Beauty & The Beat

Peggy Lee, George Shearing | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 2, 1992)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Blue Note Records
• ASIN: B000002V0P
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #272,690 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Do I Love You?

2. I Lost My Sugar In Salt Lake City

3. If Dreams Come True

4. All Too Soon

5. Mambo In Miami

6. Isn't It Romantic?

7. Blue Prelude

8. You Came A Long Way From St. Louis

9. Always True To You In My Fashion

10. There'll Be Another Spring

11. Get Out Of Town

12. Satin Doll

13. Don't Ever Leave Me

14. Nobody's Heart

Editorial Reviews

Japanese 24-bit remastered reissue of 1959 album. Packaged in a limited edition miniature LP sleeve. Includes the bonus tracks 'Don't Ever Leave Me' & 'Nobody's Heart'. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The painting underneath finally revealed, June 9, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Beauty and the Beat (Audio CD)

For decades we've listening to the live-in-concert "Beauty and the Beat' and hearing a studio project with applause, announcements and low volume audience chatter dubbed in. Now all the distractions have been removed, along with the echoy sound necessary to make it all sound live, and what we have is a beautiful, detailed collection with great depth never before apparent. In the previous version Peggy sounded like she was socking it over to an enthusiastic audience; now, with the very same recordings, she sounds intimate and close. Shearing sounds the same--totally engaging and delightful, but even though these are the same recordings as on the L.P. and the original C.D. issue it becomes a different album.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not To Be Missed, December 28, 1999

By 

Jim Andrews "Wayne Brasler" (Chicago, Illinois USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beauty & The Beat (Audio CD)

A disc jockey friend present for this concert was dumbfounded when the album appeared. "Hey!" he said. "That wasn't the gown she wore! She never said those things between the songs!" True. More Capitol magic. The photos taken on the spot weren't good enough for a cover and the performance sounded strange without any announcements or conversations with the audience (Lee and Shearing had just been up 48 hours planning the concert and were exhausted).So they reshot the cover and added the announcements later. Also true, this album is a stunner from start to finish. This is Lee at her very, very best--vocally brilliant, stylistically shining, swinging on the upbeat numbers, heart-tugging and intimate on the ballads. And Shearing at the peak of his form, too. You just won't hear better jazz or pop and today it stands up, just as great as the beginning. The cover shot at Capitol Records is a classic, too.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars music for lovers only, March 16, 2008

By 

Matthew G. Sherwin (last seen screaming at Amazon customer service) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Beauty and the Beat (Audio CD)

Beauty and the Beat! Is a mostly live (yes, mostly live) album by the great Peggy Lee with the equally talented George Shearing at the piano. It's interesting that they recorded introductions to these songs after the live concert was recorded. However, despite this unusual feature this disc is extremely pleasing to the ear. Peggy sounds just great here and George plays his piano wonderfully. We also get two bonus tracks that apparently were not on the record album release of this recording; Peggy and George perform "Nobody's Heart" and "Don't Ever Leave Me."

"Do I Love You?" gives us Peggy singing at her very best and George plays piano so well to accompany her in grand style. The other musicians do a fine job of making the musical arrangement lush without being overbearing. "I Lost My Sugar In salt Lake City" features Peggy's vocals squarely front and center; she handles this number with panache. Peggy's' ability to effortlessly handle the numerous tempo changes in this number impresses me quite a bit. George plays the piano--flawlessly, of course!

"If Dreams Come True" again showcases Peggy's vocals and it seems that George Shearing was practically born to play alongside Peggy. The percussion enhances the natural beauty of this number. "Mambo In Miami" is a number that George Shearing and his buddies perform so beautifully; I always enjoyed a good mambo tune and this is certainly no exception! "Isn't It Romantic?" again features the musicians with George at the piano for a spectacular number. I must have played "Isn't It Romantic?" a million times on my CD player!

"You Came A Long Way From St. Louis" gets a fine, slow treatment from these artists and it all works very nicely. The percussion shines and Peggy sings this like the fine chanteuse she always was! Peggy's' diction bolsters her exceptional performance; I love this tune! "There'll be Another Spring" is a gentle romantic tune that exudes elegance and high style as Peggy, George and the others perform this flawlessly.

"Satin Doll" shines like gold; I rarely enjoy such fine piano playing! George and his pals really do this one up right. Then, of course, we get the two bonus tracks. "Nobody's Heart" is an elegant tune with a slow, romantic treatment that stuns me with its beauty; and the album ends very strong with "Don't Ever Leave Me" with Peggy making a passionate appeal to her one true love not to leave her alone. "Don't Ever Leave Me" tugs at my heartstrings and I predict you'll like this number very much.

In sum, Beauty And The Beat! Is another one of Peggy Lee's stupendous albums--this one with fantastic accompaniments by George Shearing and his buddies. I highly recommend this album for Peggy Lee fans. People who enjoy classic pop vocals should also get this album.