In Full Swing (Seth MacFarlane album)

In Full Swing is the fourth studio album by Seth MacFarlane. It was released on September 15, 2017, through Republic Records and Verve Records. The record was primarily produced by Joel McNeely and MacFarlane himself, who also serves as the executive producer. Featured artists included on the album are American singer-songwriter Norah Jones and American actress and singer Elizabeth Gillies.[1]

In Full Swing
Studio album by Seth MacFarlane
Released	September 15, 2017
Recorded	May 20–30, 2016
Studio	Abbey Road Studios
Genre	Traditional pop vocal jazz swing big band
Length	48:48
Label	Republic Verve Fuzzy Door
Producer	Joel McNeely Seth MacFarlane Joy Fehily (also exec.)
Seth MacFarlane chronology
No One Ever Tells You (2015) In Full Swing (2017) Once in a While (2019)
Singles from In Full Swing
"That Face" Released: August 17, 2017 "Almost Like Being in Love" Released: August 28, 2017 "Have You Met Miss Jones?" Released: September 7, 2017

The album received two nominations at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album and Best Arrangement, Instrumental and Vocals.[2]

Background

On May 23, 2016, MacFarlane announced on his Twitter account that he was recording songs for his new album.[3] On May 28, 2016, he revealed that the songs on the album were arranged by Joel McNeely, whom he had worked with on the previous three albums.[4] On May 30, 2016, MacFarlane revealed that it was his final day of recording at Abbey Road Studios and thanked all the musicians who collaborated with him on the album.[5][6] On August 17, 2017, the album was officially announced and was set to be released a month later.[7]

Singles

The album's first lead single, "That Face", was released on August 17, 2017.[8] The album's second single, "Almost Like Being in Love", was released on August 28, 2017.[9] The album's third and final single, "Have You Met Miss Jones?", was released on September 7, 2017.[10]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[11]

In Full Swing received mostly positive reviews from music critics. AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote: "Standing in contrast to the moody 2015 set No One Ever Tells You, 2017's In Full Swing contains some of the sunny brio its title suggests. Chalk it up to the songs Seth MacFarlane selects, of course. There's nary a song of heartbreak among the album's 16 numbers, and he doesn't rely on overly familiar tunes, either. This lighthearted batch of songs is given effervescent arrangements by Joel McNeely, who gladly keeps the proceedings cool and breezy. As always, MacFarlane and McNeely are so besotted with Frank Sinatra's classic long-players for Capitol that their act can seem like a bit of swinging cosplay, with MacFarlane mimicking Old Blue Eyes' finger-snapping charm and McNeely penning love letters to Nelson Riddle, but their execution is expert and, since the touch is light, In Full Swing feels looser and better than its predecessors. MacFarlane and McNeely have taken Frank's advice to take things Nice 'n' Easy to heart, and they're the better for it."[11] Christopher Louden from JazzTimes praised the album, writing, "MacFarlane proves (yet again) fully worthy of such bounty. Alongside top-tier standards from the Gershwins, Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Rodgers and Hart, Lerner and Loewe and Jimmy Van Heusen, he unearths several less precious though no less glittering baubles. Among them: the overjoyed "I Like Myself", from It's Always Fair Weather; the jaunty Gordon MacRae-Gisele McKenzie number "My Buick, My Love and I" (featuring Elizabeth Gillies); the pert "A Kiss or Two"; and a sparkling parry with Norah Jones on "If I Had a Talking Picture of You". Through it all, you can't help but be carried away by MacFarlane’s joie de vivre, like a kid in a candy store gleefully sharing his sugar-dusted treats."[12]

Track listing

All music is composed by Joel McNeely[13][14].

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"The First Time It Happens"	Joe Raposo	3:53
2.	"Almost Like Being in Love"	Frederick Loewe Alan Jay Lerner	2:48
3.	"Isn't This a Lovely Day (To Be Caught in the Rain?)"	Irving Berlin	3:40
4.	"For You, For Me, For Evermore"	George Gershwin Ira Gershwin	3:08
5.	"Like Someone in Love"	Jimmy Van Heusen Johnny Burke	3:26
6.	"That Face"	Alan Bergman Lew Spence	2:35
7.	"If I Had a Talking Picture of You" (featuring Norah Jones)	Lew Brown Buddy Desylva Ray Henderson	3:06
8.	"I'm Glad There Is You"	Jimmy Dorsey Paul Madeira	3:07
9.	"You Couldn't Be Cuter"	Jerome Kern Dorothy Fields	2:29
10.	"I Like Myself"	André Previn	3:54
11.	"You Can't Love 'Em All"	Van Heusen Sammy Cahn	2:25
12.	"Have You Met Miss Jones?"	Lorenz Hart Richard Rodgers	3:06
13.	"A Kiss or Two"	Vincent Youmans Leo Robin Clifford Grey	2:22
14.	"But Beautiful"	Van Heusen Burke	3:51
15.	"Moonlight Becomes You"	Van Heusen Burke	2:58
16.	"My Buick, My Love and I" (featuring Elizabeth Gillies)	Frank Skinner Jack Brooks	2:01
Total length:			48:48

