I had a realization while I was listening to ‘I Know More Now,’ Brian de Lorenzo’s new album (his new one after decades) because when i first listened to the album, i wasn’t too fond of it It felt a little too ‘cabaret,’ and I bit self-indulgent. But I listened to it more, and I found a lot more to like about it. The song selection is definitely odd – a mixture of lesser known songs and ones that are (to me) iconic pieces for other people, De Lorenzo has a nice sweet voice, but it could be a bit colorless, and teh piano arrangements at times verged on recital-like. But I think, all in all, it’s an album that will catch you by pleasant surprise.

First, the good. The album title is derived from one of my favorite songs ‘No More,’ from Marvin Hamlisch and his ‘The Goodbye Girl’ musical. I consider this song a secret – nto many peopel have done it, and it was nice to see De Lorenzo give it a gay ‘twist.’ And I have heard numerous versions of ‘When October Goes’ that I was elated to find his version tenderly appealing. And the funny ‘Entering Marion’ with all its double entendres made me chuckle. But he didn’t add anything to ‘Second Hand Baby grand’ from Smash to distinguish his version from others and can we get a moratorium on ‘Waving Through A Window’ because it’s just so icky.

So, a little bit o fa mixed bag here. But I think some of these songs will end up on my daily playlist, so the good outweighs the bad.