London Sessions

Mel Torme | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 3, 1992)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Ryko Distribution
• ASIN: B0000001DN
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #372,661 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful representation of the genius that was Mel Torme', June 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: London Sessions (Audio CD)

The London Sessions, originally titled "Torme; A New Album" was recorded just a short year after a rather messy divorce for Mel and his English wife.The album is loaded with ballads, and Mel sounds at the absoulute TOP of his form. Outstanding tracks include "Here's That Rainy Day" (with a killer alto sax solo by Phil Woods), "All in Love is Fair" and "Bye Bye Blackbird". Mel's true genius as an arranger shows in the only up-tempo tune on the whole album, a swinging, knock your socks off rendition of "Send In The Clowns"!! This is a MUST have for all Torme' fans!! I HIGHLY recommend it!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Torme's most beautiful album!, December 26, 2005

By 

Mary Whipple (New England) - See all my reviews
(COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: London Sessions (Audio CD)

As an unabashed fan of Mel Torme, I love his late albums, full of jazz, scat, and complex rhythms, as he takes songs in new directions, always on perfect pitch. In this incredible album, recorded in 1977, one hears an earlier Mel Torme, a crooner whose magnificent voice is controlled to perfection, and ranges from the highest of the high notes to the lowest kinds of whispery confessions. Gifted with the ability to give new meanings to familiar songs through unique phrasing and unusual pacing, Torme here records songs of the seventies (six of which are more than five minutes long), documenting the loss of love and the sadness which follows.

Recorded while Torme was in the midst of a divorce from his wife of ten years, a marriage he thought would last forever, Torme's voice conveys his heartbreak through these narrative songs. Though most of these ballads are associated with other singers, they sound new and fresh in Torme's hands. Accompanied by a full orchestra but supported on some of his best tracks by the sax of Phil Woods, Torme creates moods--dramatic, personal, and intimate--and records what may be his most gorgeous album.

"All in Love is Fair," a Stevie Wonder song, never sounded so touching as Torme, his voice set off by Phil Woods's sax solo and later accompaniment, creates a pensive ballad which gradually becomes a jazzier, more passionate wail in his highest register. Roberta Flack's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," featuring a guitar solo, is subtle, with Torme crooning softly and romantically, his mellow voice contrasting with Flack's harsher one.

Billy Joel's "New York State of Mind," is bluesy and restrained, and his interpretation of Janis Ian's "Stars," one of my favorites on the album, is sadder than hers and more meditative, without a trace of folkiness. "Send in the Clowns," becomes upbeat and jazzy, full of off-tempo variations and unusual phrasing, while "Bye, Bye, Blackbird," the only old favorite on the CD, is sung with agonizing slowness and melancholy before veering into wailing jazz.

Beautiful, emotional narrative songs, in which Torme seems to confess his innermost thoughts, accompanied by full orchestra, take on new meanings and showcase Torme's voice and his expression, rather than his jazz talent on this CD. Soft and mellow, these ballads are among the best Torme has ever recorded, and this CD has become one of my new favorites. n Mary Whipple

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars London Sessions Revisited, January 19, 2002

By 

John E. Schoenberger (Chambersburg, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: London Sessions (Audio CD)

My first exposure to this work by Mel was over 15 years ago when I bought the original LP titled A New Album. Years past, record changer broken and library now in CDs I had almost forgotten about this gem. A search on Amazon found it reissued under the new title. What makes this such a collector's item is that it is unique in that most of the songs are contemporary to the 60's and 70's as compared to most other Torme works which feature tunes from the 30's and 40's. Mel's poignant treatment of these songs is faultless. The rich orchestral arrangements are interesting and effective with several European nuances. Adding to this collection is the soulful sax work by Phil Woods.
If you don't own this collection...you are missing one of the two or three absolute best of his career.