Hifi/Stereo Review October 1961
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Hin/Stereó 1 ;Í FILMS n U,ViOR oOPS TheaterIFOLK Reviewed by STANLEY GREEN NAT HENTOFF . PETER J. WELDING RECORDING OF SPECIAh MERIT the combination of Porter and Fitzgerald Explanation of symbols: works out best in the more throbbing bal- ® ELLA FITZGERALD: Sings monophonic recording Cole lads. Unfortnately, Miss Fitzgerald is in- Porter. Ella Fitzgerald (Vocals); orchestra, Os =sterediphonic capable of Die deadpan approach required recording Buddy llregman cond. Anything Gee.S; Do Miss I Love You?: Just One of Those Things; for Otis Regrets, and her version of and thirteen others. \'t:uvt: \' 4049 $1.98. Do I Love Yon? is curiously lacklnster. In Always True to You i;, My Fashion sll_c POPS ® ELLA FITZGERALD: Ella Fitzgerald continually; misreads the last word in the Sings More Cole Porter. Ella Fitzgerald title line at 'passion"? And why does she (vocals); orchestra, Buddy Brcgman cond. accent the Word"tight- instead of ''Sock" RECORDING OF SPECIAL, MERIT 1 Love Paris: It's All with Ale; Night and Day: and thirteen others. in the line "You tight m'y' baby [(might" Qs CHARLES K. L. DAVIS: Love Songs in Too Darn Hot? of the Mediterranean. \'ErtsE \r 4050 54.98. Charles K. L. Davis Verve V 4050 includes an exquisitely (YUc:tls): orchestra, D:IVId 'Ferry cond. Interest: Repackaged song book sung 1 Concentrate on You,, a ,memorable Lucia; Ciao Ciao Bambino: La vie en Performance: Hits the heights interpretation of love for Sale, and a per- Time; and nine others. Erfstvs'r SDBR 1122 Recording: Both splendid $3.98. formance of Ridin' High that has just the The first collection listed above seems to right quality of subdued exuberance. But Interest: Lakin passion he something of an indiscriminate grab- there is noticeable vocal strain in het So Performance: Fervent bag, consisting of previously released sin- in Love, and,_ as on rho first record. the Recording: Brilliant gles and, it seems likely, rejeéts from comic pieces lack the kind of slyness they Stereo Qualify: High Miss Fitzgeralds song -book surveys. Neither need to be effective. With his well -ripened, emotion -charged from the standpoint of performance nor Buddy lbregrman's arrangements Vat y on baritone voice, Charles K. L. Davis sings from that of content repertoire ís there both records. The full orchestra is tut - songs of desire (rani the musical territory necessarily overpowering in such pieces as that borders on the Mediterranean-or at It's All Right with Ale and Love for Sole, least that is the idea behind this disc. but the small combos heard in_ 1 Get a Actually, the repertoire is merely a collec- Kick Out of You and Let's Do It are just, tioti of French. Spanish, and Italian pop- fmc.' 5.-C. ulae, songs, With nvo, Voche de Ronda and 'so lain,-,, fc cena lrez, that have drifted all JUDY GARLAND: Judy in Carnegie Hall the way from the Golf of Mexico: No (see p. 73). translations arc provided!. S. G. RECORDING OF SPECIAL MERIT ® ADAM FAITH: England's Top Singer! TENNESSEE ERNIE FORD: Civil Adam Faith (vocals): orchestra, John Os Batty Won Songs of the North. Tenriessee Ernie cond. Summertime; .So Many Wars: Ford (vocals): orchestra, Jack Faseinato I'm as Alan; and nine 'whets. MGM E 3951 -r cond. Virginia's Bloody. Soil; The Faded 53.98. Coat of II/ue;,and ten others. Cnrrioi, Si Interest: Hard fo find 1539 $4.98. Performance: Frequently drowned out Recording: Good Qs TENNESSEE ERNIE FORD: Civil War Songs of the South. -Tennessee Ernie According' to the jacket blurb, in England ELLA Fn'zCEIr a La Ford (vocals): orchestra, Jack Fascinato the recordings of Adams Faith outsell those Memorable Cole Porter ballads cond. 1.orena; 7'12e Ila,nie I11,ee Flag: of Elvis Presley. Consider yourself fore- Flight of Doodles; and nine others. t much distinguished the warned, for this disc is simply a collect:ion about album. Of Captor, ST 15.10 S4.98. course, it's always a pleasure to hear of rock-and-roll songs, sung by a British Cheerful Little Interest: For both sides exponent of the art to the accompaniment Earfit! or Moonlight Be- comes You, but for Performance: Well done of a stridently intrusive orchestra. Once such infrequent de- lights the listener must endure Nielson Recording: Tops for both ' kit a while, Faith mangles a well -deserving Riddle's Stereo Quality: High for both st:uidard, but, for the most part, the emo- tasteless arrangement of Some body Loves Mc, If of Civil tions expressed are of the poetic level of the unfortumutely ex- the current spate War albums humed heat Me, Daddy, Eight to the Bar, shows nothing else, it shows how ss'ocfolly "When I kiss your lips so fine, I get a and endless scatting on the wordless thin has been the music of our more re- feeling so divine." Adam go home. S. G. both Cool Freeze and, Lord help us, Blue Shies. cent military struggles. Of conrse; bal. What Is more, the albino's in the 1860's had one thing in Qs ELLA FITZGERALD: Get Happy! title song isn't ladecrs Ella Fitzgerald (vocals); orchestras, Nel- even included. drain' favor: they could take whutescr son kidrlle, Frank DeVol, Russell GaVeia, "The second and third releases listed tunes they wanted to without fear -of copy- and Paul Weston cond. You Make Me above arc separately packaged editions of right laws. Feel So Young; Blue Skies; Gypsy in My Miss Fitzgerald's now classic two record Tennessee Ernie Ford, in spite of his Sotil; and nine others. VERVE V 4035 S5.98. set of the 'Cole Porter Song Book." Tak- obvious Southern tics, does a splendidly ing the records individually, Verve V 4049 impartial job for both the North' and the Interest: For the Ella cult fine interest is his 'in- Performance: Not always at het' best contains exceptionally performances South. Of particular Recording: Needs bass of Just One of Those Things, A!1 of You, clusion of many unfamiliar items, among Stereo Quality: All right and 1 Ant in Love, -'hich indicate that them sonic fascinating examples of re - OCTOBER 1961 115 .