Customer Reviews

Crescent City - The Music of New Orleans

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I purchased the original "LP" of this album in the late 1950's while attending high school or LSU. The original vinyl recording's cover jacket has a picture of New Orleans from the air at late afternoon and shows the single span of the Greater New Orleans Bridge under construction (the now existing second span had not been dreamed of yet). Being born in New Orleans and having lived here all of my life, these songs are still haunting and authentic representations of the New Orleans I grew up and lived with. It was then, and is still now, a classic work of smooth sounds and easy listening music.
I am so pleased to find it available on CD. I will purchase several immediately for myself and friends.

I first heard this album when I was a child. It was played by my mother perhaps 35 years ago. I recalled the haunting sounds of this album. Years later I began searching for it and until about a year ago, couldn't seem to get a copy even though it was supposed to be available. Then one day I found it and wow did it take me back in time! The sonics don't match what is done digitally today, but even with this small exception, the grandness I felt when I heard the first notes of the album warmed me. I highly suggest that the first time you listen that it be through the whole thing. It really is a story of New Orleans. It is sort of like arriving in the city on wings of an eagle and landing in the middle of the culture, weaving through what makes New Orleans the romantic image that it is. Quite an experience!

I have been searching for this album for many years. Themes from it have been haunting me, but I didn't know it was still available.

Paul Weston clearly outdid himself with this piece of music which is unmatched in it's genre. Every song is truly outstanding. And the availability now on CD is great!!

I grew up in New Orleans and have listened to the LP album version over and over for decades. And it is a magnificent mosaic of music, which allows the imagination to take one on a magical travelogue around the city, into areas and history not usually seen by the tourist. Obviously, a great deal of research went into the music and this capsule history of New Orleans. The orchestra performs the arrangements flawlessly and the solos are truly inspired. I must point out the stings, in particular, which are absolutely wonderful throughout, and a perfect memorable example is the soaringly beautiful and unusual "Esplanade at Sunset", one of the recording's 'Pieces De Resistance'.

The hauntingly beautiful main "Crescent City" theme is one of the best I have ever heard and it appears, transmuted slightly, over and over throughout the recording. The piece that is a standout is the blues ballad "Storyville": the arrangement, the musical conception, the train station sounds, and the sax solo are awesome. The Creole triptych "Un, Duex, Trois"; "Salangadou"; and "Michie Preval" is an arresting piece of arranging and inspired brass and strings. And the ending piece, "Mardi Gras", is a wonderful whirlwind of music that puts the perfect cap on the CD, as it surges into the main theme again. This is a must have addition to any CD collection.

This album captures an era of music we're not likely to see again. This music tells a story, and takes you along! Dick Cathcart on "Nobody Knows..." is perfection itself. "Vieux Carre" will haunt you. I would recommend this to any serious music lover, or to anyone looking for great accompaniment to a romantic dinner.

The Crescent City Suite will remain a classic, just like the Nut Cracker Suite. It will become eternal in the mind and ears of the listener. I have the LP record of this that I purchased some years ago. On the back of it is a summary of each song. When the information for the CD was printed up, this wasn't given. The music came to be written when husband & wife Paul Weston & Jo Stafford visited New Orleans, Louisiana, they fell in love with the city. I truly believe that Paul Weston was heavenly inspired when he wrote it. It is timeless and tireless. If you listen to it once, you can be sure you'll be listening to it again and again. Sincerely, Bertie Gros of Marrero, Louisiana

As a New Orleans/French Quarter tour guide and somewhat of a historian of New Orleans, I have to say, its the only composition that truly reflects the ambiance of our city so masterfully. Its a gem! My CD is about to wear out, and you can bet I'll be purchasing another to take its place!! I grew up in New Orleans, and have lived here all of my life, and couldn't believe the person who composed this music is not originally from New Orleans, or at least that's what I was told. I remember as a child some of the songs being played on TV as background music for one of our local news stations. The sounds have always captured my emotions and can almost immediately give me images of the St. Charles Avenue Streetcar, Bourbon Street, the Mississippi River and so many other images of the "Crescent City". Great performances, you won't be disappointed.

This is Paul Weston's best of many albums. I have owned the LP version of this recording since my college days at Okla University and was thrilled to see it released in CD form. Paul Weston, who along with Johnny Mercer, was a founder of Capitol Records, ranks right up there with other great orchestra leaders like James Last, Montovani, Percy Faith, and Jackie Gleason. This is a must have album if you like easy listening music because this is easy listening, New Orleans style! My wife and I wish Paul and his wife, singer Jo Stafford, many more years of good health and prosperity and we thank both of them for their many contributions to our music enjoyment.

This is an excellent collection of New Orleans Big Band/Jazz. It really takes you back 40 years when Mom & Dad used to play the vinyl.

When good music died on radio in the 50's (and as a disck jockey at the time I mourned the loss so terribly that I jumped the fence into the news department) most of the composers and performers kept the ghost in almost speak-easy venues. The best... Nelson Riddle, Sinatra, Shearing, etc, could still be found if you looked hard... way down in the charts but many of the workhorses retired to pasture. Paul Weston, among the most versatile on vinyl, didn't create waves in the CD world. He and wife Jo Stafford acquired the rights to most of their recordings and started their own company. It took a dreadfully long time to decide to reissue this gem. My vinyl copy shows the ravages of ages while I waited and searched for this to resurface.
Now, surrounded by his collaborators of many years, Matty Matlock on clarinet, Ted Nash as well as Eddie Miller and Babe Russin on tenor sax, Barney Kessel or Georgie Van Eps on guitar. Ziggy Elman's horn with either Paul Smith or Stan Wrightsman at the piano, all enjoying Weston's evocative arrangements of his own compositions, it's all back... this time on Paul's own Corinthian Records label.
Paul left us in '96 but we can still hope Corinthian can carry on and bring more of his library to the Amazon marketplace.
I'm already standing in line waiting for the re-issue of "Moon for 12."