Versatile [LP]

is 's 38th album, and follows the release of the excellent R&B and blues covers collection by less than three months. Like its predecessor, it's primarily a covers set, but its focus is on jazz and pop standards from the Great American Songbook with six originals added for good measure. Historically, these experiments haven't worked for rock artists: delivered five overblown, badly sung collections from the canon, and delivered five discs of highly idiosyncratic interpretations of the stuff. Even tried them with very mixed results. fares better than his peers due to experience -- standards have peppered his set lists for decades. is not a pillar in his catalog, but it's not a cynical cash-in, either. surrounds himself with a septet that includes saxophones, trombone, keys, guitar, bass, and drums. Most of these tracks were recorded in hotel lounges in Ireland's County Down, adding to the slippery jazz feel. The canonical material proves a real interpretive challenge. Curiously, he opens the record with a throwaway new original entitled "Broken Record," that shows off his band's fingerpopping swing quotient but little else. He quickly recovers with a fine reading of the 's "A Foggy Day," showcasing his fluid phrasing and empathic lyric interpretation. His worship is well known, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that he takes on "Let's Get Lost." His take is jaunty, offering tinges of -inspired R&B while retaining its identity as a jazz tune. While his muted scat groove on 's "Bye Bye Blackbird" is overly strident, he gives a polished, nuanced performance to the composer's "I Get a Kick Out of You." "Makin' Whoopee" contains a nice bluesy chart ( 's electric guitar playing recalls 's), but 's vocal is uncomfortably stilted. Among his own tunes are two new ones -- the punchy, -esque "Take It Easy Baby" and the contemplative, nearly spiritual, modal, instrumental "Affirmation" with Sir guesting on flute -- as well as beautifully rendered rearrangements of catalog material -- "I Forgot That Love Existed," "Start All Over Again," and "Only a Dream." There is also a deeply satisfying arrangement of the traditional "Skye Boat Song" that melds Celtic soul with Celtic swing as 's smoky alto sax leads the rest of the horn section's lithe groove. While he could have left off "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" as it adds nothing to the the canonical versions by and , readings of "The Party's Over" "Unchained Melody" and the closer "They Can't Take That Away from Me" are impeccable examples of 's mercurial phrasing and limpid modern arrangements that make swing their top priority. has its flaws and will likely appeal most to longtime fans, but fully invests himself in each tune, singing them as if he wrote them. This is head and shoulders above similar efforts by his peers and a solid addition to his shelf. ~ Thom Jurek