In Full Swing is the fourth studio album by American actor and singer Seth MacFarlane. It was released on September 15, 2017, through Republic Records and Verve Records. The record was primarily produced by Joel McNeely and MacFarlane. Featured artists included on the album are American singer-songwriter Norah Jones and American actress and singer Elizabeth Gillies.
The album received two nominations at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album and Best Arrangement, Instrumental and Vocals.
Background On May 23, 2016, MacFarlane announced on his Twitter account that he was recording songs for his new album. On May 28, 2016, he revealed that the songs on the album were arranged by Joel McNeely, whom he had worked with on the previous three albums. On May 30, 2016, MacFarlane revealed that it was his final day of recording at Abbey Road Studios and thanked all the musicians who collaborated with him on the album. On August 17, 2017, the album was officially announced and was set to be released a month later.
Singles The album's first lead single, "That Face", was released on August 17, 2017. The album's second single, "Almost Like Being in Love", was released on August 28, 2017. The album's third and final single, "Have You Met Miss Jones?", was released on September 7, 2017.
Critical reception
In Full Swing received mostly positive reviews from music critics. AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote: "Standing in contrast to the moody 2015 set No One Ever Tells You, 2017's In Full Swing contains some of the sunny brio its title suggests. Chalk it up to the songs Seth MacFarlane selects, of course. There's nary a song of heartbreak among the album's 16 numbers, and he doesn't rely on overly familiar tunes, either. This lighthearted batch of songs is given effervescent arrangements by Joel McNeely, who gladly keeps the proceedings cool and breezy. As always, MacFarlane and McNeely are so besotted with Frank Sinatra's classic long-players for Capitol that their act can seem like a bit of swinging cosplay, with MacFarlane mimicking Old Blue Eyes' finger-snapping charm and McNeely penning love letters to Nelson Riddle, but their execution is expert and, since the touch is light, In Full Swing feels looser and better than its predecessors. MacFarlane and McNeely have taken Frank's advice to take things Nice 'n' Easy to heart, and they're the better for it." Christopher Louden from JazzTimes praised the album, writing, "MacFarlane proves (yet again) fully worthy of such bounty. Alongside top-tier standards from the Gershwins, Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Rodgers and Hart, Lerner and Loewe and Jimmy Van Heusen, he unearths several less precious though no less glittering baubles. Among them: the overjoyed "I Like Myself", from It's Always Fair Weather; the jaunty Gordon MacRae-Gisele McKenzie number "My Buick, My Love and I" (featuring Elizabeth Gillies); the pert "A Kiss or Two"; and a sparkling parry with Norah Jones on "If I Had a Talking Picture of You". Through it all, you can't help but be carried away by MacFarlane’s joie de vivre, like a kid in a candy store gleefully sharing his sugar-dusted treats."
Track listing All music arranged and conducted by Joel McNeely.
Personnel Credits adapted from AllMusic.
Jonathan Aasgaard – cello Richard Altenbach – violin John Anderson – oboe Timothy Ball – horn Lianne Barnard – flute John Barrett – engineering assistance Francesca Barritt – violin Annie Beilby – viola Wayne Bergeron – trumpet Chuck Berghofer – bass, rhythm bass Alan Bergman – composition Irving Berlin – composition Rich Breen – engineering, mixing Alan Broadbent – keyboards Jack Brooks – composition Robert Brophy – viola Johnny Burke – composition Sammy Cahn – composition Rowena Calvert – cello Gordon Campbell – trombone Roberto Cani – violin Corinne Chapelle – violin Pete Christlieb – saxophone Stephano Civetta – engineering assistance Heather Clark – flute Dave Collins – mastering Betty Comden – composition Tom Croxon – orchestra contractor Wade Culbreath – percussion Hannah Dawson – violin Autumn de Wilde – cover photo Brian Dembow – viola Buddy DeSylva – composition Shlomy Dobrinsky – violin Jimmy Dorsey – composition Pierre Doumenge – cello Bruce Dukov – violin Pip Eastop – horn Stephen Erdody – cello Peter Erskine – drums Alan Estes – percussion Dave Everson – horn Joy Fehily – executive production Dorothy Fields – composition Chuck Findley – trumpet Marlow Fisher – viola Matthew Funes – viola Lorenz Gamma – violin George Gershwin – composition Ira Gershwin – composition Elizabeth Gillies – vocals Mark Graham – music preparation Peter Graham – violin Endre Granat – violin Adolph Green – composition Clifford Grey – composition Henry Gronnier – violin Lorenz Hart – composition Andrew Harvey – violin Clayton Haslop – violin Tamara Hatwan – violin Ray Henderson – composition James Van Heusen – composition Dan Higgins – alto saxophone, saxophone, woodwind Steven Holtman – trombone Greg Huckins – saxophone Alex Iles – trombone Jeremy Isaac – violin Kurt Iswarienko – photography Charis Jenson – violin Karen Jones – flute Norah Jones – vocals Dennis Karmazyn – viola Daniel Kelly – horn Jerome Kern – composition Liam Kirkman – trombone Larry Koonse – guitar Aimee Kreston – violin Armen Ksajikian – cello Stephen Kujala – flute Dunja Lavrova – violin Alan Jay Lerner – composition Phillip Levy – violin Gary Lindsay – vocal consultant Bill Liston – saxophone Frederick Loewe – composition Mike Lovatt – trumpet Warren Luening – trumpet James Lynch – trumpet Jens Lynen – violin Seth MacFarlane – vocals and producer Paul Madeira – composition Danny Marsden – trumpet Andrew Martin – trombone Ciaran McCabe – violin Joel McNeely – arranger, conductor, and producer John Mills – violin Victoria Miskolczy – viola Catherine Musker – viola Benjamin Newton – viola Helen Nightengale – violin Peter Noah – bass trombone Cheryl Norman – violin Michael Nowak – viola Brian O'Connor – horn Sid Page – violin Andy Panayi – alto saxophone Joel Pargman – violin Alyssa Park – violin John Parricelli – guitar André Previn – composition Tom Ranier – celeste, piano Joe Raposo – composition Bill Reichenbach – trombone Mark Robertson – violin Leo Robin – composition Richard Rodgers – composition Ruth Rogers – violin Benedict Rogerson – cello Anatoly Rosinsky – violin Geraldine Rotella – flute Roberto Ruisi – violin Brian Scanlon – saxophone Colin Skinner – baritone saxophone Frank Skinner – composition David H. Speltz – viola Lew Spence – composition Joe Spix – art direction Jonathan Stokes – trombone Jule Styne – composition Bob Summers – trumpet Jamie Talbot – tenor saxophone James Thatcher – horn Phil Todd – tenor saxophone Cecilia Tsan – viola Viktoriya Tsoy – design Jo Ann Turovsky – harp Josefina Vergara – violin Dave Walther – viola Sam Walton – percussion, timpani Vicci Wardman – viola Hugh Webb – harp David Weiss – oboe Patrick White – trumpet Roger Wilkie – violin Steven Wilkie – violin Andy Wood – trombone Vincent Youmans – composition
Charts In Full Swing debuted at No. 2 on the US Billboard Top Jazz Albums.
Chart (2017)Peakposition US Top Traditional Jazz Albums (Billboard) 1
Release history Region Date Format(s) LabelWorldwide September 15, 2017 September 22, 2017 Vinyl
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