Editorial Review:

Album Description:
16 CD limited edition box set release to commerorate her 75th birthday.

Amazon.com:
This 16-CD set collects all of Ella Fitzgerald's Songbooks, a monumental tribute to the American popular song and its greatest composers, recorded for Verve between 1956 and 1964. There is likely no other singer possessed of the mix of talents that Fitzgerald brought to the project, a combination of sheer vocal technique, creativity in phrasing and rhythm, and fidelity to lyrics and intent. The sheer scale of the project contributes to its value, for Fitzgerald went far beyond the standard repertoire, rediscovering little-known gems by many of her subjects: Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Harold Arlen, Rodgers and Hart, Johnny Mercer, Irving Berlin, and Duke Ellington. The discs of Ellington material still stand out, illuminated by the presence of Duke and his band. They put Ellington, a master melodist as well as a great composer, in his rightful place in the pantheon of American songwriters. --Stuart Broomer









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Disc 1:

1. All Through The Night
2. Anything Goes
3. Miss Otis Regrets (She's Unable To Lunch Today)
4. Too Darn Hot
5. In The Still Of The Night
6. I Get A Kick Out Of You
7. Do I Love You?
8. (I'm) Always True To You In My Fashion
9. Let's Do It (Let's Fall In Love)
10. Just One Of Those Things
11. Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye
12. All Of You
13. Begin The Beguine
14. Get Out Of Town
15. I Am In Love
16. From This Moment On

Disc 10:

1. Ambulatory Suite
2. The Preludes: Prelude I/Prelude II/Prelude III
3. Sam And Delilah
4. But Not For Me
5. My One And Only
6. Let's Call The Whole Thing Off
7. (I've Got) Beginner's Luck
8. Oh, Lady Be Good
9. Nice Work If You Can Get It
10. Things Are Looking Up
11. Just Another Rhumba
12. How Long Has This Thing Been Going On?
13. 'S Wonderful
14. The Man I Love
15. That Certain Feeling
16. By Strauss
17. Someone To Watch Over Me
18. The Real American Folk Song
19. Who Cares?

Disc 11:

1. Looking For A Boy
2. They All Laughed
3. My Cousin In Milwaukee
4. Somebody From Somewhere
5. A Foggy Day
6. Clap Yo' Hands
7. For You, For Me, For Evermore
8. Stiff Upper Lip
9. Boy Wanted
10. Strike Up The Band
11. Soon
12. I've Got A Crush On You
13. Bidin' My Time
14. Aren't You Kind Of Glad We Did?
15. Of Thee I Sing (Baby)
16. 'The Half Of It, Dearie' Blues
17. I Was Doing All Right
18. He Loves And She Loves

Disc 12:

1. Love Is Sweeping The Country
2. Treat Me Rough
3. Our Love Is Here To Stay
4. Slap That Bass
5. Isn't It A Pity?
6. Shall We Dance?
7. Love Walked In
8. You've Got What Gets Me
9. They Can't Take That Away From Me
10. Embraceable You
11. I Can't Be Bothered Now
12. Boy! What Love Has Done To Me!
13. Fascinating Rhythm
14. Funny Face
15. Lorelei
16. Oh, So Nice
17. Let's Kiss And Make Up
18. I Got Rhythm
19. Somebody Loves Me
20. Cheerful Little Earlful
21. Oh, Lady Be Good
22. But Not For Me

Disc 13:

1. Blues In The Night (My Mama Done Tol' Me)
2. Let's Fall In Love
3. Stormy Weather (Keeps Rainin' All The Time)
4. Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea
5. My Shining Hour
6. Hooray For Love
7. This Time The Dream's On Me
8. That Old Black Magic
9. I've Got The World On A String
10. Let's Take A Walk Around The Block
11. III Wind (You're Blowin Me No Good)
12. Ac-cent-tchu-ate The Positive

Disc 14:

1. When The Sun Comes Out
2. Come Rain Or Come Shine
3. As Long As I Live
4. Happiness Is A Thing Called Joe
5. It's Only A Paper Moon
6. The Man That Got Away
7. One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)
8. It Was Written In The Stars
9. Get Happy
10. I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues
11. Out Of This World
12. Over The Rainbow
13. Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead
14. Sing My Heart
15. Let's Take A Walk Around The Block
16. Sing My Heart

Disc 15:

1. Let's Begin
2. A Fine Romance
3. All The Things You Are
4. I'll Be Hard To Handle
5. You Couldn't Be Cuter
6. She Didn't Say 'Yes'
7. I'm Old Fashioned
8. Remind Me
9. The Way You Look Tonight
10. Yesterdays
11. Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man
12. Why Was I Born?

