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Live in Las Vegas
: 's Best of 2001:When Elvis Presley played Las Vegas between 1969 and '76, many rock & rollers screamed sellout. Today, every rock act plays Vegas. When Elvis came to town, it was the event. RCA--still uncovering unreleased stuff decades after the King's death--celebrates his Vegas legacy with two complete, previously unreleased shows from '69 and '70; a CD of previously released material from '70 (much of it taken from the classic Elvis Onstage, February 1970 album); and a fourth CD of mostly rarities from '74 and '75. The latter also includes ...
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The Mel Tormé Collection
: :Mel Torme has always resented his famous nickname, 'The Velvet Fog,' not because it's inaccurate, but because it only captures one small aspect of his music-making. He does have a velvety baritone that creates a breathy intimacy on certain romantic ballads. But he has done much, much more in a 67-year professional career that began when he was a four-year-old novelty singer for Chicago's Coon-Sanders Nighthawk Band in 1929 and continues today as the last of the great pre-rock crooners whose voice is still in good shape. That career is nicely ...
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Show Boat (1988 Studio Cast): Von Stade; Hubbard; Hadley; McGlinn
: :John McGlinn's sprawling, monumental three-CD set is about all the Show Boat any listener could ever ask for. In an obvious labor of love, McGlinn reconstructs the show as it ran on opening night, November 15, 1927, including every song, the original orchestrations, and all underscored dialogue. The most significant restoration is the dark choral number 'Mis'ry's Comin' Aroun',' as Show Boat's serious subject matter helped establish its place as the most important turning point in the history of American musical theater. McGlinn also adds an appendix that includes songs cut ...
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Forty Years: The Artistry of Tony Bennett
: :Tony Bennett's commercial renaissance, complete with MTV Unplugged appearance, hadn't yet peaked when this four-CD set appeared in 1991. Forty Years, however, makes clear just why Bennett's comeback was so richly deserved: from early hits such as 'I Left My Heart in San Francisco' and his version of Hank Williams's 'Cold, Cold Heart' to late-life triumphs such as 'When Do the Bells Ring for Me,' this is a testament to the singer's verve and unstinting good taste. --Rickey Wright
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50 by Bobby Short
: :Tony Bennett's commercial renaissance, complete with MTV Unplugged appearance, hadn't yet peaked when this four-CD set appeared in 1991. Forty Years, however, makes clear just why Bennett's comeback was so richly deserved: from early hits such as 'I Left My Heart in San Francisco' and his version of Hank Williams's 'Cold, Cold Heart' to late-life triumphs such as 'When Do the Bells Ring for Me,' this is a testament to the singer's verve and unstinting good taste. --Rickey Wright
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The Savoy Years and More
: :Like almost every single album bearing the name and inimitable voice of this rare jazz treasure, this reissue covering Jimmy Scott's on-again, off-again relationship with Savoy Records has both its highlights and its low points. Of course, no amount of treachery or ineptitude has ever muffled Scott's long-lined, behind-the-beat ballad singing, which often sounds like a woman's. His is an absolutely original voice and one of the most ambrosial acquired tastes in all of jazz history. Recorded mostly in the 1950s and early '60s, this set showcases Scott in his prime, ...
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The Complete Cole Porter Songbooks
: :It's rare that a great tunesmith is also a great lyricist, but Porter was both, and the formal perfection of his best songs made them favorites among both singers and instrumentalists. These three discs (two vocal, one instrumental) raid the archives for renditions by jazz types (from Ella Fitzgerald to Roland Kirk), more straightforward pop singers, and a few ringers, like Fred Astaire, who does nicely by 'I Concentrate on You.' The singers love Porter for the depth, wittiness, and just-repressed-enough sentimentality of his lyrics, and for the melodies clustered around ...
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That's the Way It Is
: :It's rare that a great tunesmith is also a great lyricist, but Porter was both, and the formal perfection of his best songs made them favorites among both singers and instrumentalists. These three discs (two vocal, one instrumental) raid the archives for renditions by jazz types (from Ella Fitzgerald to Roland Kirk), more straightforward pop singers, and a few ringers, like Fred Astaire, who does nicely by 'I Concentrate on You.' The singers love Porter for the depth, wittiness, and just-repressed-enough sentimentality of his lyrics, and for the melodies clustered around ...
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Frank Sinatra ~ The V-Discs ~ Years: 1943-1947 ~ Columbia ~ Two Volume Set
: :It's rare that a great tunesmith is also a great lyricist, but Porter was both, and the formal perfection of his best songs made them favorites among both singers and instrumentalists. These three discs (two vocal, one instrumental) raid the archives for renditions by jazz types (from Ella Fitzgerald to Roland Kirk), more straightforward pop singers, and a few ringers, like Fred Astaire, who does nicely by 'I Concentrate on You.' The singers love Porter for the depth, wittiness, and just-repressed-enough sentimentality of his lyrics, and for the melodies clustered around ...
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Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Song Book - 3CD Set
: :It's rare that a great tunesmith is also a great lyricist, but Porter was both, and the formal perfection of his best songs made them favorites among both singers and instrumentalists. These three discs (two vocal, one instrumental) raid the archives for renditions by jazz types (from Ella Fitzgerald to Roland Kirk), more straightforward pop singers, and a few ringers, like Fred Astaire, who does nicely by 'I Concentrate on You.' The singers love Porter for the depth, wittiness, and just-repressed-enough sentimentality of his lyrics, and for the melodies clustered around ...
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