Customer Reviews

Jewish Songbook: Heart & Humor of a People

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The concept of this CD, produced by Brooks Arthur is a commendable one. He knows lots of folks in show business who are Jewish and decided that newly recorded versions of "Jewish" songs would be great. All but one of the 13 tracks on this (somewhat short at 44-minute length) were recorded in 2006 and 2007 by the artists. The lone "oldie" is "Avinu Malkeinu" by Barbra Streisand, which comes from her 1997 "Higher Ground" album.

The CD starts off great with The Manhattan Transfer performing a great swing version of "Utt Da Say" about a tailor making a dress. It had me tapping my feet immediately. Then Neil Sedaka (who recorded a whole CD of Yiddish songs a few years back) slows it down with "My Yiddishe Momme". Smooth jazz meet traditional Yiddish Klezmer for the next two track which feature soprano sax player Dave Koz and then trumpeter Herb Alpert. Comedian Rob Schneider really surprised me with his version of "Bagel & Lox" a 1940s swing tune. THEN thinks stopped. Jason Alexander performs one of lesser-known (for good reason) Allen Sherman parodies ("Shake Hands With Your Uncle Max"). Okay, maybe it's cute once. But I doubt anyone will play this track a second time. The next two "comedy" tracks are also funny ONCE. Then things get serious. The last 5 tracks are more or less Jewish Religious vocal music or prayers. (Ironically, the one song titled "Sabbath Prayer" is the song that Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick wrote for the score of "Fiddler on the Roof" in the 1960s. Theodore Bikel does a nice job and Adam Sandler (who has single-handedly brought back the songs of Hanukah each December) sings the prayer "Hine Ma Tov" in a duet with his real-life Cantor. Marvin Hamlisch does "Hatikva" and it's Streisand's turn to wrap things up.

With a bit better programming (keep Schneider and Triumph The Wonder Dog - seriously - but delete the between song shtick) and Jason Alexander's take on the Sherman song, as well as the "goes on too long" number "Joe and Paul" and this would be a Cd you could repeatedly play from beginning to end. Since you can program your CD player for sequencing, I'm only complaining a bit <g>.

The CD says that "a portion of the proceeds will benefit Jewish charities" so there's a "mitzvah" going on here as well.

Maybe this project will be successful and Richard Foos (exec at Shout Factory) will chance Volume 2. There's lots more Jewish performers out there and more songs to be covered. (Heck Irving Berlin wrote a bunch of great Jewish novelties.)

Steve Ramm
"Anything Phonographic"

Only Neil Sedaka singing My Yiddishe Mama, can cause my aunt in her 90's to break down in tears (from this CD), even though she has heard the song many times before. When I told her that Neil Sedaka is a rock singer, she didn't believe me. And who could resist singing along to the Bagels and Lox song? Of course, the Manhattan Transfer (with Andy Statman) did Klezmer riffs in their American jazz too (if you listened hard you could hear it/feel it--it was in the scat, the improvisation and the syncopation even if not in so many wailing, bent-out-of-shape notes or Yiddish words) ... they were made for the Klezmer rendition of Utt Da Zay ... Triumph the Wonder Dog was the one bit of comic relief in this wonderful CD. I can't get over how well the traditional songs were covered ... !

The service from AMAZON was great & the item exceeded my expectations. It is a wonderful collection of Jewish melodies by an interesting array of performers some of whom I had no idea had any Jewish connections. I thoroughly recommend this title to all who appreciate a good laugh, a good cry & most of all a good addition to any library of Jewish music & song.

How satisfying it is to receive a product that is as good as or excedes just what you expected when you ordered.

Anyone who loves Jewish music should check out this CD. It is original and funny and brings back lots of memories.

I gave this as a gift and the person just loved it. It came quickly and in excellent conditon. I would order from this vendor again

Before I purchased this CD, I wanted to know the type of music and the performers on it. When I checked, I saw that it was the type of music I loved, and the performers and selections were well-known to me. Long story short, I highly recommend this CD to anyone who loves and enjoys Jewish music and performers.

This is a wonderful collection of great songs by great artists. You can't go wrong with buying one for yourself and buying a few for gifts. It's memorable music.

If you care for the older Jewish music and it makes you, laugh, cry, dance and sing go for this one

I've been a lover of Jewish music and tradition for several years and have found this album to be very enjoyable. I love it.