBose, Jr. on guitar on ‘I Love Her’.
He gives special credit to guitarist Brian Sutton and the Nashville musicians assembled for several tracks. “Those Nashville guys are deep,” Connick marvels. “Before they play a note, they ask, `What are we playing about?’ And they like to play with you when you sing rather than laying down tracks before you sing, because they want to understand the sentiment of each song. They really helped me capture ‘Love My Life Away,’ a song about a guy dying from a disease who is facing the plodding nature of his life.”
