If there’s one artist you’d trust to do justice to the greatest songs in cinema history, it’s Josh Groban. The Tony, Emmy and five-time Grammy-nominated singer has announced Cinematic, a ten-track album of beloved film songs arriving May 8 via Reprise Records, and the second taste — a sweeping rendition of ‘As Time Goes By’ from Casablanca — is out now and is exactly as beautiful as you’d hope.
The album was produced by Greg Wells, whose credits include Wicked, The Greatest Showman, Adele and Taylor Swift, and recorded across both Los Angeles and London. The tracklist reads like a greatest hits of cinema itself — ‘Skyfall’, ‘Moon River’, ‘Unchained Melody’, ‘When You Wish Upon a Star’, ‘Stand By Me’, ‘Remember Me’ from Coco, and a Sicilian-language rendition of ‘Brucia La Terra’ from The Godfather that already sounds like a highlight. There’s also a duet of ‘Unchained Melody’ with Jennifer Hudson, which on paper is one of the most exciting vocal pairings you could imagine. And in a genuinely lovely touch, ‘Moon River’ from Breakfast at Tiffany’s features Groban’s dad, Jack, on trumpet solo.
The first single, ‘Can You Feel the Love Tonight’ from The Lion King featuring the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles, offered a first glimpse of the scale and warmth Groban is bringing to this project. ‘As Time Goes By’ confirms it — this is an album made by someone who genuinely loves these songs and wants to honour them properly rather than simply run through them.
Groban is currently midway through his GEMS World Tour, which has already taken in Auckland, Sydney, Melbourne, Dublin, London, Paris and Berlin among many others. The North American leg follows in June with special guest Jennifer Hudson — Madison Square Garden on June 12, TD Garden in Boston, Bridgestone Arena in Nashville and more — before a Las Vegas residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace this October.
Cinematic is available to pre-save and pre-order now. It’s going to be a good one.
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