Because of You
Vic Fontaine is back! The holographic crooner fromStar Trek: Deep Space Ninehas deliveredBecause of Youas a 2001 follow-up to his terrific 1999 set of jazz standards,This One's from the Heart. Fontaine, of course, is played byJames Darren, a former'50s teen idolandactor(remember the young sharpshooter who sang a Greek song in 1961'sThe Guns of Navarone?). Darren is clearly indebted to Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett (and singing "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" surely won't dispel that), but that's OK when a talented singer is armed with a great pack of songs, a top orchestra, and solid arrangements (half of them by conductor Patrick Williams). There are some surprises--"Can't Take My Eyes Off of You" in a ballad setting (Monica Manciniadds a little vocal harmony), an up-tempo "Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square"--and some conventional but still welcome treats, including "More Today Than Yesterday," "Blame It on My Youth," and "I Can't Give You Anything but Love." Vic sings, Vic swings.--David Horiuchi