Music Is Better Than Words

Music Is Better Than Words
Studio album by Seth MacFarlane
Released	September 27, 2011
Recorded	December 10–13, 2010
Studio	Capitol Studios (Hollywood) Avatar Studios (New York City)
Genre	Swing big band vocal jazz traditional pop
Length	48:29
Label	Universal Republic
Producer	Joel McNeely
Seth MacFarlane chronology
Music Is Better Than Words (2011) Holiday for Swing (2014)
Singles from Music Is Better Than Words
"The Night They Invented Champagne" Released: September 6, 2011 "Nine O'Clock" Released: September 27, 2011

Music Is Better Than Words is the debut studio album by American actor and singer Seth MacFarlane.^[1] The album contains songs from the Great American Songbook, and features standards by Rodgers and Hammerstein and Lerner and Loewe, among other 1940s and ’50s-era show tunes.^[2] The album features duets with Norah Jones and Sara Bareilles.^[3] The album was produced and conducted by film and television composer Joel McNeely, who is also one of the composers of American Dad!, an animated TV series co-created by MacFarlane.

On November 30, 2011, the album received two nominations at the 54th Grammy Awards for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical.^[4]

Background

In 2010, MacFarlane signed a record deal with Universal Republic Records.^[5] 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."^[6] He also performed the song "You're the Cream in My Coffee" during this appearance.^[7]

When Universal Republic Records asked MacFarlane what kind of album he wanted to do, he said "a classic Sinatra-style album". The production process for the album reconstructs the techniques used in the 40s and 50s by utilizing a live orchestra and a big band playing together in the same room where MacFarlane sings live. The album was recorded at the Capitol Records Building in the same room in which Sinatra had worked.^[8] Moreover, MacFarlane recorded the vocals for Music Is Better Than Words with the microphone that Sinatra used on many of his classic albums. In an interview 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."^[9] In addition, MacFarlane and McNeely wrote additional lyrics and melodies to "She's Wonderful Too". The song was written by McNeely for an episode of the television series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. George Lucas gave them his blessing, to make the song more new and complete.^[10]

Promotion

MacFarlane appeared as a guest on Conan on February 10, and performed "The Sadder But Wiser Girl".^[11] He also appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on September 27,^[12] followed by Jimmy Kimmel Live! on September 28.^[13]

Swingin' in Concert

In February 2011, it was announced that MacFarlane would be performing a one-night-only concert titled Seth MacFarlane: Swingin' in Concert at the Club Nokia in Los Angeles on March 26. The show featured a 39-piece orchestra and also a duet with Sara Bareilles.^[14][15] The special aired on September 24 on Epix.^[16]

The special earned an Emmy Award nomination in the category Outstanding Music Direction.^[17]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[18]
Slant Magazine	[19]
Spin	4/10[20]

The album received mixed reviews. 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." The review continued with "...the album has nothing to offer beyond MacFarlane's attempts to preserve and honor this particular style of music" and concluded, "Music Is Better Than Words doesn't have any greater purpose than to allow MacFarlane the opportunity to indulge in his desire to record an album of standards."^[21]

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."^[20] AllMusic wrote: "MacFarlane and McNeely don't attempt to ape the pizzazz of Frank [Sinatra]'s Reprise years, nor do they spend much time with May's snazzy snap, they stick with Riddle and Jenkins, keeping things sentimental and lush even when the words crackle with wit. Then again, MacFarlane is so concerned about inhabiting Sinatra's silken suits he doesn't really care about the meaning of the songs; all that matters is sounding like Ol' Blue Eyes, which MacFarlane does about as well as any number of hotel lounge singers this world over."^[18]

Track listing

Standard edition^[18]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"It's Anybody's Spring"	Jimmy Van Heusen Johnny Burke	2:56
2.	"Music Is Better Than Words"	Betty Comden Adolph Green André Previn	3:20
3.	"Anytime, Anywhere"	Lenny Adelson Imogen Carpenter	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 Buddy 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 Seth MacFarlane	2:59
Total length:			48:29

Personnel

Credits adapted from AllMusic:^[22]

Production

• Joel McNeely — arranger, conductor, liner notes, producer
• Rich Breen – Engineer, mixing
• Dave Hage – librarian
• Frank Filipetti – engineer
• Mike Ging – engineer
• Gary Lindsay – arranger, consultant, score preparation
• Bob Ludwig — mastering
• Charlie Paakkari – assistant engineer
• Matthew Peak – illustrations
• Peter Rotter – contractor
• Paul Smith – assistant engineer
• David Sporny – consultant
• Aaron Walk – assistant engineer
• Autumn de Wilde – photography
• Booker White – music preparation

