Nancy Wilson: Can't Take My Eyes Off You

One of Nancy Wilsons unsung talents is taking the most overplayed pop songs and making them into her own. Her version of Cant Take My Eyes Off You is a prime example. For most singers, this song and its famous arrangement seem to be inseparable, yet Wilsons version jettisons the Frankie Valli setting and reinterprets it as a soulful Basie-styled ballad. The original melody doesnt amount to much, as it mumbles along during the verse (Youre just too good to be true) and then explodes on the chorus (I love you baby). The lyrics are better, and Wilson focuses on reading the lyric and making major changes to the melody. And while the famous interlude from Vallis recording is not here, the combination of Phil Wrights ever-building arrangement and Wilsons impassioned reading of the lyric makes the chorus seem a natural outgrowth of the verse, and not a sudden outburst. Wilson and Wright made one further change, cutting the line and let me love you, baby; let me love you. On Vallis recording, that was the peak of the song, but it also stopped the song in its tracks. Wilsons peak on the line before is quite effective, and she closes the song with a quiet return to the center of the verse.