Emmy Rossum's "Sentimental Journey"

I love getting my hands the latest albums that come out, and it was a great pleasure to listen to and review Emmy Rossum’s latest release, Sentimental Journey, which is out today. Rossum is a classically trained singer (bonus points) and Sentimental Journey is her first album in six years.

About Sentimental Journey

Sentimental Journey is a cover album featuring songs from the 1920s through the 1960s like “Pretty Paper” and “These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You).” There are 12 songs on the album (plus a bonus track) for every month of the year. Emmy explains: 

“Each song needed to either lyrically or emotionally reflect the corresponding month. Some songs were obvious fits, like ‘Summer Wind’ for June, and ‘Pretty Paper’ for December. Others songs were less literal fits. I chose ‘Nobody Knows You (When You're Down and Out)’ for September because, to me, the plaintive melody and lyric emotionally reflect the cold weather creeping in and the sense of melancholy we can get in the fall months."

Rossum says about the old-time tracks:

“I grew up surrounded by classical music singing with the Metropolitan Opera and when I would come home, the house was filled with the voices of Frank Sinatra, Sam Cooke, and Judy Garland,” Rossum says. “For as long as I can remember, my mother would sing ‘Apple Blossom Time’ to me as a bedtime lullaby. Classics, jazz, and standards infused my childhood.

“…I know there are generations that are familiar with this music and the original versions, but there's also a whole generation that isn't and I really want to share these songs with that younger generation as well. I've always gravitated toward a classic vocal approach, which likely stems from my training as a child, so I feel incredibly comfortable and happy singing these songs.”

Sentimental Journey Track Listing:

• “Sentimental Journey” (Les Brown, Ben Homer, Arthur Green)
• “The Object Of My Affection” (Pinky Tomlin)
• “I’m Looking Over A Four Leaf Clover “(Mort Dixon, Harry M. Woods)
• “These Foolish Things (Remind Me Of You)” (Eric Maschwitz, Jack Strachey)
• “(I’ll Be With You) In Apple Blossom Time” (Albert Von Tilzer, Neville Fleeson)
• “Summer Wind” (Heinz Meier, Johnny Mercer)
• “Many Tears Ago” (Winfield Scott)
• “All I Do Is Dream Of You” (Nacio Herb Brown, Arthur Freed)
• “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down And Out” (Jimmy Cox)
• “Autumn Leaves” (Joseph Kosma, Jacques Prévert)
• “Things” (Bobby Darin)
• “Pretty Paper” (Willie Nelson)

My Take

I truly enjoyed Sentimental Journey, as Rossum re-popularizes songs from artists like Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, Connie Francis, Eddie Cantor and more. The upbeat songs are cutesy and fun, and Rossum’s rendition of tunes will make you think that you’ve traveled back in time. In fact, this is one of the few albums that you and your grandparents can both enjoy, and they’ll already know all the lyrics. 

My only complaint about the album is that I wish that Rossum would have toned down her “pop” voice on some of the songs. When she sings from her throat, Rossum sounds like Christina Aguilera. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing since I like Aguilera’s music. I just would have liked to hear more Emmy and less Christina in those instances. 

Buy Sentimental Journeyon Amazon. 

I participated in this campaign for One2One Network. I received a free copy of the CD to facilitate my review. By posting, I am eligible for incentives. All opinions stated are my own.