Personnel

Credits adapted from AllMusic.[15]

• Jonathan Aasgaard – cello
• Richard Altenbach – violin
• John Anderson – oboe
• Timothy Ball – horn
• Lianne Barnard – flute
• John Barrett – engineering assistance
• Francesca Barritt – violin
• Annie Beilby – viola
• Wayne Bergeron – trumpet
• Chuck Berghofer – bass, rhythm bass
• Alan Bergman – composition
• Irving Berlin – composition
• Rich Breen – engineering, mixing
• Alan Broadbent – keyboards
• Jack Brooks – composition
• Robert Brophy – viola
• Johnny Burke – composition
• Sammy Cahn – composition
• Rowena Calvert – cello
• Gordon Campbell – trombone
• Roberto Cani – violin
• Corinne Chapelle – violin
• Pete Christlieb – saxophone
• Stephano Civetta – engineering assistance
• Heather Clark – flute
• Dave Collins – mastering
• Betty Comden – composition
• Tom Croxon – orchestra contractor
• Wade Culbreath – percussion
• Hannah Dawson – violin
• Autumn de Wilde – cover photo
• Brian Dembow – viola
• Buddy DeSylva – composition
• Shlomy Dobrinsky – violin
• Jimmy Dorsey – composition
• Pierre Doumenge – cello
• Bruce Dukov – violin
• Pip Eastop – horn
• Stephen Erdody – cello
• Peter Erskine – drums
• Alan Estes – percussion
• Dave Everson – horn
• Joy Fehily – executive production
• Dorothy Fields – composition
• Chuck Findley – trumpet
• Marlow Fisher – viola
• Matthew Funes – viola
• Lorenz Gamma – violin
• George Gershwin – composition
• Ira Gershwin – composition
• Elizabeth Gillies – vocals
• Mark Graham – music preparation
• Peter Graham – violin
• Endre Granat – violin
• Adolph Green – composition
• Clifford Grey – composition
• Henry Gronnier – violin
• Lorenz Hart – composition
• Andrew Harvey – violin
• Clayton Haslop – violin
• Tamara Hatwan – violin
• Ray Henderson – composition
• James Van Heusen – composition
• Dan Higgins – alto saxophone, saxophone, woodwind
• Steven Holtman – trombone
• Greg Huckins – saxophone
• Alex Iles – trombone
• Jeremy Isaac – violin
• Kurt Iswarienko – photography
• Charis Jenson – violin
• Karen Jones – flute
• Norah Jones – vocals
• Dennis Karmazyn – viola
• Daniel Kelly – horn
• Jerome Kern – composition
• Liam Kirkman – trombone
• Larry Koonse – guitar
• Aimee Kreston – violin
• Armen Ksajikian – cello
• Stephen Kujala – flute
• Dunja Lavrova – violin
• Alan Jay Lerner – composition
• Phillip Levy – violin
• Gary Lindsay – vocal consultant
• Bill Liston – saxophone
• Frederick Loewe – composition
• Mike Lovatt – trumpet
• Warren Luening – trumpet
• James Lynch – trumpet
• Jens Lynen – violin
• Seth MacFarlane – vocals, production
• Paul Madeira – composition
• Danny Marsden – trumpet
• Andrew Martin – trombone
• Ciaran McCabe – violin
• Joel McNeely – arrangement, conducting, production
• John Mills – violin
• Victoria Miskolczy – viola
• Catherine Musker – viola
• Benjamin Newton – viola
• Helen Nightengale – violin
• Peter Noah – bass trombone
• Cheryl Norman – violin
• Michael Nowak – viola
• Brian O'Connor – horn
• Sid Page – violin
• Andy Panayi – alto saxophone
• Joel Pargman – violin
• Alyssa Park – violin
• John Parricelli – guitar
• André Previn – composition
• Tom Ranier – celeste, piano
• Joe Raposo – composition
• Bill Reichenbach – trombone
• Mark Robertson – violin
• Leo Robin – composition
• Richard Rodgers – composition
• Ruth Rogers – violin
• Benedict Rogerson – cello
• Anatoly Rosinsky – violin
• Geraldine Rotella – flute
• Roberto Ruisi – violin
• Brian Scanlon – saxophone
• Colin Skinner – baritone saxophone
• Frank Skinner – composition
• David H. Speltz – viola
• Lew Spence – composition
• Joe Spix – art direction
• Jonathan Stokes – trombone
• Jule Styne – composition
• Bob Summers – trumpet
• Jamie Talbot – tenor saxophone
• James Thatcher – horn
• Phil Todd – tenor saxophone
• Cecilia Tsan – viola
• Viktoriya Tsoy – design
• Jo Ann Turovsky – harp
• Josefina Vergara – violin
• Dave Walther – viola
• Sam Walton – percussion, timpani
• Vicci Wardman – viola
• Hugh Webb – harp
• David Weiss – oboe
• Patrick White – trumpet
• Roger Wilkie – violin
• Steven Wilkie – violin
• Andy Wood – trombone
• Vincent Youmans – composition

