For You is
Jackie DeShannon performing classy orchestrated adult contemporary pop songs in 1967, the same year
Dusty Springfield tracked a similar collection entitled Where Am I Going. There is not a bad track on
For You, and had
DeShannon decided to follow
Patti Page and continue creating music like this, she no doubt could have been very successful. Next to the rock & roll of the album she would release more than 30 years later,
You Know Me, this is total culture shock, and goes to show the vast depth of
DeShannon's artistry. The beautiful
Carole King/
Gerry Goffin tune, "No Easy Way Down," which
Dusty Springfield cut as well, fits perfectly alongside
Johnny Mercer classics like "Dream" and "Merry Go Round in the Rain."
Calvin Carter (who would co-produce
DeShannon with
Burt Bacharach and
Hal David on the
What the World Needs Now Is Love album) handles all the production chores here. His work with
the Impressions,
Jerry Butler, and
Gene Chandler gives this
DeShannon outing R&B mixed with the big band sound, but not with the fanfare that
Petula Clark and
Linda Ronstadt had accompanying their moves into this prestigious arena. "Don't Dream of Anybody But Me" has
Gerald Wilson arranging, providing lush instrumentation behind the '60s pop vocalist. Though it's the only tune he works on here, it adds to his impressive resumé of work with
Bobby Darin,
Dizzy Gillespie, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and adds a nice dimension to this mix. Most of the album's arrangements are by
George Tipton, including the utterly fabulous
Mercer track "Dream."
Tipton's repertoire includes work for
Harry Nilsson,
Brian Hyland,
the Monkees, and
José Feliciano, and the collaboration with producer
Calvin Carter is a very nice pairing. The remake of
Tommy Edwards' "It's All in the Game" goes beyond the transistor radio boundary into the world where actressPia Zadora did a credible job in the '80s with her Pia & Phil and I Am What I Am albums. "Are We Dancing?" was originally in the Walt Disney film The Happiest Millionaire, while "When I Fall in Love" entertained fans of
Nat King Cole and
Sam Cooke. For a prolific songwriter like
DeShannon to explore the rich sounds of these timeless compositions is all the more impressive years later. Sure,
Roy Orbison cut "Dreams" (the
Mercer tune, different from his own hit "In Dreams," which would have been a nice addition to this as well); James Ray hit with
Rudy Clark's "If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody" (covered in a more rock & roll version by
Peter Noone on his great One of the Glory Boys LP); and
the Ronettes put their stamp on the
Bob Crewe/G. Knight number "Everything Under the Sun," but
Jackie DeShannon's renditions are removed from the world where she and her colleagues achieved their greatest notoriety: hit radio. The song selection is very impressive, jazz legend
Neal Hefti (who later wrote the "Batman Theme" for television) is represented by the opening track, "Don't Dream of Anybody But Me," and it is exquisite, setting the stage for
DeShannon's vocals to glide over all these lovely melodies. Richard Oliver pens a poem, "For You," for the back cover instead of his liner notes, but the album jacket looks like a regular
Jackie DeShannon release. Looks can be deceiving. The disc bridges the gap between "What the World Needs Now Is Love," and the classy singers who reigned on the radio before rock & roll merged with pop. Few could do this and do it so well. ~ Joe Viglione