Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Cool Disc, February 12, 2000
If you were born in the 60's, there's a good chance you heard your parents listening to a few of the original versions of some of these tunes. To hear them revamped is quite a treat. The lounge version of "Black Hole Sun" was what prompted me to buy the disc, and the whole CD is a fine blending of "old meets new" smothered in this cool, smoky, loungy atmosphere. If you like lounge music with a little more modern twist, you'll like this disc... 'tis a cool idea executed quite nicely.
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7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Lousy album saved by three great tracks..., May 20, 2002
What were they thinking when they put this together? Great lounge / MOR artists doing alternative covers? Alternative acts covering easy listening classics? Seems to be some confusion in concept here...
I had to give this disc five stars on the basis of one track which is absolutely brilliant: Steve Lawrence & Eydie Gorme's version of 'Black Hole Sun' is sublime orchestral pop on a par with Scott Walker's classic 60s solo albums. I've never been a fan of this duo's recordings, but Steve's voice has deepened with the years to gain a gravity, with the warmth and expressive nuance of Sinatra at his best. Eydie holds her own in this duet, and the arrangement (tinkling lounge piano, muted trumpet and full orchestra) is flawless. Hearing the skewed metaphor of the song's lyric in this context is disorienting as it is disarming, and this version never fails to give me goosebumps.
There are two other noteworthy tracks here. Polly Jean Harvey with Eric Drew Feldman (formerly of Captain Beefheart's Magic Band) do a fine rendition of 'Zaz Turned Blue', an overlooked classic by Mel Torme (which actually comes from an out-of-print LP by Was Not Was). Despite the cheesy synth & sampled rhythm track, Polly handles the ballad with measured passion, though once you hear this you will want to seek out the Torme original (available on at least one CD collection by the late Velvet Fog). The lyrics to this song are a strange blend of Kerouac and David Lynch with a dark, homoerotic subtext, both twisted and hearttugging. The other fine selection is an update of 'Wichita Lineman' by original vocalist Glen Campbell with Michelle Shocked. Glen's voice has not fared well over the years (his dentures obviously impairing his enunciation), but that makes his delivery all the more wistful, touching even.
As for the rest of the disc, I cannot bear to listen to it. I admit I am no fan of 'alternative rock', but these songs & artists do not make me want to explore the misbegotten genre any further. Even Jimmy Scott (a first-rate vocalist) falls flat with a cloying cover of a Captain & Tenille hit. 'Black Hole Sun' makes the whole disc worthwhile, though...
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Whatever, April 23, 2005
This is a pretty fun CD featuring contemporary performers paying tribute to lounge music. Although some of the tracks feature older performers like Steve and Eydie. In fact, Steve and Eydie's lounge-ish version of Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun" is the best track here (it's a hoot!). I also enjoyed most of the other tracks, which mostly feature modern artists doing songs associated with the lounge era. Not all of them work, but a high percentage of them do. Fans of the lounge music revival should enjoy this CD.
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