Charts

In Full Swing debuted at No. 2 on the US Billboard Top Jazz Albums.[16]

Chart (2017)	Peak position
US Top Jazz Albums (Billboard)[16]	2

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label	Ref.
Worldwide	September 15, 2017	CD digital download streaming	Republic Verve Fuzzy Door Productions	[17]
	September 22, 2017	Vinyl		[18]

References

1. "Seth MacFarlane: In Full Swing: Music". Amazon.com. ASIN B074BMXZQM. Retrieved 2017-09-15.
2. Lynch, Joe (6 December 2016). "Grammys 2018: See the Complete List of Nominees". Billboard. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
3. Seth MacFarlane [@SethMacFarlane] (May 23, 2016). "Recording songs today with stunning orchestrations by Bruce Broughton-- not a bad day indeed" (Tweet). Retrieved December 18, 2017 – via Twitter.
4. Seth MacFarlane [@SethMacFarlane] (May 28, 2016). "Recording masterfully crafted, hard-swinging charts the last few days by my pal the brilliant @joelsephmc" (Tweet). Retrieved December 18, 2017 – via Twitter.
5. Seth MacFarlane [@SethMacFarlane] (May 30, 2016). "Final day of recording-- Dan Higgins slaying sax solos as usual" (Tweet). Retrieved December 18, 2017 – via Twitter.
6. Seth MacFarlane [@SethMacFarlane] (May 30, 2016). "UK musicians and members of the John Wilson Orchestra, thanks for some of the best playing I've ever heard this week @ Abbey Road Studios" (Tweet). Retrieved December 18, 2017 – via Twitter.
7. "Seth MacFarlane's New Album 'In Full Swing' Out 9/15". Broadway Worldwide. August 17, 2017. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
8. "That Face – Seth MacFarlane – Vevo". Vevo. August 17, 2017. Retrieved December 16, 2017.
9. "Almost Like Being In Love – Seth MacFarlane – Vevo". Vevo. August 28, 2017. Retrieved December 16, 2017.
10. "Have You Met Miss Jones? – Seth MacFarlane – Vevo". Vevo. September 7, 2017. Retrieved December 16, 2017.
11. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "In Full Swing- Seth MacFarlane : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
12. Louden, Christopher (November 9, 2017). "Seth MacFarlane: In Full Swing (Republic/Verve): Review of vocal jazz album by TV and film producer and writer who sings material from the Great American Songbook". JazzTimes. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
13. "In Full Swing". Spotify. September 15, 2017.
14. "In Full Swing – Seth MacFarlane on iTunes". US: iTunes Store. Archived from the original on August 26, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
15. "In Full Swing – Seth MacFarlane | Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
16. "Seth MacFarlane Chart History (Top Jazz Albums)". Billboard.
17. "Seth MacFarlane: In Full Swing – Music on Google Play". Google Play. Archived from the original on October 18, 2017. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
18. "In Full Swing by Seth MacFarlane". Barnes & Noble. Archived from the original on October 18, 2017. Retrieved December 21, 2017.

External links

• In Full Swing (Seth MacFarlane album) at Discogs (list of releases)