Today in words I never though would be in a sentence together: Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane has signed a record deal to release an album of 40’s and 50’s show tunes. The man best known for voicing a fey homicidal baby is working with Universal Republic records to record an album that “pays tribute to broadway classics.” According to The Hollywood reporter, MacFarlane will sing “straight-up renditions” of songs from famous lyricists Rogers and Hammerstein (The King and I, The Sound Of Music) and Lerner and Loewe (My Fair Lady, Camelot). That means he’s not adding fart noises or anything!
“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,” said MacFarlane in the year’s biggest understatement “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.”
At the very least, you can’t say that this is your typical celebrity vanity project. McFarlane’s love of show tunes is well documented; he’s known for inserting elaborate musical numbers into his shows with the barest of pretenses. (Then again, a lot of what goes into Family Guy only has the barest of pretenses.) I just can’t image who the audience is, other than MacFarlane fans who download legally acquire the album, listen to two songs, and then turn it off when it’s not funny. But if this is what MacFarlane wants to do, more the power to him. Every little bit helps to keep the music industry afloat, and he has enough money to hire an appreciative audience if he needs it.
Source: THR
