Pages

Subscribe:

The Best of the Song Books: The Ballads


Customer Rating :
Rating: 4.9

List Price : $11.98 Price : $5.49
The Best of the Song Books:  The Ballads

Product Description

No description available.
Genre: Jazz Music
Rating:
Release Date: 0000-00-00
Media Type: Compact Disk




    The Best of the Song Books: The Ballads Reviews


    Amazon.com
    Customer Reviews
    Average Customer Review
    15 Reviews
    5 star:
     (14)
    4 star:
     (1)
    3 star:    (0)
    2 star:    (0)
    1 star:    (0)
     
     
     

    11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
    5.0 out of 5 stars A good place to start, November 18, 1999
    By A Customer
    This review is from: The Best of the Song Books: The Ballads (Audio CD)
    This is the first cd I ever bought of Ella. I was doing a musical tour of great singers and decided to give her a chance. I found myself listening only to this cd, over and over. I couldn't believe that there was someone so good that I didn't know. My favorite song on the cd (and this is hard choice) is "Travelin' Light." Incandescent. Tender. Achingly pure. This cd is a really good place to start learning about Ella the ballad singer versus Ella the scat singer. Well worth the investment!
    Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
    Was this review helpful to you?  Yes No


    10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
    5.0 out of 5 stars Best of the "Best", December 17, 2001
    By 
    Samuel Chell (Kenosha,, WI United States) - See all my reviews
    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
    Amazon Verified Purchase( What's this?)
    This review is from: The Best of the Song Books: The Ballads (Audio CD)
    I've been purchasing the "Best of--" CD editions as back-ups to my original vinyl copies of the "Songbooks." If you're not about to purchase the individual reissues of the Songbooks, this collection--"Ballads"--is not only the most accurately described (all of the tunes are, in fact, taken at "ballad" tempo) but the most carefully selected and artistically consistent of the anthologies. Most of the arrangements are Nelson Riddle's, and one of the exceptions, Duke's "Do Nothing Til You Hear from Me," features sterling solos by both Ben Webster and Stuff Smith. My only regret is that "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered" was not one of the inclusions on this particular collection. But along with the familiar classics, such as "I'm Old Fashioned," are some rarely heard, all-too-welcome revelations, including Irving Berlin's "Now It Can Be Told."

    Whereas the other "Best of--" albums contain... Read more

    Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
    Was this review helpful to you?  Yes No


    5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
    5.0 out of 5 stars Ella Makes The Ballad Form Her Own On This Collection, March 28, 2000
    This review is from: The Best of the Song Books: The Ballads (Audio CD)
    If this outstanding Ella Fitzgerald ballads collection was released at her peak, rather than cherry-picked 40 years later from a box set of her legendary songbooks, it would hold together in the light of "blue" period Sinatra albums as Sinatra's "Only The Lonely" or "Wee Small Hours." That testifies to near-perfect song selection, empathetic arrangements (including Nelson Riddle, Billy May and, of course, Billy Strayhorn and Duke Ellington) and Ms. Fitzgerald's voice and approach to this material.

    Unjustifiably neglected for her balladry compared to oft-labelmate Billie Holiday, Ella treats the melodies here like a painter does glass: carefully, but creatively. No scat-shouting "Lady Be Good"; Ella's "Easy To Love" draws the sweet seduction from Cole Porter's lyric that more swinging arrangements miss. Her languid, sanguine versions of "Day-Dream" and "Do Nothing 'Til You Hear From Me" (more than... Read more

    Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
    Was this review helpful to you?  Yes No


    Share your thoughts with other customers:
      See all 15 customer reviews...

    Identify as an Affiliate and Disclaimers

    This site is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com

    CERTAIN CONTENT THAT APPEARS ON THIS SITE COMES FROM AMAZON SERVICES LLC. THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED 'AS IS' AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE OR REMOVAL AT ANY TIME.