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George Gershwin - The Ultimate Collection Audio CD

A fair review of the George Gershwin "The Ultimate Collection" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all George Gershwin reviews here, or go back to the George Gershwin tabs.

George Gershwin Band: George Gershwin
Title: The Ultimate Collection
Rating:
Release Date: 1998-05-12
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Strike up the Band - Oscar Peterson 2: Summertime - Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, The Russell Garcia Orchestra 3: Man I Love - Sarah Vaughan 4: Someone to Watch over Me - Blossom Dearie 5: Love Is Here to Stay - Shirley Horn 6: They Can't Take That Away from Me - Billie Holiday 7: Funny Face - Fred Astaire 8: How Long Has This Been Going On? - Audrey Hepburn 9: 'S Wonderful - Count Basie Orchestra, Joe Williams 10: Oh, Lady Be Good - Ella Fitzgerald 11: Foggy Day - Sarah Vaughan 12: I Loves You, Porgy - Nina Simone 13: For You, for Me, for Evermore - Morgana King 14: Who Cares? - Anita O'Day 15: I've Got a Crush on You - Dinah Washington 16: They All Laughed - Bing Crosby 17: Embraceable You - Ella Fitzgerald 18: Rhapsody in Blue - Cleveland Orchestra, Ivan Davis 19: Cuban Overture [Excerpt] - Cleveland Orchestra 20: Suite [From Girl Crazy] - Boston Pops Orchestra 21: Funny Face (Overture) - Boston Pops Orchestra 22: American in Paris [Excerpt] - Cleveland Orchestra 23: Second Rhapsody for Piano and Orchestra [Excerpt] - Boston Pops Orchestra, Ralph Votapek 24: Suite from Porgy and Bess 25: Oh, Kay! (Overture) - Boston Pops Orchestra 26: Piano Concerto in F [Excerpt] - Royal Philharmonic Orchestra 27: Lullaby - Cleveland Orchestra 28: Three Preludes - Boston Pops Orchestra

Wonderful
My original CD was stolen from my car so I was very pleased to be able to replace it.


Mixed Bag
Some of the songs on the first CD are performed by singers such as Billie Holliday, Ella Fitzgerald, and Bing Crosby, and sound absolutely spectacular. This Gershwin collection is divided into two CDs; the first has many of his more popular pieces from Broadway productions, and the second has a selection of his symphonic works. Unfortunately, the compilers opted for some lesser know and less talented names for several of the tracks, rendering about a quarter of the CD mediocre. The one pick that really didn't fit in, however, was Audrey Hepburn's rendition of "How Long Has This Been Going On?" Audrey Hepburn, despite all her wonderful acting talent, simply cannot sing, and listening to the entire song even once is a difficult thing to force yourself to do. In my humble opinion, however, listening to Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong singing "Summertime" completely makes up for it.

The performances on the second CD are wonderful across the bar, and a delight to listen to. My own personal gripe with this CD, however, is that, instead of selecting three or four compositions and including full performances of all of them, the producers have used a number of medleys and suites in order to include a larger representation of Gershwin's work. You may like this, and as I said, all the performances are top notch, but I found myself wishing that entire works had been used, instead of just pieces of them. There are a few which are presented in the entirety: the ubiquitous Rhapsody in Blue (an extremely good recording of it), Lullaby, and his three preludes for the piano, but these are the only ones.

I, sadly, do not have the discriminating ear of a musician, but there were certainly no flagrantly obvious problems with the sound on either of the discs; this album seems extremely well done from a technical perspective. I would recommend it to someone looking for a Gershwin album with a little of everything, but for someone who already has or is looking to start a collection of his work, this CD will add very little of note.


a great collection of gershwin's hits
Rhapsody in Blue is a favorite piece, and the cd contains many songs sung by some of the greatest singers, including Ella Fitzgerald. This is clearly one of the best collections of Gershwin's ever-lasting musical masterpieces. If you've been searching for the perfect gershwin cd, consider purchasing this particular one.


marvelous mixture of songs and instrumentals on 2 CD's
Singing artist incude original recordings by Billie Holiday, Louis Armstong, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Fred Astaire, Bing Crosby, and others. This collections includes seventeen Gershwin songs sung by superb artists over several decades and 11 wonderful "best of" instrumentals. Instrumentals include Rhapsody in Blue, An American in Paris. Many of the instrumentals were recorded by Arther Fiedler and the Boston Pops. There is 140 minutes of music on two CD's.


You can see a complete list of all George Gershwin discography, or go back to the George Gershwin tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.

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