Disc 16:

1. Too Marvelous For Words
2. Early Autumn
3. Day In-Day Out
4. Laura
5. This Time The Dream's On Me
6. Skylark
7. Single-O
8. Something's Gotta Give
9. Trav'lin' Light
10. Midnight Sun
11. Dream (When You're Feeling Blue)
12. I Remember You
13. When A Woman Loves A Man

Disc 2:

1. I Love Paris
2. You Do Something To Me
3. Ridin' High
4. Easy To Love
5. It's All Right With Me
6. Why Can't You Behave?
7. What Is This Thing Called Love?
8. You're The Top
9. Love For Sale
10. It's De-lovely
11. Night And Day
12. Ace In The Hole
13. So In Love
14. I've Got You Under My Skin
15. I Concentrate On You
16. Don't Fence Me In
17. You're The Top
18. I Concentrate On You
19. Let's Do It (Let's Fall In Love)

Disc 3:

1. Have You Met Miss Jones?
2. You Took Advantage Of Me
3. A Ship WIthout A Sail
4. To Keep My Love Alive
5. Dancing On The Ceiling (He Dances On My Ceiling)
6. The Lady Is A Tramp
7. With A Song In My Heart
8. Manhattan
9. Johnny One Note
10. I Wish I Were In Love Again
11. Spring Is Here
12. It Never Entered My Mind
13. This Can't Be Love
14. Thou Swell
15. My Romance
16. Where Or When
17. Little Girl Blue

Disc 4:

1. Give It Back To The Indians
2. Ten Cents A Dance
3. There's A Small Hotel
4. I Didn't Know What Time It Was
5. Ev'rything I've Got
6. I Could Write A Book
7. Blue Room
8. My Funny Valentine
9. Bewitched
10. Mountain Greenery
11. Wait Till You See Her
12. Lover
13. Isn't It Romantic?
14. Here In My Arms
15. Blue Moon
16. My Heart Stood Still
17. I've Got Five Dollars
18. Lover

Disc 5:

1. Rockin' In Rhythm
2. Drop Me Off In Harlem
3. Day Dream
4. Caravan
5. Take The 'A' Train
6. I Ain't Got Nothing But The Blues
7. Clementine
8. I Didn't Know About You
9. I'm Beginning To See The Light
10. Lost In Meditation
11. Perdido
12. Cotton Tail
13. Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me

Disc 6:

1. Just A-Sittin' And A-Rockin'
2. Solitude
3. Rocks In My Bed
4. Satin Doll
5. Sophisticated Lady
6. Just Squeeze Me
7. It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)
8. Azure
9. I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart
10. In A Sentimental Mood
11. Don't Get Around Much Any More
12. Prelude To A Kiss
13. Mood Indigo
14. In A Mellow Tone
15. Love You Madly
16. Lush Life
17. Squatty Roo

Disc 7:

1. I'm Just A Lucky So And So
2. All Too Soon
3. Everything But You
4. I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)
5. Bli-Blip
6. Chelsea Bridge
7. Portrait Of Ella Fitzgerald: First Movement (Royal Ancestry)/Second Movement (All Heart)...
8. The E And D Blues (E For Ella, D For Duke)
9. Rehearsal
10. Chelsea Bridge (Alternate Take)

Disc 8:

1. Let's Face The Music And Dance
2. You're Laughing At Me
3. Let Yourself Go
4. You Can Have Him
5. Russian Lullaby
6. Puttin' On The Ritz
7. Get Thee Behind Me Satan
8. Alexander's Ragtime Band
9. Top Hat, White Tie, And Tails
10. How About Me?
11. Cheek To Cheek
12. I Used To Be Color Blind
13. Lazy
14. How Deep Is The Ocean?
15. All By Myself
16. Remember

Disc 9:

1. Suppertime
2. How's Chances?
3. Heat Wave
4. Isn't This A Lovely Day (To Be Caught In The Rain)
5. You Keep Coming Back Like A Song
6. Reaching For The Moon
7. Slumming On Park Avenue
8. The Song Is Ended (But The Melody Lingers On)
9. I'm Putting All My Eggs In One Basket
10. Now It Can Be Told
11. Always
12. It's A Lovely Day Today
13. Change Partners
14. No Strings (I'm Fancy Free)
15. I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm
16. Blue Skies

