Customer Reviews

Cole Sings Porter: Rare and Unreleased Songs from Can-Can and Jubilee

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This CD features demos of songs from two Cole Porter shows. They feature Cole Porter himself singing and playing piano with no other instruments. The sound quality is not great, but it is listenable. It sounds like scratchy old records, which it is actually what it was recorded from. Cole sings his songs in a effete voice, he is a decent but unexciting singer. The only well known song here is "I Love Paris", which is from Can-Can. The rest of the songs from Can-Can feature Cole's usual clever wordplay. There are also five songs that were written for Can-Can, but didn't make it into the show. The songs from Jubilee don't include the biggest hit from the show, "Begin the Beguine". The Jubilee songs aren't as clever as the the Can-Can songs, but they are still better than most songs by other songwriters. I would recommend this CD for hardcore Cole Porter fans only. There are better recordings of these songs by better singers with better orchestration.

This CD features demo recordings of Cole Porter singing his own songs and accompanying himself on piano. His distinctive and somewhat nasal voice has much more character than a typical music theater singer. I have a box set of Cole Porter songs by other singers, but I never listen to it; it's just not as interesting or intimate as these renditions by the composer himself.