by Greg Adams Rod McKuen staged a brief return with After Midnight, recorded in Australia in 1982. Most of the 13 songs are re-recordings of original compositions dating back as far as 1951, presented in dusky jazz interpretations with a small combo of Australian musicians. The liner notes detail McKuen's surprisingly impressive jazz pedigree and make a good case for his significance as a jazz vocalist. McKuen's voice has lost none of its unique charm and his songs are, as always, wistful and wise. After Midnight is a more cohesive and mood-setting album than most of the scattershot anthologies that have been released on CD, and compares very favorably to his earlier work. The 1988 compact disc reissue adds six demos from 1965-1966, two of which are prior recordings of songs that appear on the original After Midnight album.