Ella & Louis for Lovers

Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 14, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Verve
• ASIN: B0009I475M
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #65,193 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A love fest !!!, February 16, 2007

By 

Matthew G. Sherwin (last seen screaming at Amazon customer service) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Ella & Louis for Lovers (Audio CD)

Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong recorded some of the most beautiful ballads ever. Ella's higher pitched voice complements Louis' gravelly yet tender voice on this CD; and each number thrills you as if it were the very first time you ever heard the song. This CD proves it.

The CD starts off with the remarkably beautiful "The Nearness Of You." The musical arrangement boasts a fine percussion section and the horns enhance the jazzy rendition of this ballad. Ella's voice is smooth as silk; and she sings with a degree of emotional intimacy that people can rarely impart to their audiences. Louis' voice is strong, masculine and passionate, too. Love that trumpet!

The album continues with another romantic number entitled "Stars Fell On Alabama." Ella and Louis perform this without a superfluous note and the overall potency of this number shines brightly!

Another classic worthy of special mention is "Dream A Little Dream Of Me." Louis and Ella sing of how they love each other so much that they cannot bear to spend the night under separate roofs. The musical arrangement makes good use of the piano and the horns in the band. Excellent!

Other terrific numbers on this CD include "Love Is Here To Stay" which they sing so passionately you begin to believe they are in love in real life; "Let's Do It (Let's Fall In Love)" with its great piano intro and its slow paced arrangement to accentuate the splendid experience of love and "Autumn In New York."

The CD closes fittingly with "Tenderly." "Tenderly" features the incomparable trumpet playing of Louis Armstrong; and together Ella and Louis sing perfectly. Ella and Louis added a line to this number to personalize the song and make it more immediate both to them and their listeners: "You took my chops/'way from Pops." "Pops" refers to Louis Armstrong; this leads us to wonder if Ella and Louis ARE in love. In fact, they are in love--but much more so with their music than each other in real life.

The liner notes include a great essay by Al Young; and the song credits are there, too. The inside artwork includes beautiful black and white photos of Ella and Louis.

I highly recommend this CD for Ella and Louis fans alike; and people in love will treasure this very special CD. Fans of classic pop vocals and classic jazz will enjoy this, too.

5.0 out of 5 stars "...As Far As I'm Concerned... It's A Lovely Day...", December 16, 2010

By 

Mark Barry, Reckless Records, London (UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Ella & Louis for Lovers (Audio CD)

The 11-tracks on 2005's "For Lovers" (Verve 0602498807989) weigh in at a managable 53:38 minutes and the sound quality is BEAUTIFUL.

It features all Fifties Mono recordings remastered to perfection by one of Universal's top engineers - ELLEN FITTON. I've raved about her work before in many reviews - The Marvelettes "Forever" 3CD set, "This Is The Story..." 3CD set by The Supremes, all 12 volumes of the fabulous "Complete Motown Singles" series... She has hundreds of audio mastering and restoration credits to her name (see TAG above for a comprehensive pictorial list of her work) - and her remastering skill here is right up to those previous standards.

The 8-page foldout inlay gives full recording credits with a short set of liner notes and the band on several tracks featured such luminaries as OSCAR PETERSON (Piano), HERB ELLIS (Guitar), RAY BROWN (Bass) and LOUIE BELLSON and BUDDY RICH (Drums). Most of the tracks were recorded in August 1956 (some in 1950, 1951 and 1957) and it makes for a lovely listen - the two jazz giants playing off each other's vocal styles.

The sonic delight of "The Nearness Of You" open proceedings very nicely and "Isn't This A Lovely Day" is as pretty as they're combined talents produced (lyrics above). The songs are all smoochy in that 'dinner suit and cocktails' kind of a way - and I suppose you could argue that the disc could have been filled out more, but the compilers have gone for an 'album' feel - and they were right - it works precisely because 'less-is-more'.

A lovely disc and a very sweet listen indeed - recommended.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great! 11 Songs from Ella and Louis, July 14, 2008

By 

Johnny Boy "The Record Collector" (Hockessin, DE) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ella & Louis for Lovers (Audio CD)

Probably the best pairing of vocalists in jazz history, Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong display their unique chemistry here with this selection of their love songs and romantically driven songs in their installment in Verve's 'For Lovers' series.

This is a great overview of Ella and Louis' finest work. The highlights for me are 'Dream A Little Dream Of Me' and the standard, 'Stars Fell On Alabama.' But the whole CD is superb.

If you buy this, I recommend you buy their installment in the '20th Century Masters' series, 'Compact Jazz: Ella and Louis' or if you want to get it all, 'The Complete Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong.'

This set is very enjoyable. 11 songs makes for a great listening experience! The best of the best is featured here. There is a great feeling of love in these 11 recordings.

Highly recommended for any jazz fan or Ella and Louis fan. These 11 recordings represent what good music really is.

ENJOY!!!