Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Johnny Mercer Songbook TEST PRESSING 180g LP PALLAS
$
185
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Description
Please see all my AUDIOPHILE listings, I combine ship.
TEST PRESSING (1 OF ONLY 30 COPIES PRESSED)! As close to the Master Tapes as you can get! All Analogue - AAA High Quality Pure Analogue 180g Vinyl LP!
Pressed at Pallas in Germany!
180 gram vinyl test pressings, white label "only for promotion", comes in generic black sleeve and a printed description (A4) of the record in English and German with a small picture of the cover.
A1 Too Marvelous For Words 2:27 A2 Early Autumn 3:47 A3 Day In - Day Out 2:42 A4 Laura 3:39 A5 This Time The Dream's On Me 2:51 A6 Skylark 3:07 A7 Single 'O 3:15 B1 Something's Gotta Give 2:30 B2 Travlin' Light 3:47 B3 Midnight Sun 4:50 B4 Dream 2:55 B5 I Remember You 3:34 B6 When A Woman Loves A Man 3:47
Notes
Along with her Rodgers and Hart collection, this is one of the best of Ella Fitzgerald's songbooks. Fitzgerald's assured and elegant voice is a perfect match for Mercer's urbane lyrics and Nelson Riddle's supple arrangements. In light of this decorous setting, it's not surprising that Mercer's swagger-heavy numbers like "I Wanna Be Around" and "One More For My Baby" are skipped in favor of more poised selections such as "Early Autumn" and "Skylark." Even traditionally hard-swinging numbers such as "Day In Day Out" and "Something's Gotta Give" are kept in check with Riddle's vaporous, flute-heavy backing and Fitzgerald's velvet tone. Slower numbers like "Laura" and "Midnight Sun" add dramatic contrast with their enigmatic tonal backdrops and elongated vocal phrasing. Fitzgerald's Mercer songbook has become something of an overlooked gem partly because of the popularity of her Cole Porter and Gershwin collections. It's a shame, because this songbook is beautifully executed by Fitzgerald and Riddle and contains wonderful Mercer collaborations with, among others, Harold Arlen and Hoagy Carmichael. This is definitely one for any Fitzgerald fan and not a bad introduction to her vast catalog.
The Johnny Mercer Songbook is the very last release by Speakers Corner in the superb Ella Fitzgerald songbook series. To speak of 'songs' by Johnny Mercer, and just calling him a 'composer', falls far short of the truth for he is the personification of a top composer, a great lyricist, and a shrewd businessman, who set up a monument to himself with his extremely successful record company Capitol Records. Ella sang Johnny Mercer’s compositions over and over again, and on this recording we have a wonderful version of "Something’s Gotta Give" and Johnny Mercer’s theme song and showpiece "Dream". His inspiration as a lyricist is masterly. Who else could have thought of such a gorgeous introduction to Stan Getz’s number "Early Autumn" When an early autumn walks the land and chills the breeze and touches with her hand the summer trees …«? Or the refrain from "I Remember You": »When my life is through, and the angels ask me to recall the thrill of them all«. All in all, Johnny Mercer composed or wrote the lyrics to over 1000 songs, 13 of which Ella performs here in masterly fashion and in her own inimitable style – mellifluous, electric, or swinging.
Recording: October 1964 in Los Angeles by Val Valentin Production: Norman Granz
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