6 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Appreciated, but not Appealing, December 27, 2000
This review is from: California Suite (Audio CD)
First of all, let me say that I love Mel Torme. Especially when it comes to his 1950's collaborations with arranger Marty Paich (Swings the Shubert Alley, Sings Fred Astair, etc.). And indeed, this is one of those collaborations. But that's where the similarity ends. To me, Mel is a jazz singer...and one of the best. Sure, he co-wrote The Christmas Song and a few other standards. But while I appreciate what he was trying to do here, I just don't get it. This 40 minute piece, described by Mel as a "lyrical and musical narrative dedicated to the Golden State" is just out of character. It's part Broadway score, part Vaudeville act, part jazz opera? I'm just not sure but I didn't like it at all. The two stars are for Mel's performance (strong as always) and that of his first rate west coast back up musicians like Paich, Don Fagerquist, Dave Pell et al. If you're looking for more swinging Mel from the 50's, don't look here.
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