Gary V reinvents the songs of his youth

VALENCIANO. Inspired revivals.

Gary Valenciano’s latest recording, “Gary V Sings Just for You,” features songs sung “from the heart of a husband to a dream of a wife.”

More than anything, the compleat performer’s 26th full-length album is a reflection of his wife’s impeccable musical taste—most of its 10 tracks are Angeli’s favorite songs, and were staples on the pop playlists of the country’s top radio stations in the ’80s, when Gary and Martin Nievera, his main singing rival, were just starting to make a name for themselves.

What sets the nostalgia-fueled collection apart, however, are the memorable tunes that have, until now, managed to evade the onslaught of tireless revivals from singers with mediocre interpretive skills and middling vocal quality—like Burton Cummings’ “I Will Always Wait for You,” Michael Jackson’s “Someone in the Dark,” and Barry Manilow’s “As Sure As I’m Standing Here.”

When Valenciano sings “I Will Always Wait for You,” its beautifully concocted lyrics transcend romantic whimsy: “Clocks in the parking lot/ Watching the time/ Watch others steeplechase/ Starting to chime/ Timepieces holding my life in their hands/ Always remind me/ Behind me, behind me/ But, I will always wait for you/ Take my time and count on you/ Somehow I know you’ll make it through.”

Sappy excesses

For lonely souls who need a psychic musical boost, it’s easy to disregard the sappy excesses of and draw inspiration from the Manilow ditty (“You say nothing matters/ You know how it is/ Did you think it would be like this?”) or Jackson’s seldom-covered inspirational gem: “When someone in the dark reaches out to you/ And touches off a spark…that tells you, ‘Never be afraid’/ Somewhere in your heart you can feel the glow/ A light to keep you warm when the night winds blow.”

In Valenciano’s best album in years, even songs that are often revived don’t sound like lazy retreads and grating knockoffs—as Gary V demonstrates in his remakes of George Benson’s “In Your Eyes,” Kenny Rankin’s “What Matters Most,” James Ingram’s “Just Once,” and Manilow’s “Somewhere Down The Road.” For lovers of standards, the subtle theatricality of “Send In The Clowns” will win them over.

Gary V delivers his most surprising treats in his covers of Stevie Wonder’s “Overjoyed” and Stephen Bishop’s “It Might Be You.”

The former gets its boost from the complementary fusion of snappy percussions and soaring harmonies, while the latter is reinvigorated by a more upbeat arrangement that smartly incorporates a cursory but inspired sampling of—would you believe?—Spandau Ballet’s “True.” You can’t get more creative than that!