When Bob Welch records an album of covers, he infuses them with his signature style and makes them his own. But with Sings the Best Songs Ever Written the former Fleetwood Mac member also walks the listener through the annals of his record collection, revealing a classic, timeless taste in music. Welch gives a buttery-smooth '70s soft-rock gloss to Burt Bacharach’s 1965 hit “Alfie,” while keeping things sounding fresh with modern production. Bobby Troup’s archetypal R&B standard “Route 66” follows, with a jazzy approach on par with Georgie Fame before flip-flopping and infusing George Gershwin’s jazz standard “Our Love Is Here to Stay” with bluesy guitar leads and a swinging rhythm section. With Vernon Duke’s 1934 standard “Autumn in New York,” Welch’s heartfelt vocal performance really channels the cold snap of The Big Apple’s most colorful season. He similarly invokes all the romantic sentiments from the title track to the 1957 film Wild Is the Wind.