This was Ben’s idea. And it looks good on paper: Take the man whose golden throat graces such sweet soul classics as “Stand By Me” and “Spanish Harlem,” surround him with session pros like “Fathead” Newman and Milt Jackson, and have him run through the evergreen catalogues of Eckstine, Gershwin, Cole Porter, and others. Ben’s voice still has its beauty, so how could it miss?

Well, miss it does, anyway, because the admittedly pleasant sounds that make up Shades Of Blue are consistently marred by the sounds of various clocks being punched. Which is to say, no one here is trying very hard, least of all Ben, who’s smart enough to know that these songs demand interpretation, not just recital, from anyone who ranks higher than a Holiday Inn show band.

The real crime here, however, is in the way King constantly plays against his strengths, subverting his natural vocal tendencies in order to re-create the sound of the crooners he dedicated this album to: Nat King Cole, Big Joe Turner, Joe Williams and Billy Eckstine. He only succeeds in proving that all crooners are not alike, especially when he gives us a glimpse of the true Ben E. by dropping a few of his trademark vocal runs into “Just For A Thrill” and “There’s Be Some Changes Made.”

Best of all is the original “Song For Jennie,” the one time that King seems to be bending the format to fit his voice, and not vice versa. Too bad the rest of his mood indigo isn’t colored this brightly.