Stan Ridgway

The Way I Feel Today was a real out-of-the-blue left-turn for Stan Ridgway, especially coming only a few years after his work with "experimental noise combo" Drywall. On this limited-edition CD, Ridgway reinvented himself as a big band crooner, and enlisted a genuine Hollywood big band led by Robert McNeely to help him tackle a wide range of Sinatra-esque standards, regardless of their perceived campiness or kitsch value. The upshot of all this is a (mostly) straight collection of songs by the likes of Cole Porter, Stephen Sondheim, and Rogers & Hammerstein -- which means that if the limited range of Stan Ridgway's deadpan film noir drawl fails to strike you as the ideal vehicle for conveying the sentiments expressed in "It Had to Be You," "Send in he Clowns," or "Oh, What a Beautiful Morning," then The Way I Feel Today is definitely not the album for you. On the other hand, if you're a devoted Ridgway buff, you'll find some interesting and amusing performances here, especially when Stan tips his hat to narrative songs such as "One for My Baby" (which was a clear, if previously unacknowledged, influence on his own "A Mission in Life"), or when he exuberantly belts out strong novelty number like "The Coffee Song." Even so, at 19 tracks, the limited appeal of this basically self-indulgent CD is stretched well beyond the breaking point for all but the most committed of fans, despite some fine, brassy arrangements from McNeely and the unquestionably heartfelt performances by Ridgway throughout. ~ Rudyard Kennedy, All Music Guide