“After the Roses” (1980) – Kenny Rankin * Written by Kenny Rankin and Teddy Costa * LP: After the Roses * Produced by Don Costa * Label: Atlantic
The jazzy Manhattan singer-songwriter Kenny Rankin took the candlelight dinner route on his After the Roses LP, with its Don Costa string arrangements and tuxedo photo on the back. Its spare title track, though, is the one that lingers, thanks to the suspended-chord musical uncertainty that fits his insecure words like a wrinkled tailored shirt. “I’ve been talking to myself again,” he sings at the 39-second mark, immediately after an endearing guitar flub.