Customer Reviews

Meets Cole Porter / At the Crescendo

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

 

 

I got this album in England, and it seems that Jeri is more popular here than in America. Maybe because her singing is understated, which we like. Jeri is cool. I especially like her piano playing - her breaks on 'Nice work if you can get it' and 'When I fall in love' are just fabulous. This is a reissue of two LPs, a format I favour because you get the continuity of the original concept. The Cole Porter LP has wonderful arrangements by Billy May and a most unusual choice of songs; my favourites are 'Get out of town' and 'After you, who?'. The Crescendo LP is a live performance and Jeri plays piano on 4 tracks, with a small group backing her on the others. She performs her great hit 'You better go now' most beautifully. The only flaw is that she takes some songs very slowly indeed, which doesn't always suit them - on 'It's all right with me' she seems to be going at half the tempo of May's arrangement! Even so, this is one of my favourite CDs. The live performance has a special magic.

I have said elsewhere that Jeri Southern is my favorite torch singer and while these two albums are not my favorites of hers (I prefer her earlier, more sparsely backed, music recorded for Decca), they are of an incredibly high standard. Jeri's performance cannot be faulted - she knows her limitations and stays within them. The first album is a set of Cole Porter compositions, mostly avoiding the obvious songs. Indeed, the most famous Cole Porter to be found on this twofer is on the second album, a live set recorded at the Crescendo in Hollywood.

On the first album, Jeri sticks faithfully to the original lyrics, the arrangements are sometimes different to the way Cole Porter intended. The song I am most familiar with is It's all right with me, a song that I first came across via Crystal Gayle's 1977 cover. Jeri's version is much slower but equally brilliant. Other highlights include Don't look at me that way, Looking at you, I concentrate on you and It's bad for me - but every track here is wonderful. Billy May arranged and conducted the orchestra, which sometimes gets a little busy (mostly when Jeri is not actually singing) but is generally restrained and supports Jeri superbly.

The second album, although it features some clapping, does not feature any narrative. Jeri let her music speak for her. Here, you will find some familiar songs including I get a kick out of you (the only Cole Porter song on this set), When I fall in love, Nice work if you can get it, Dancing on the ceiling and You better go now. The music marks a return to the sparser backing of her Decca years, with just piano (played by Jeri), bass, drums and cello supporting Jeri's lovely singing. On some tracks, Jeri is left alone with her piano - now that's how I like Jeri best.

If you are a fan of Jeri's music, you will love this twofer.

Out of all the really great female "saloon singers", no other can even approach the way Jeri puts over a song! Her interpretation grabs you in the gut -- especially one that seems to have been written and performed exclusively for you. I have added this to my shopping cart. My original album of Jeri Southern at the Crescendo at 33 1/3 was not only worn out, but stolen. This is a Mother's Day gift from myself to me. Thanks. Pat Sims

Jeri Southern's two albums for Capitol were the best work of her career. The Cole Porter album is unusually imaginative. She and Billy May toiled thoughtfully over each arrangement with remarkable results. All your preconceptions about these songs are reordered as you hear their approaches to them. As a whole the album achieves a distinctive pulse and flavor that has made it a worldwide favorite. The Crescendo album likely was recorded at the Capitol Tower. Why? First, the sound of about five people providing the applause is a tipoff. Second, the Crescendo was a noisy place with chatter and clanking dishes which made live recording a difficult proposition. And the sound of a dance band from the floor above the cabaret was forever seeping through. Likewise, the cover almost certainly was shot at the Capitol Tower--it has the look. Finally, the program is one I can't imagine actually taking place in a supper club--it's almost classical in sound and quite somber in nature. In reality if she'd done this in a night club some drunk would have poured a Manhattan on her head for not doing "Melancholy Baby." It is a lovely album, even if it's fiction, and reprises many of Jeri's hits on Decca nicely. You will play this terrific C.D. over and over.

This twofer provides listeners with a chance to hear Jeri accompany herself on piano during a live set with applause at the Crescendo Club in Hollywood in 1959. Her piano like her vocals are wonderfully understated. Good numbers are I Get a Kick out of You, Remind Me and Nice Work if You Can Get It. The first disc also from 1959 includes some of Cole Porter's best Get out of Town, delivered in somber fashion; Let's Fly Away; Why Shouldn't I; and Which. Southern's vocal style is simplistic and many of her tunes sound the same, which is more of a problem with her Live disc. He most upbeat tune in this selection is her first track, Don't Look at Me That Way.

Jeri Southern Meets Johnny Smith is a fine album originally released on Roulette Records in 1958. It includes versions of the following songs: Music, Maestro, Please; Robins And Roses; Without A Word Of Warning; Ungrateful Heart; These Are The Things I Love; Where Or When; Until The Real Thing Comes Along; Shake Down The Stars; Have You Forgotten So Soon?; When The Sun Comes Out; Isn't It Romantic?; and, Two Sleepy People. Jeri's excellent singing backed up by Johnny Smith and his trio make for top-notch listening.
All other reviews on Amazon for this album seem to refer to a different Jeri Southern cd release, not Jeri Southern Meets Johnny Smith