Additional musicians

• Seth MacFarlane – vocals, composer, liner notes
• Richard Altenbach – violin
• Sara Bareilles – featured artist
• Chuck Berghofer – bass
• Wayne Bergeron – trumpet
• Alan Broadbent – piano
• Robert Brophy – viola
• Roberto Cani – violin
• Pete Christlieb – sax (tenor)
• Wade Culbreath – percussion
• Brian Dembow – viola
• Bruce Dukov – violin
• Stephen Erdody – celli
• Peter Erskine – drums
• Alan Estes – percussion
• Dave Everson – horn
• Chuck Findley – trumpet
• Marlow Fisher – viola
• Lorenz Gamma – violin
• Julie Gigante – violin
• Endre Granat – violin
• Adolph Green – composer
• Henry Gronnier – violin
• Clayton Haslop – violin
• Tamara Hatwan – violin
• Steven Holtman – trombone
• Dan Higgins – sax (alto)
• Steven Holtman – trombone
• Greg Huckins – sax (baritone)
• Alex Iles – trombone
• Norah Jones – featured artist
• Daniel Kelley – horn
• Larry Koonse – guitar (acoustic)
• Armen Ksajikian – celli
• Steve Kujala – flute
• Phillip Levy – violin
• Bill Listen – sax (tenor)
• Warren Luening – trumpet
• Andrew Martin – trombone
• Victoria Miskolczy – viola
• Kenneth Munday – bassoon
• Helen Nightengale – violin
• Cheryl Norman – violin
• Michael Nowak – viola
• Sid Page – violin
• Joel Pargman – violin
• Alyssa Park – violin
• William Frank "Bill" Reichenbach Jr. – trombone
• Mark Robertson – violin
• Julie Rogers – violin
• Geri Rotella – flute
• Brian Scanlon – sax (alto)
• Andrew Shulman – celli
• David H. Speltz – celli
• Bob Summers – trumpet
• Tereza Stanislav – violin
• James Thatcher – horn
• Jo Ann Turovsky – harp
• Josefina Vergara – violin
• Dave Walther – viola
• John Walz – celli
• David Weiss – oboe
• Roger Wilkie – violin

Chart positions

Chart (2011)	Peak position
US Billboard 200[23]	111
US Top Jazz Albums (Billboard)[24]	2
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[25]	2

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label
United States[26]	September 27, 2011	CD Digital download Vinyl	Universal Republic

References

1. "Seth Mcfarlane - Music Is Better Than Words (Lp)". Music Direct. Retrieved 2012-03-02.
2. "Seth MacFarlane: TV's 'Family Guy' Makes Music, Too". NPR. October 17, 2011. Archived from the original on November 12, 2023. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
3. "Seth Mcfarlane - Music Is Better Than Words (Lp)". Music Direct. Retrieved 2012-03-02.
4. "Complete List of Nominees for the 54th Annual Grammy Awards | E! Online UK". Ca.eonline.com. November 30, 2011. Archived from the original on September 5, 2014. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
5. "'Family Guy' Creator Seth MacFarlane Signs Record Deal". Billboard. August 6, 2010. Retrieved August 7, 2010.
6. "Seth MacFarlane On Leno, Announces Debut Album". Freakinsweetnews.com. 2010-08-06. Archived from the original on October 9, 2011. Retrieved 2011-01-29.
7. "Seth MacFarlane performs 'Cream in My Coffee,' announces swing album on 'Tonight' - From Inside the Box - Zap2it". Blog.zap2it.com. Archived from the original on 2011-01-03. Retrieved 2012-03-02.
8. Itzkoff, Dave (August 6, 2010). "Seth MacFarlane: From 'Family Guy' to Music Man". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 17, 2022. Retrieved August 6, 2010.
9. "Seth MacFarlane Goes From 'Family Guy' to Recording With Sinatra's Microphone, Thanks to Woody Allen - Exclusive Video". Spinner. 2011-09-30. Retrieved 2012-03-02.
10. "Seth MacFarlane Unveils Big Band Album". Deadline Hollywood. August 5, 2010. Archived from the original on August 9, 2022. Retrieved August 6, 2010.
11. "Seth MacFarlane Sings Us A Song!". Teamcoco.com. 2011-04-22. Archived from the original on 2011-04-22. Retrieved 2012-08-29.
12. Eisenberg, Dana (2011-09-28). "Seth MacFarlane's (And Stewie's) Stunt Rampage Continues On Tonight Show (VIDEO)". Business Insider. Retrieved 2012-03-02.
13. "Talk show guests". New York Post. 2011-09-28. Retrieved 2012-03-02.
14. Amter, Charlie (February 24, 2011). "Seth MacFarlane To Perform Duet with Sara Bareilles in Concert". The New York Times. Retrieved February 25, 2011.
15. Ginell, Richard (March 27, 2011). "Music review: Seth MacFarlane at Club Nokia". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on February 3, 2023. Retrieved March 27, 2011.
16. Holden, Stephen (September 29, 2011). "Creating Some of That New Black Magic". The New York times. Archived from the original on December 19, 2023. Retrieved September 30, 2011.
17. "Nominees/Winners | Television Academy". Emmys.com. Retrieved April 5, 2017.
18. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Music Is Better Than Words - Seth MacFarlane — Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 2015-12-27.
19. "Slant review". Slant Magazine. 27 September 2011. Retrieved 2012-08-29.
20. Kamps, Garrett (2011-09-27). "Seth MacFarlane, 'Music Is Better Than Words' (Universal Republic)". Spin. Buzzmedia. Retrieved 2012-03-02.
21. "Seth MacFarlane: Music Is Better Than Words | Music Review". Slant Magazine. 2011-09-27. Retrieved 2012-03-02.
22. "Music Is Better Than Words – Seth MacFarlane – Credits – AllMusic". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved September 28, 2011.
23. "Seth MacFarlane Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
24. "Seth MacFarlane Chart History (Top Jazz Albums)". Billboard.
25. "Seth MacFarlane Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard.
26. "Music Is Better Than Words: Music". ASIN B004T5IW2K. Retrieved March 6, 2011.

External links