Customer Reviews

The Carioca: Songs of Vincent Youmans

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If like me, you think that knowledge of proper style is an important element of The Great American Songbook, then there can be no greater exponents of same than Joan Morris and her husband William Bolcom. When they perform the works of Irving Berlin there is a clear understanding of his style, and its not the same as that of Cole Porter. They live/eat and breath this music. Therefore whenever I want great performances, I look to them. They recorded 2 volumes of songs by Vincent Youmans, a very good composer, if not up to the level of Kern, Porter, Berlin, Rodgers. With such tunes as the title tune, The Carioca, I want to Be Happy, Tea for Two, Halleluia, Flying Down to Rio and many more, this disc and volume 2 will provide you with solid entertainment. Bolcom and Morris are joined by their very dear friend Richard White. Prepare to enjoy.

I was pleasantly surprised by the songs on this record. The notes say that Youmans' career did not last very long. The lyrics are sometimes a little corny and overly clever in their rhyming. Overall the songs sound very nineteen-twenties, very tin pan alley. But I found the songs and performances a good deal of fun, with excellent and spirited vocals and piano accompaniment.

Vincent Youmans was a great popular-song composer of the first half of the 20th century. When his widow was moving house to Florida, she donated a stash of acetate discs (of her husband recording/composing at his piano) to archivists.
Some of these unknown songs appear on this CD, as are many lesser known compositions that this under-rated composer had laboured over.
Despite the fact that this CD is just 2 vocalists and a piano - a treasure trove of songs await you!

I am an "American Popular Song" enthusiast with a collection (and a catalog) of wonderful evocations of this song literature. "The Carioica--Songs of Vincent Youmans" is fine quality musical presentation. One can't beat William Bolcom's piano and arrangements, and the purity of Joan Morris's soprano is exceptional. Quality, taste, and the structure of these song recitals are tops. By the way, listen to the companion album "Orchids in the Moonlight."