It took 22 years and the urgings of his talented son to coax country great Bobby Bare back into the recording studio, and co-producer
Bare Jr.'s persistence really paid off.
The Moon Was Blue is a beautifully realized collection of vintage covers, featuring Bare Sr.'s weathered baritone cushioned by some beautiful countrypolitan arrangements. The song selection spotlights several less-than-obvious choices, all of which, in content and conception, seem to connect with Bobby on the most fundamental, emotional level, from the sumptuous, string-laden rendition of Andy Williams's 1958 hit, "Are You Sincere," which features Bare at his crooning best, to a gritty, basic band take on Shel Silverstein's sardonic story-song "The Ballad of Lucy Jordan." Nilsson's "Everybody's Talkin' at Me" begins with an exotic, jittery feel, via some electronic wizardry mingling with the guitars and pedal steel, before Bare glides into a smooth, plaintive reading of the chorus that will strike a responsive chord in anyone who loves the original. He transforms "Love Letters in the Sand" into a gently shuffling country torch song, with assistance from woodwinds, strings, pedal steel, a chanting background chorus, and a spoken bridge, and re-imagines "Shine On, Harvest Moon" as a lilting western swing waltz, complete with a small combo's graceful sway, cooing background vocals, and old-timey muted horn parts. Similar pleasant surprises and inspired performances rule the day on this most welcome of comebacks.
