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On November 13, Varese Vintage will celebrate a singular career when the label releases Reflections – The Greatest Songs of Rod McKuen.  This definitive overview of McKuen’s work as a singer-songwriter features 24 of his most famous compositions including “If You Go Away,” “Jean,” “Seasons in the Sun,” “A Man Alone” and “Love’s Been Good to Me.”

Though a self-professed loner who often wrote of isolation and solitude, McKuen had an extraordinary ability in music, poetry and prose to strike a chord with his audiences, to give simple and honestly-expressed voice to everyday emotions in a manner both accessible and eloquent.  A prolific writer and recording artist since the late 1950s, McKuen’s songs blurred genre lines to attract artists ranging from The Kingston Trio, Jimmie Rodgers and Glenn Yarbrough to Petula Clark, Cyndi Lauper and Nina Simone.  He gained the support and friendship of venerable songwriters from Johnny Mercer to Jacques Brel, and with the latter, crafted two of his most successful and enduring works, “Seasons in the Sun” and “If You Go Away.”  Johnny Cash and Dusty Springfield were among the ardent fans who both recorded and worked with McKuen.

After recording his first “proper” album as a singer-songwriter for Capitol Records (said to have been his seventeenth album overall!), McKuen moved on to RCA Victor and then to Warner Bros. Records; concurrent with his Warner Bros. years, he formed his own Stanyan Records label to distribute additional recordings of his own as well as those of others.  Reflections draws on McKuen’s masters for RCA, Warner and Stanyan,  offering  productions and arrangements from esteemed collaborators including Don Costa, Marty Paich, Arthur Greenslade, Eddie Karam and Mort Garson.

Reflections features Rod’s own, intimate renditions of a number of the songs immortalized by Frank Sinatra on A Man Alone, the Chairman’s album of McKuen songs and verse, as well as his renditions of his music for films including Joanna and Academy Award nominees The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and A Boy Named Charlie Brown.  (Varese recently reissued McKuen’s Charlie Brown album on CD for the first time.)  His recitation with music of his popular poem “A Cat Named Sloopy” is also among the selections.

At the height of his career, Rod McKuen placed nine albums on the Billboard Top LPs chart though he also sold untold thousands of discs via his ground-breaking mail-order operation and constant concert tours worldwide.  Never content to rest on his considerable laurels, he hosted his own BBC-TV series, composed classical albums, wrote an original ballet and stage musical and expanded his business interests to greeting cards, calendars, a book of wedding vows, the Rod McKuen Casuals clothing line (benefiting animal-related charities) and other collectibles.  He found time to champion causes in which he believed, including LGBT rights, and continued to write volumes of poetry and prose.  When he departed Random House in 1972 for Simon and Schuster, it was reported that his books alone accounted for 34 percent of the publishing empire’s revenue.  Though McKuen stepped away from the spotlight in the early 1980s, all but disappearing by his own admission, his contributions to pop culture continued to endure.  Happily, he re-emerged in the mid-1990s and generated some well-received latter day performances and projects. Bridging the generation gap, McKuen saw Madonna sample his work, and earned the admiration of young musicians including Kurt Cobain.

Adjectives such as “unique” are all too frequently bandied about, but in truth, the career of Rod McKuen fits the bill.  Reflections – The Greatest Songs of Rod McKuen revisits the musical side of his tremendous legacy, spotlighting the diversity of his music and words in his own, personal renditions. This release has been dedicated to the memory of McKuen, who passed away in January 2015 at the age of 81.  He left behind some 1,500 songs and over 30 books, the total sales of which number around 65 million copies.  A biography is currently in the works.  I’ve penned the liner notes for this collection which offer context as to the artist’s fascinating, one-of-a-kind life, career and music.  Mike Milchner has remastered the 24 tracks on Reflections.

Reflections – The Greatest Songs of Rod McKuen makes an ideal introduction to the Rod McKuen songbook as well as an ample opportunity to rediscover a body of work that is both of its time and timeless.  It’s available from Varese Vintage on November 13 and can be pre-ordered at the links below!

Rod McKuen, Reflections – The Greatest Songs of Rod McKuen (Varese Vintage, 2015) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

1. Love’s Been Good to Me
2. Jean
3. The World I Used to Know
4. If You Go Away
5. I’ll Catch the Sun
6. Rock Gently
7. Listen to the Warm
8. Ally, Ally Oxen Free
9. I Think of You
10. Doesn’t Anybody Know My Name
11. A Boy Named Charlie Brown
12. As I Love My Own
13. Lonesome Cities
14. The Importance of the Rose
15. A Man Alone
16. Soldiers Who Want to Be Heroes
17. A Cat Named Sloopy
18. The Ivy That Clings to the Wall
19. The Beautiful Strangers
20. Joanna
21. The Lovers
22. Kaleidoscope
23. The Single Man
24. Seasons in the Sun