In 1999, Academy Award-winning actor Joe Pesci (Goodfellas, Home Alone) decided to retire from acting. And he mostly made good on his promise, only breaking the fast to make a cameo in friend Robert De Niro's The Good Shepherd and star opposite Helen Mirren in Love Ranch. Now, Pesci has reunited with his collaborative maestro Martin Scorsese to deliver a leading performance in Netflix's The Irishman. It is, in many ways, a return to form for Pesci. An acting homecoming. And how is the actor celebrating his newfound publicity and renowned appreciation? By... releasing an album of standards called Still Singing, of course.
You see, Pesci was a singer long before he was an actor. He's semi-responsible for the founding of The Four Seasons, and put out a record in 1968 called Little Joe Sure Can Sing! before ever appearing in a film. Even during the height of his fame, Pesci kept the musical fires stoked. Did you love him in My Cousin Vinny? Would you love to hear that same character belt out jazz standards and parody hip-hop songs? Then you simply must listen to 1998's Vincent LaGuardia Gambini Sings Just for You, a very real album that very really exists.
This is partially why Pesci retired -- to get back into music. And now, as reported by Consequence of Sound, Pesci is figuring out how to make his two careers coexist. Still Singing boasts a litany of covers of well-known tunes, from "Round Midnight" to "My Cherie Amour," alongside collaborators like Maroon 5's Adam Levine. They sing two songs together! Pesci and Levine, times two! What a time! Okay, I'm being a bit silly -- and if you find this all a bit silly, I don't blame you. But I do encourage you to listen to some Pesci crooning with an open mind. He has a pleasing, old-fashioned tone of voice, and his love for music shines through. It's likely the most purely positive you'll ever see Pesci, best known for his more violent, anger-prone performances.
Still Singing is available for your listening pleasure on November 29, the same day as The Irishman's release on Netflix. What a day to be a Pesci fan! Enjoy Still Singing's tracklist below, and enjoy a beautiful live performance of a track that wound up on the album -- "The Nearness of You" with the legendary Jimmy Scott. For more on Pesci, check him out talking about The Irishman with De Niro, Pacino, and Scorsese.
01. How About You
02. Falling In Love is Wonderful
03. I Remember April
04. I’ll Be Seeing You
05. Round Midnight
06. If I Should Lose You
07. My Cherie Amour (feat. Adam Levine)
08. In My Solitude
09. Folks Who Live On The Hill
10. If I Ever Lost You
11. The Nearness of You (feat. Jimmy Scott)
12. Exodus
13. Baby Girl (feat. Adam Levine)