In his book,
A Biographical Guide to the Great Jazz and Pop Singers, author
Will Friedwald says that
Song for the Geese was Murphy's first release with a major label (
BMG) since his days at
Capitol. He notes that in the release, "There are standards, there are ballads, there are jazz numbers, and yes there are bossa novas, and there is also a treatment of the British standard "
You're Blasé", which begins with a Kerouacian rap, and ends with a "rant" of the kind that
Kurt Elling learned from him. And there are tasteful, even welcome elements of
deejay culture, sampling, overdubbing, electronica, breaks, and beats". Writing in
Stereo Review, Friedwald assigned the album a 4 star rating (very good). Murphy was nominated for a Grammy award in the
Best Jazz Vocal Performance category for
Song of the Geese at the 40th annual
Grammy Awards but lost to
Dee Dee Bridgewater for
Dear Ella. The
AllMusic entry written by
Scott Yanow gives the album 4 stars. Yanow points out that, "Each song features Murphy's eccentric singing (which sometimes finds him jumping between low notes and falsetto) and there is a lot of variety in mood and style". He goes on to say, "this CD does an excellent job of showing where Mark Murphy was musically in the late '90s". Yanow also includes the album in his list of worthy recordings by Mark Murphy in his book
The Jazz Singers: The Ultimate Guide. The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music rates the release as good
(3/5). Andrew Gilbert, writing for
MusicHound Jazz, assigns the recording 4 bones in the "best of the rest" category. The
Penguin Guide to Jazz assigns qualified 4 stars (***(*), meaning a fine record with exceptional music kept out of the front rank with minor reservations) and the entry says, "You have to be a Murphy believer to agree with the rating, since this is the man at his most idiosyncratic and personal...The arrangements stick to a trusted small group formula, dappled a little by synths and the surprisingly effective use of the vocal group, Full Voice". John Swenson, in
The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide, assigns the album 3.5 stars (good to excellent, representing an artist's near peak performance). Dan Ouellette, writing in a feature in
DownBeat in 1997 singles out for praise, "a gem of a rendition of Stephen Sondheim's 'I Remember (Sky)', a rousing, off-the-cuff, hip-scatting take on 'Baltimore Oriole' and an upbeat zip through Steely Dan's 'Do It Again'. He gives "two thumbs down for the percussive, r&b sneering on Steely Dan's 'Do It Again' and the slurring, lounge-crooner diction ('I sincerely wanna zay ...') on 'I Wish You Love'. Why turn 'Baltimore Oriole' into breathless acid-jazz"? But he goes on to say, "On ballads, Murphy shines. The confessional "Song for the Geese", sardonic "Everybody Loves Me", vulnerable "Lament" (
J.J. Johnson's) and the absolutely touching "
I Remember" by
Stephen Sondheim, shimmer with bittersweet longing...But then I've always found Murphy's autumnal moods more plausible than his exuberant, show-biz side, even when his foggy baritone is as velvety as his cummerbund". He wrote, "
Song For The Geese is the quintessential recording of an extraordinary singer and lyricist. On his first recording for a major label in three decades, Murphy’s vibrant vocals are vitalized by inventive, energized arrangements . . . The 65-year-old cool cat of
vocalese, indisputably the hippest hip male singer on the scene today, has reached a lofty creative plateau here, not just performing but living each song". == Track listing ==