Anything Goes

Stephane Grappelli (Artist), Yo-Yo Ma (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 20, 1989)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0000026Y3
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #44,347 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #23 in Music > Jazz > European Jazz

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars OK, but nothing great, October 29, 2002

By 

Sean A. White (Hamada, Japan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Anything Goes (Audio CD)

This works for me as mood music. With my iPod/jukebox software set to "random" and the unexpected Cole Porter tune played by Grapelli/Ma, it's kind of nice, but I have yet to really be grabbed by any one tune or the album as a whole.

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Dreadful, Dirgelike Interpretations, July 18, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Anything Goes (Audio CD)

Stephane Grappelli is one of my favorites, so it surprised me how lousy this CD is. You'd think that he and Yo-Yo Ma would have really brought some sparkle to these songs, but they are performed in a leaden, almost folkie style. Fortunately I didn't spend money on this. A friend has a copy of the tape, which I popped into his car stereo one day recently. After a few songs, we both agreed to turn it off. In fact, my friend said that he had only listened to it once or twice years ago, and that he didn't like it then and that it hasn't improved with age.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cole Porter's ghost winks at this pair..., March 10, 2002

By 

markzero "markzero" (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Anything Goes (Audio CD)

What can I say? I put this CD in tonight, and within 5 seconds of the title track, "Anything Goes," starting, I felt like if I closed my eyes, I'd see visions of 'Jeeves and Wooster' (humorous PBS series starring Peter Fry and Hugh Laurie), which means it was very near perfect.

In the first (title) track, Ma's instrument is a sultry flapper singing in a speakeasy, blouse falling low over one shoulder, smoke curling up from a cigarette in one hand, her dark eyes smiling as she shares with the listener a private joke. Forgive me if I say I'm sure Grappelli does a fine job, but I don't remember any of his performance; in a setting like that, the spotlight's only big enough for one.

I was in a daze for the rest of the album, but I can say it was all good, though not as arresting as the first track. Some songs had me wondering at Ma's obvious hard concentration in execution, even though the pieces came across jazzy or airy. I'm going to have to go back to that bar again tonight, I can already tell...