Liberace

Liberace's first release for new label Warner Bros. is an attempt to reposition the pianist as an icon for the flower-power generation -- and damned if it isn't florid. While by no means the psychedelic odyssey its cover suggests, A Brand New Me does vault Liberace into the post-Woodstock consciousness via a series of well-chosen covers that play to his prodigious gifts as a performer, emphasizing melody and emotion. Case in point, he avoids more challenging Beatles fare in favor of the fledgling standards "Here, There and Everywhere" and "Something," and finds safe harbor in the Brill Building classicism of Neil Diamond ("Sweet Caroline") and Bacharach/David ("Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head"). There's even a wry medley, dubbed "Parks and Recreation," that shoehorns "Cherry Hill Park," "MacArthur Park," and "Echo Park." But regardless of the material and its modern production sheen, this is still a Liberace record, with all the pomp and theatricality the concept implies -- he may be covering "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes," but his heart's still with the blue hairs. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide