Tracks
- Let the Good Times Roll
- It Had to Be You
- Alexander's Ragtime Band
- Two Years of Torture
- When Your Lover Has Gone
- 'Deed I Do
- Just for a Thrill
- You Won't Let Me Go
- Tell Me You'll Wait for Me
- Don't Let the Sun Catch You Cryin'
- Am I Blue
- Come Rain or Come Shine
The Genius of Ray Charles is a superb album. Half the songs are vibrant and lively pieces, while the other half are soulful ballads. And while the music is great, they wouldn't be as outstanding without a singer like Ray Charles. He is so charismatic that he easily convinces you that the emotion and feeling in his singing is sincere.
While the first group of songs on the album are undoubtedly excellent and are more exciting, lively and easier to connect with at first blush, it's the ballads on the last half of the album that will leave a more lasting impact.
This is another album that I will never tire of hearing. All the songs are excellent, but the absolute stand outs are: Let the Good Times Roll, Alexander's Ragtime Band, When Your Lover Has Gone, You Won't Let Me Go, Tell Me You'll Wait for Me, Don't Let the Sun Catch You Cryin', Am I Blue and Come Rain or Come Shine.
★★★★★★★★★★
Tracks
- Sam and Delilah
- But Not for Me
- My One and Only
- Let's Call the Whole Thing Off
- (I've Got) Beginner's Luck
- Oh, Lady be Good!
- Nice Work If You Can Get It
- Things Are Looking Up
- Just Another Rhumba
- How Long Has This Been Going On?
- 'S Wonderful
- The Man I Love
- That Certain Feeling
- By Strauss
- Someone to Watch Over Me
- The Real American Folk Song (Is a Rag)
- Who Cares?
- Looking For a Boy
- They All Laughed
- My Cousin in Milwaukee
- Somebody from Somewhere
- A Foggy Day
- Clap Yo' Hands
- For You, For Me, For Evermore
- Stiff Upper Lip
- Boy Wanted
- Strike Up the Band
- Soon
- I've Got a Crush on You
- Bidin' My Time
- Aren't You Kind Of Glad We Did?
- Of Thee I Sing
- 'The Half of it, Dearie' Blues
- I Was Doing All Right
- He Loves and She Loves
- Love is Sweeping the Country
- Treat Me Rough
- Our Love is Here to Stay
- Slap That Bass
- Isn't It a Pity?
- Shall We Dance?
- Love Walked In
- You've Got What Gets Me
- They Can't Take That Away from Me
- Embraceable You
- I Can't Be Bothered Now
- Boy! What Love Has Done To Me!
- Fascinating Rhythm
- Funny Face
- Lorelei
- Oh, So Nice!
- Let's Kiss and Make Up
- I Got Rhythm
At around three hours in length, Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Gershwin Song Book is an epic work. The music is wonderful and Ella Fitzgerald has a beautiful, crystal-clear voice. In fact, her voice is nearly perfect, but I didn't sense any emotion or feeling coming through in her singing. Or perhaps, the songs weren't that inspiring lyrically. Either way, none of the songs really made a lasting impression on me.
Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Gershwin Song Book is certainly worth listening to. However, listening to the whole album in one go is truly a feat of endurance, so, to get a better appreciation of the album, it's probably best to listen to it in small doses.
Some of the more notable songs on the album are: Sam and Delilah, My One and Only, Just Another Rhumba, 'S Wonderful, By Strauss, Someone to Watch Over Me, They All Laughed, My Cousin in Milwaukee, Stiff Upper Lip, Boy Wanted, Bidin' My Time, 'The Half of it, Dearie' Blues, He Loves and She Loves, Treat Me Rough, Our Love is Here to Stay, Slap That Bass, I Can't Be Bothered Now, Fascinating Rhythm and I Got Rhythm.
★★★★★★★★★☆☆
Tracks
- September in the Rain
- Willow Weep for Me
- Just One of Those Things
- Be Anything (But Be Mine)
- Thou Swell
- Stairway to the Stars
- Honeysuckle Rose
- Just a Gigolo
- How High the Moon
At Mister Kelly's is a decent album. Sarah Vaughan has a beautiful voice and the jazz trio supporting her were superb enough that it would have been great to listen to on their own. Together, they are irresistible.
Despite that, there are a few gaffes on this album which and it's inexplicable how they got on the album. On Willow Weep for Me, the pianist starts off in the wrong key and later on in the piece Sarah or someone knocks over something. Then at the end of the piece, Sarah mentions that someone is motioning to her that the song is over, but the band is still playing.
Then, on How High the Moon, Sarah forgets the lyrics even though it's mentioned at the start of the recording that the audience should ignore the fact that she will be singing from a lyric sheet. it's really only the forgotten lyrics that's a real problem.
At the start of the album, the announcer mentions that Mercury Records was going to be recording Sarah over the next few nights. Also, in 1991, there was a reissue of the album with another ten tracks included. So, there seems to have been ample material to release a gaffe-free album. I suppose there was a good reason to release an album containing gaffes, but I haven't heard it explained.
Besides the problems, the pieces on this album are very good. No piece really stands out above any other. Although, it is interesting to hear her version of Just a Gigolo. It's a lot different from Louis Prima's. It's a very good example of how she can really make a song her own.
★★★★★★★★☆☆☆
Tracks
- I'm a Fool to Want You
- For Heaven's Sake
- You Don't Know What Love Is
- I Get Along Without You Very Well
- For All We Know
- Violets for Your Furs
- You've Changed
- It's Easy to Remember
- But Beautiful
- Glad to Be Unhappy
- I'll Be Around
- The End of a Love Affair
There's nothing uplifting at all about Lady in Satin. Most of the songs are about love, but Billie Holiday's voice and the musical accompaniment only convey loneliness.
I haven't heard Billie Holiday sing anywhere else but on this album, but apparently, by the time she had recorded this album, she had lost her ability to sing at the upper register and she also sounded like a woman much older than 44 years of age. The latter is obvious from the start. It was almost enough to turn me off from the album. However, it has also been noted that the significance of this album was not her singing, but the emotion she conveyed through each song. After having listened several times, I agree. That is indeed what makes this album so good.
The whole album is worth listening to. I suppose the stand out songs are I'm a Fool to Want You, You Don't Know What Love Is, I Get Along Without You Very Well, Violets for Your Furs, It's Easy to Remember, Glad to Be Unhappy and The End of a Love Affair.
★★★★★★★★★★
Tracks
- You Make Me Feel So Young
- It Happened in Monterey
- You're Getting to be a Habit with Me
- You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me
- Too Marvelous for Words
- Old Devil Moon
- Pennies From Heaven
- Love is Here to Stay
- I've Got You Under My Skin
- I Thought About You
- We'll Be Together Again
- Makin' Whoopee
- Swingin' Down the Lane
- Anything Goes
- How About You?
Songs for Swingin' Lovers! is such a wonderful album. It's everything its title implies.
Frank Sinatra has such a great voice for songs such as these. The music is just as good. It's restrained when Sinatra is singing, but when he's not, it's simply explosive and full of life–you can't help but want to get up and dance. The lyrics are what one would expect: superficial, carefree and full of promise–perfect for romance.
But there are a few exceptions. Makin' Whoopee is about a man's willingness to do anything for sex, like getting married and sewing; however, it doesn't mention the themes of infidelity, divorce and alimony that appear in other versions. That would be too much of a downer, I suppose. Anything Goes has a little commentary of how social standards have slipped.
Every song on this album is enjoyable, but the real highlights are: You Make Me Feel So Young, You're Getting to be a Habit with Me, Old Devil Moon, Pennies From Heaven, I've Got You Under My Skin, Makin' Whoopee and Anything Goes.
This is certainly an album worth playing at a party and certainly worth listening to again.
★★★★★★★★★★
Tracks
- In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning
- Mood Indigo
- Glad to Be Unhappy
- I Get Along Without You Very Well
- Deep in a Dream
- I See Your Face Before Me
- Can't We Be Friends?
- When Your Lover Has Gone
- What Is This Thing Called Love?
- Last Night When We Were Young
- I'll Be Around
- Ill Wind
- It Never Entered My Mind
- Dancing on the Ceiling
- I'll Never Be the Same
- This Love of Mine
In the Wee Small Hours is an interesting start to the "1001 Albums" list. Frank Sinatra is wonderful to listen to and Nelson Riddle's arrangements work well in the background and never overshadow Ol' Blue Eyes. However, the album is pretty darn depressing from the first song to the last. I suppose losing Ava Gardner will do that to a poor fellow.
The album starts out strong with In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning and Mood Indigo. It picks up again with Can't We Be Friends? and When Your Lover Has Gone and ends strong with Ill Wind and Dancing on the Ceiling.
In the Wee Small Hours is an album worth listening to, but it's certainly not an album that can be listened to at any time. Thus, it's a very good album, but not a great one.
★★★★★★★★☆☆
