When You Come to the End of the Day

Chronique

Released in time for Christmas 1958, When You Come to the End of the Day was Perry Como's second album of inspirational music, a follow-up to his 1953 set, I Believe. The recording keyed off of Laurie London's recent chart-topping version of "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands," which served as the opening track. Also included were hymns like "In the Garden" and "All Through the Night," as well as more recent compositions such as "Scarlet Ribbons" and "May the Good Lord Bless and Keep You." True to the material, Como's usual arrangers -- Jack Andrews, Joe Lipman, and Joe Reisman -- joined by choral director Ray Charles, came up with suitably chaste and reverential charts, heavy on the strings, with the Ray Charles Singers swooping in angelically here and there. Como turned in a fairly typical vocal performance, stirring himself here and there, such as on the big finish to "I May Never Pass This Way Again," but otherwise relying on the resonance of his thick baritone to convey the songs' spiritual messages. There was certainly nothing for people of faith to object to here (or heathens, either, for that matter). But this was a rather becalmed expression of faith for the most part.

© William Ruhlmann /TiVo