Rating: - The epitome of so much that is American music
The reason why you won't find a single review that gives this collection less than five stars is because this is just a stunning, amazing, extremely satisfying collection of music. The greatest music composers and lyricists of our time, each represented and sung by one of the great female jazz vocalists of ALL time, combines to make 16 CD's of classic jazz. I hemmed and hawed over buying this because of the price and bodaciousness of the collection, but with The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings: Eighth Edition (Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings) making Ella singing Cole Porter one of its core collection selections, I wasn't sure I should buy just the Cole Porter portion, or if I should buy the whole giant set. I feared buying just the Cole Porter and being wowed and then having to kick myself for not buying the set, but I also feared buying the whole set and being stuck with 10, 12, or, God forbid, 16 CD's I was hardly going to listen to. I leapt in and bought the whole set, and I think it was worth every dollar. Jazz music collector's MUST have this whole set. Yes: MUST! Casual jazz fans and plain old good music lovers might get by with just certain portions, but trust me and the other thirty some odd reviewers who gave this five stars: You simply will not be disappointed with anything in here and this provides hours and hours of great jazz listening you, your loved ones, party guests, and people passing by while washing your car, will appreciate and enjoy.

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Rating: - A national treasure!
Ella Fitzgerald's interpretations of Great American Songbook gems by Arlen, Gershwin, Porter, Duke Ellington, Rogers and Hart, Mercer, and Kern are timeless. Her impeccable phrasing, sense of humor, and chameleonlike ability to inhabit a song, whether sultry or playful, is teamed with tight orchestrations and flawless remastering on The Complete Ella Fitzgerald Songbooks on Verve.

I first became interested in the American Songbook when my cousin gave me a copy of Rod Stewart's It Had to Be You... The Great American Songbook. My collection quickly expanded to include all of Frank Sinatra's early works on Brunswick with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey and his Columbia works (1942-1953) and 1940s songbook collections by Jo Stafford, Doris Day with Les Brown, and Peggy Lee with Benny Goodman. I first purchased several of Ella Fitzgerald's songbook CDs individually (Gershwin, Porter, and the best of Berlin), and was looking to purchase her Duke Ellington songbook, which retails for about $30. As a member of BMG Music Club, the entire Complete Ella Fitzgerald Songbooks was $89, so I opted for the box set even though I already owned five of the CDs.

The 16 CDs are housed in a compact fabric-covered box in individual slipcases (for single CDs) and small cardboard boxes with the original LP artwork and reproduction LP liner notes. My only gripe is the cramped quarters; I switched the CDs to jewel cases for easier access, since it's a pain to constantly have to eject all the cardboard slipcases in search of one CD. The liner notes come in a small fabric-covered hardcover book.

You'll find well-known and oft-recorded hits such as Night and Day, Blue Skies, I Got Rhythm, and I Got It Bad, but there are lesser-known gems that are equally entrancing, such as the dreamy, nostalgic My Heart Stood Still(Rogers and Hart), or her starry-eyed The Way You Look Tonight, with its soft sweep of strings and mellow piano. There are even spirited renditions of Wizard of Oz songs such as Over the Rainbow and Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead. Ella's jazzy, punchy delivery on Ding Dong is a satirical, big band romp.

The Duke Ellington discs (three in all) were as stellar as I'd dared to hope; tight backing, Ella's dead-on scat singing that lets her jazz it up more than on the "canonical" standards. Rockin' in Rhythm features Armstrong-style muted trumpet, a pounding "Indian" bassline, and an extended scat melody. Ella's take on I'm Beginning to See The Light is much more playful and sultry than earlier recordings by Jo Stafford and other 40s singers of her ilk.

Ella imbues each song with its own magic, bringing a sparkle to even the most tired of covers. The execution is flawless and the sound is timeless. Each time I listen I discover some new nuance, a turn of phrase here, a cleverly punctuated passage there. If you only buy one box set of standards, this should be in your library.

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Rating: - Ella Foreva'
Yes, I know it's expensive. But hey, it's well worth the money! This CDs feature THE greatest singer of all time at her prime, singing some of the best songs in history. 16 hours of music and not a single mediocre song - you couldn't possibly regret buying this album.

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Rating: - there aren't words enough
There truly aren't words enough to describe the quality of this set in every aspect.The packaging is superb.The liner notes are impressive. It is the complete song book recordings made famous by Ella all in one place. Over 15 hours of pure magic ! I have always agreed with all the praise given Ella concerning her "jazz voice" , with all the scat singing and improvisational interpretations of songs , but I have always felt that her "pop" singing was under-appreciated in the grand scheme of things. This set will make anyone reassess her talent. A great voice is a great voice. What is really impressive is that Ella was obviously just as comfortably adept at singing in either style. A remarkable release.

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Rating: - Better than I hoped for. Well worth the money though I did think about it for a while due to the cost.
Better than I hoped for. Well worth the money though I did think about it for a while due to the cost.If you like Ella and classic songs by some of the greatest songwriters of the twentieth century this is the perfect collection.