Album Review

Greg Adams [allmusic.com]

The Mills Brothers reach into the grab-bag of songs on Fortuosity, tossing together old-fashioned vocal group numbers, Broadway and movie tunes, and tastefully arranged contemporary songs that illustrate the adaptability and currency of these 40-year veterans of the music business. The album is a departure, in that sense, from the thematic and nostalgic albums the group had been waxing for Dot up to that point, and the forward-looking approach paid off. The light rock rhythm of ''Cab Driver'' gave the group its first hit in a decade, and sparked a brief comeback on the pop and easy listening charts that yielded a few more hit singles thereafter. The title track comes from the Walt Disney film The Happiest Millionaire, and ''The Bramble Bush'' from The Dirty Dozen, while ''Sherry'' and ''Hallelujah Baby!'' are taken from the Broadway musicals of the same names. ''I Found a Love'' features a gorgeous, gospel-influenced vocal arrangement of the then-recent Wilson Pickett hit, and the Turtles' ''Happy Together'' receives a traditional pop makeover that is contemporary without seeming awkward or incongruous. Arranger Sy Oliver contributed one of three originals on the album, the snappy ''Long Long Ago,'' and his big-band charts are rooted in an earlier era while tastefully incorporating more modern elements. The adventurousness of the album may reflect the influence of producer Charles Grean, who composed some famous novelty songs in the '50s such as Phil Harris' ''The Thing'' and Betty Johnson's ''The Little Blue Man.''