Let Me Off Uptown: The Best of Anita O'Day with Gene Krupa [Original recording remastered]

Anita O'Day | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 15, 1999)
• Original Release Date: 1940
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B00000JBDX
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #147,443 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Opus One

2. Skylark

3. Stop! The Red Light's On

4. Georgia on My Mind

5. Thanks for the Boogie Ride

6. Tea for Two

7. That's What You Think

8. Just a Little Bit South of North Carolina

9. Barrelhouse Bessie from Basin Street

10. Green Eyes

11. Kick It

12. Slow Down

13. Watch the Birdie

14. Boogie Blues

15. Bolero at the Savoy

16. Massachusetts

17. Harlem on Parade

18. Let Me Off Uptown

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Time capsule perfectly captures its era..., April 30, 2002

By 

William E. Adams (Midland, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Let Me Off Uptown: The Best of Anita O'Day with Gene Krupa (Audio CD)

This is big band jazz/swing with vocals, and most of the selections were recorded in 1941, half-a-year before Pearl Harbor changed the destinies of all the players, all the audiences. These are O'Day's first recordings, and her star power is evident from her first verses. She started 61 years ago, and still sings occasionally in Los Angeles. Amazing. Gene Krupa was a good bandleader in addition to being a wild drummer. His orchestra has some great players, especially Roy Eldrige on trumpet. If you could only afford one CD in your collection to represent the pre-war big band sound, this would not be a bad choice. I only knew of four of the 18 songs in advance, but frankly, all of them are good listening. I am not a dancer, but this CD makes me want to dance; I am not a singer, but it makes me wish I could; I don't play an instrument, but this CD reminds me to regret it. Whether you approach big band music as a serious fan, or with a campy attitude, you cannot help but have fun when you give Anita, Gene, Roy and their cohorts 53 minutes to serenade you.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Swing era classics, July 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Let Me Off Uptown: The Best of Anita O'Day with Gene Krupa (Audio CD)

Anita O'Day's voice is rythmic and lilting as it floats above the driving Krupa beat. To me, however, the best reason to purchase this CD is Roy Eldridge's outstanding solos. Listening to him propel to the heavens on Let Me Off Uptown is worth the price of the CD alone. Remastering is superb--outstanding sound complete with CEDAR noise reduction. One can only hope that Columbia gets around to treating the rest of its trove of swing era classics with the same care.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Anita's the best there is in the femme jazz vocal department, March 17, 2000

By 

Aaron (Aaron) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Let Me Off Uptown: The Best of Anita O'Day with Gene Krupa (Audio CD)

Anita is simply the best there is in the female jazz vocal department, always using her voice as an instrument, she is the best of all bop singers, and was the best singer of the swing era too. These are her early sessions with Gene Krupa & Roy Eldridge, they are all wonderful, especially O'Day. Although her Verve sessions from the 50's & 60's are deliciously more enjoyable, these sessions should satisfy swing vocalist fans, as well as O'Day fans. Also get her autobiagraphy to read while you listen to these amazing and stunning sides, and last go see her, she still puts on a darn good show, and creates a lot of excitement by costantly improvising. As an Anita O'Day fan I try to see her once a month at The Atlas in Los Angeles, though she plays more intimate clubs too.