Music Is Better Than Words

Music Is Better Than Words
Studio album by Seth MacFarlane
Released	September 27, 2011
Genre	Swing, big band, jazz, traditional pop
Length	51:10
Label	Fuzzy Door Productions/Universal Republic Records
Producer	Joel McNeely

Music Is Better Than Words is the debut album by Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane.^[1][2] The album was produced and conducted by film and television composer Joel McNeely, who is also one of the composers of American Dad!.

MacFarlane's musical background

MacFarlane has performed at London's Royal Albert Hall and New York's Carnegie Hall.^[3] He received voice training from Lee and Sally Sweetland, who have worked with Frank Sinatra and Barbra Streisand.^[4] MacFarlane is also a pianist and utilizes an orchestra and composers on a weekly basis to score his three animated shows, Family Guy, American Dad!, and The Cleveland Show.

Conception and production

The album includes songs from Rodgers and Hammerstein and Lerner and Lowe, among others from the '40s, '50s and '60s. The track listing was chosen by MacFarlane.^[5]

When Universal Republic Records asked MacFarlane what kind of album he wanted to do, he said "a classic Sinatra-style album". The album was in fact recorded at Capitol Records in the same room that Frank Sinatra had worked. Moreover, MacFarlane recorded the vocals for Music Is Better Than Words with the microphone that Frank Sinatra used on many of his classic albums.^[6]

In an interview^[7] with Joseph Llanes from AOL he said,“That mic is over 60 years old and you can see it. But it has a really nice, dark sound to it. It really plays a significant part on how this stuff sounds. You don't want it to sound too crisp. We did a lot in the recording of this album to make sure it was not too perfect. We recorded to analog tape as opposed to recording digitally because we wanted a little bit of a hiss.”

Announcement

On the February 10, 2011 episode of the TBS variety nighttime talk-show series Conan, MacFarlane announced that he is working on his debut album.^[8]. During this show, he performed the song "The Sadder But Wiser Girl".

On another guest appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, he announced he was working with Universal Republic Records in putting together a big band album after signing a record deal. MacFarlane explained,“It’s rare in this day and age to have the opportunity to create an album that celebrates the classic, sophisticated sound of rich, lush swing orchestrations. It will be an absolute joy to sing this music, and I look forward to working with the entire team at Universal Republic on what we intend to make an exceptional project.” He also performed the song "You're the Cream in My Coffee" during this appearance.^[9]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Slant Magazine	[10]
Spin	[11]

Reactions to the album are generally good, yet surprising. Slant Magazine described it as "a novelty record" and wrote,“Collaborating with Joel McNeely on arrangements, MacFarlane casts Music Is Better Than Words as a tribute to the big-band swing and sterling pop of the Rat Pack, but he wisely avoids choosing songs that were recorded by his musical idols. There's a timelessness to the melodies of James Van Heusen's "It's Anybody's Spring" and Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Something Good," and McNeely's tasteful horn and string arrangements are flawless recreations of the sounds of Sinatra's mid-century records.” ^[12] Spin expressed a dissenting opinion, calling the album "alternately audacious and befuddling...Devotees will search in vain for the necrophilia punch lines, while Sinatra fans will search in vain for a plausible explanation."^[13]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"It's Anybody's Spring"	Jimmy Van Heusen, Johnny Burke	2:56
2.	"Music Is Better Than Words"	André Previn, Betty Comden, and Adolph Green	3:20
3.	"Anytime, Anywhere"	Imogen Carpenter, Lenny Adelson	4:00
4.	"The Night They Invented Champagne"	Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Loewe	2:36
5.	"Two Sleepy People" (featuring Norah Jones)	Hoagy Carmichael, Frank Loesser	4:26
6.	"You're the Cream in My Coffee"	Ray Henderson, B.G. DeSylva, Lew Brown	2:23
7.	"Something Good"	Richard Rodgers	4:16
8.	"Nine O'Clock"	Bob Merrill	3:12
9.	"Love Won't Let You Get Away" (featuring Sara Bareilles)	Van Heusen, Sammy Cahn	3:52
10.	"It's Easy to Remember"	Rodgers, Lorenz Hart	5:05
11.	"The Sadder But Wiser Girl"	Meredith Willson	2:55
12.	"Laura"	David Raksin, Johnny Mercer	5:28
13.	"You and I"	Willson	3:41
14.	"She's Wonderful Too"	Joel McNeely, Jonathan Hales	2:59

Chart positions

Chart	Peak position
US Billboard 200	111
Billboard Jazz Albums	2

References

1. ^ http://www.freakinsweetnews.com/2010/08/06/seth-macfarlane-on-leno-announces-debut-album
2. ^ http://teamcoco.com/content/seth-macfarlane-sings-us-song Seth MacFarlane performs on Conan.
3. ^ http://www.musicdirect.com/p-50675-seth-mcfarlane-music-is-better-than-words-lp.aspx/
4. ^ http://www.npr.org/2011/10/08/141128387/seth-macfarlane-a-family-guy-with-a-musical-mind?sc=fb&cc=fp
5. ^ http://www.musicdirect.com/p-50675-seth-mcfarlane-music-is-better-than-words-lp.aspx
6. ^ http://teamcoco.com/content/seth-macfarlane-sings-us-song
7. ^ http://www.spinner.com/2011/09/30/seth-macfarlane-music-is-better-than-words/
8. ^ "Seth MacFarlane On Leno, Announces Debut Album". Freakinsweetnews.com. 2010-08-06. http://www.freakinsweetnews.com/2010/08/06/seth-macfarlane-on-leno-announces-debut-album. Retrieved 2011-01-29. 
9. ^ http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2010/08/seth-macfarlane-performs-cream-in-my-coffee-announces-swing-album-on-tonight.html
10. ^ "Slant review". http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review/seth-macfarlane-music-is-better-than-words/2632. 
11. ^ http://www.spin.com/reviews/seth-macfarlane-music-better-words-universal-republic
12. ^ http://slantmagazine.com/music/review/seth-macfarlane-music-is-better-than-words/2632
13. ^ http://www.spin.com/reviews/seth-macfarlane-music-better-words-universal-republic