Customer Reviews

Lounge-A-Palooza

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

The single song that's worth getting the whole CD for is "Black Hole Sun" as so aptly covered by Steve and Eydie (yes Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormet) the arranger is to be congradualted for his stunning success at turning the Soundgarden grunge mega hit into an astonishingly wonderful Las Vegas Lounge anthem. Steve and Eydie are impeccabled in their ability to do this type of lounge music and the song just continues to astonish me and pretty much everyone that hears it. The soulful suave and polish of this tune is superlative while the sincerity makes this work so well.

This is a very unusual CD compelation it trys hard but missed the mark in a few cuts while it hits homeruns in others. The mixture is eclectic so what I loved others may just hate.

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.

Tanquery and a twist. Fastball and James Taylor Quartet (not that one, the Austin Powers one).Michelle Shocked and Glen Campbell. Flea and a few artists with REALLY strange names. Lounge-A-Palooza is a sexy, saucy, serinade to the days of Martin, Davis Jr., and the Velvet Fog. An eclectic compilation of truly fun and frivolous lounge tunes that you will truly enjoy no matter what musical flavor you favor. It's a combination of new and old, artists and songs, brought together, then stirred about for a smooth, smooth taste. And definitely, expect the unexpected: Steve and Eydie perform "Black Hole Sun", while Flea tackles (and man handles) "Love Will Keep Us Together". It's one of those "hear it once, love it forever" collections that you'll loan to all your friends ... a must own for any single stud looking for action behind the beaded doorways of your swingin' bacholer pad. Production quality is outstanding. Best heard with a martini in hand.

An interesting variety of performers...some songs were better off in their original version, but there are some really creative re-makes: I really enjoyed Steve and Edie's version of "Black Hole Sun" and Ben Fold's Five take on "She Don't Use Jelly". The album on the whole takes some getting used to, but it's worth it, if you want to try something different.

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.
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...

Wow...this CD is pretty dang good!

I bought it just to get the cut from Poe, but I found to my amazement that several other tunes really jam. Now, granted, you really need to have at least a wry and ironic appreciation for so-called "lounge music", and if your favorite groups have names like Shrieking Demented Death-heads, then this album probably won't float your boat. But if you're antiquated enough to recall hearing the original versions of these tunes floating out from the AM radios of yesteryear, then you'd probably like this stuff.

Naturally, I really enjoyed Poe's "A Rose is a Rose", the lyrics to which were written by her novelist brother. It's a spiffy little number that pays a twisted homage to the Lost Generation of American and English intellectuals and artists that hung about Paris in the '20s. Yeah, it sounds odd, but it works, especially is you can recall names like Eliot, Gershwin, Stravinsky, and those dudes.

Also notable is the...um...unique spin that the Ben Folds Five puts on the old Flaming Lips song "She Don't Use Jelly". It's a hoot!

Fastball tackles the Bacharach/David standard "This Guy's in Love with You", and updates it for the, er, '90s. Good job.

Also acquitting themselves decently are Jimmy Scott and Flea (the latter from Red Hot Chili Peppers, of course) with "Love Will Keep Us Together" (yes, the Captain and Tennille song), Fun Lovin' Criminals with their version of 10cc's "I'm Not in Love", and the Pizzicato Five blipping through that ever-popular elevator hit, "Girl From Ipanema".

I could've done without the contributions from Cassandra Wilson and the duo of Glen Campbell and Michelle Shocked. Ms. Wilson has an uncanny knack of taking a three-minute song and tripling its length to no great effect, and as for Ms. Shocked, I've always found her to be vastly overrated. Oh, well, no album's perfect.

This is a great CD if you have the appropriate sense of humor and nostalgia. Avoid it, though, if you're a metalhead or gangsta-wannabe.

I'm not much on words, but this album is something different, like me. Each song appeals to me, this is not suitable music to put in the on-hold player. Presented as something different, people may be turned off. This music has a mood and splash. I LIKE it !!

This is a great cd to throw in when you are entertaining guests prior to a dinner party. I loved it and Poe's version of A Rose Is A Rose was a big hit. If you are at all interested in lounge music, this is a must buy!

I listen to this CD occasionally, and I always enjoy it. The songs are quirky, given who the performers are. I think this CD took the whole Palooza thing to its rightful conclusion.