I totally just stumbled on this bizarrely rewarding little release (it's called a "le petite albumn" [sic] on the cover, rather than single or EP or album — what does that even mean?!) named "All Of The Above" by Ford Lile, a rather suave looking gentleman who is/was, apparently, a lounge singer and also a character actor in TV shows from the 1960s through the late '80s. I can't accurately describe how weirdly intimate and creepily fantastic this brief release is, but here goes: it's a bit like the weepy-sweepy mid-60s Scott Walker torch songs, all syrupy strings and movement, dramatic, emotional vocals...combined with Tiny Tim, and turned somehow vaguely cartoonish. The voice is...low, huge, omnipresent, quavering expectantly with drippy emotion and gooey affectation. The release describes it as "like being wrapped in cashmere". OK, whatever. In any case, though he falls short as a serious torchsinger à la Mr. Walker (nee Scott Engel), Lile's earnest intent gives the three songs this otherworldly, eerie atmosphere that seethes "I am fictional...yet I am true art" that is unfathomably great. Honestly, the best way for me to compare this to anything is to say that Ford Lile is to Scott Walker as Tommy Wiseau (writer/director of the cult movie "The Room") is to Tennessee Williams. Although, having said that, Lile's a very talented fellow and I truly am not disparaging him; it's just that this release succeeds hugely for me both despite the man's best intentions and because of them. I wish I could buy more copies of this to give as gifts to friends. I wish I was responsible for compiling movie soundtracks, this would be fantastic in a film. I wish I could find this man and encourage him to continue, his art is wonderful.

Slight correction: as per IMDB, he actually acted from 1970 through 1997, not 60s-80s as I wrote above. Highlights: "Mission Impossible", "The Doris Day Show", "the Six Million Dollar Man", and a 1997 "Murder, She Wrote" TV movie! Also, I just discovered his four CD releases are available on cdbaby. Nice!