Songs I Heard  (Audio CD) 

This album's full title should read Songs I Heard When I Was a Kid and Never Forgot, as Harry Connick covers a selection of familiar, if unlikely, chestnuts. Who can deny the appeal of classics such as "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" and "Spoonful of Sugar" (from Mary Poppins) and "Oompa Loompa" (from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory)? Connick proves his worth as an arranger, especially on the tracks that get the full New Orleans swing treatment. Boasting several excerpts, The Wizard of Oz must have made quite an impression on young master Harry: "Ding Dong" becomes a zippy big-band number and "Over the Rainbow" begins with a thunderous intro before segueing into the familiar melancholy tune. But the best is the obscure "The Jitterbug," a brilliantly catchy number that had been cut from the movie's final version. Still, as good as they are, Connick's arrangements don't quite match Herbert Stothart's original ones. The CD ends with The Sound of Music's "Edelweiss" and "Do Re Mi," the latter in a swell finger-snapping version. Connick's silliest record to date is also his most warmly endearing. --Elisabeth Vincentelli