Wonderland Love Stories, Chapter 3: Something Warm, Something Cool

The Wonderland series -- which made an impressive debut with its savvy but festive Christmas albums -- returns in time for Valentine's Day with Wonderland Love Stories, Chapter 3: Something Warm, Something Cool. Like their predecessors, the Wonderland Love Stories albums mix current and classic renditions of vocal jazz and pop standards. This time, however, romance is the focus, and on Something Warm, Something Cool there are many prime examples of all kinds of love songs, from Nancy Wilson's gorgeously understated "But Beautiful" to Patti Austin's brassy, head-over-heels version of "Too Close for Comfort." While some of the more modern recordings on the album don't have the presence of the aforementioned songs or of June Christy's "Something Cool" or Billie Holiday's "Comes Love," Madeleine Peyroux's playful "Getting Some Fun out of Life" and Tierney Sutton's unique, restrained version of "Crazy" rival the classic recordings included here. Other standout tracks include Anita O'Day's "Honeysuckle Rose," Chet Baker's "My Heart Stood Still," and Jane Monheit's "I'll Be Seeing You." While some more classic recordings would've been nice to hear, Wonderland Love Stories, Chapter 3: Something Warm, Something Cool still offers a nice mix of vintage and contemporary love songs.