Customer Reviews

Best Of Nelson Riddle & His Orchestra

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4 star:		(2)
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1 star:		(2)

 

 

I agree with the reviewer who points out that the selections presented here are Riddle originals. Where I disagree is with the Curb contention that these represent the "best" of Mr. Riddle.

Anyone who is a serious student of the music of that era knows that the Nelson Riddle orchestra was behind some of the biggest singers who toiled for Capitol in the 1950s and early 1960s. Such as Ella Mae Morse, Frank Sinatra, and Nat "King" Cole. But he also registered seven hit singles of his own, and if this was what Curb intended to present they fell way short.

Oh, his biggest hit, Lisbon Antigua [# 1 Billboard Top 100 in early 1957 b/w Robin Hood] is here. They could hardly try and sell a CD so labeled without that one. So too is Route 66 Theme from the TV series [# 30 Billboard Hot 100 in 1962 b/w Lolita Ya Ya, and his third-best hit]. But where is his second-best hit, Port Au Prince [# 20 Top 100 in May 1956 b/w Midnight Blues], and Theme From "The Proud Ones" which reached # 39 that August b/w The Love Of Genevieve?

Instead Curb tries to tell us that Charade, Shangri-La, Java, and I Wish You Love were among his "best" when, in reality, the hits belonged to Sammy Kaye and Henry Mancini on Charade, and to Robert Maxwell, Al Hirt, and Gloria Lynne on the other three in that order.

Even taking into account that he was the backing orchestra behind many of Nat Cole's hits, the fact remains that on Mona Lisa, Walkin' My Baby Back Home, and Ramblin' Rose the backing bands were Les Baxter, Billy May, and Belford Hendricks. I won't even go into the last track.

In April 1967 he also had a # 37 Adult Contemporary (AC) with Thoroughly Modern Millie b/w See The Cheetah, and in 1983 and 1984, in his last two hit singles, he shared the billing with Linda Rondstadt on the old standards What's New? (# 5 AC/# 53 Hot 100 in November 1983 b/w Crazy He Calls Me) and I've Got A Crush On You which, went to # 7 AC in March 1984 b/w Lover Man (Oh Where Can You Be).

With 5 of his seven hits omitted, as well as all of the flipsides, how does Curb expect us to believe that these are the "Best of Nelson Riddle?"
Not only that, but the packaging, like all Curb products, is cheap, the sound quality only tolerable, and there is nothing in the way of substantial background notes. Hopefully, someone who knows what they're doing, such as Eric or Ace Records, will arrange to put together a proper Nelson Riddle compilation.

Nice rendition of classic 'pop' favorites. Good for brunch and parties where the people and food are more important than the background music.

Other Nelson Riddle 'Best of...' albums are a better 'listen'.

These are original versions of Nelson Riddle recordings from the 1950's and 60's. I was around then and we had a 45 rpm record of Lisbon Antigua. Yes, they are old recordings, sorry that reviewer didn't like them, but they ARE definitely Nelson Riddle.

Please don't base your opinion of Nelson Riddle on this cheaply orchestrated cd. I could be wrong, but I highly doubt that Nelson Riddle had anything to do with the arranging/conducting of this cd. If you want a great Riddle cd then check out "The Wonder of You".

"(Get Your Kicks on)Route 66" was the the first instrumental that I played in my recently purchased Corvette, driving from Las Vegas to San Antonio. Much of the journey (Kingman to Albuquerque)followed the original Route 66. I smiled all the way.

Biggest disappointment is the lack of charted singles in his name. I took only one tune from this CD: "Route 66 Theme". "Lisbon Antigua" was a huge hit and can be found on several CD compilations.

I thought the quality to be excellent for Route 66.

Nelson Riddle was the undisputed king of true dance music wnen dancing meant a man and a woman stepping lively and lovely, not jumping around each other as if they had Saint Vitus jitters. You cannot go wrong with this elegant music, just ask Linda Rhonstat. And where else in this world is a band that feature trombone solos?

I had to listen to this record every day for 2 weeks for hours. Let's say that it doesn't age well. I memorized the names of the songs I recognized (shangri-la, mona lisa, charade, I wish you love, I want to hold your hand). Since I found out that this is the actual record I'm going to buy a copy for all my co-workers.