Night and Day: Thomas Hampson Sings Cole Porter

Thomas Hampson (Artist), Cole Porter (Composer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Composer: Cole Porter
• Audio CD (May 24, 1991)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Angel Records / EMI
• ASIN: B000002RS3
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #194,085 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. 'Night And Day': 'Begin The Beguine' (Jubilee)

2. 'Night And Day': 'In The Still Of The Night' (Rosalie)

3. 'Night And Day': 'Easy To Love' (Born To Dance)

4. 'Night And Day': 'Two Little Babes In The Wood' (Greenwich Village Follies - Sixth Yearly Edition)

5. 'Night And Day': 'When My Baby Goes To Town' (Something For The Boys)

6. 'Night And Day': 'When I Had A Uniform On' (Hitchy-Koo 1919)

7. 'Night And Day': 'I've Got You Under My Skin' (Born To Dance)

8. 'Night And Day': 'Bring Me Back My Butterfly' (Hitchy-Koo 1919)

9. 'Night And Day': 'Who Said Gay Paree?' (Can-Can- Unused, Nicht verwendet, Inutilise)

10. 'Night And Day': 'A Fool There Was' (Rosalie - Can-Can- Unused, Nicht verwendet, Inutilise)

11. 'Night And Day': 'How's Your Romance?' (Gay Divorce)

12. 'Night And Day': 'My Cozy Little Corner In The Ritz' (Hitchy-Koo 1919)

13. 'Night And Day': 'Don't Fence Me In' (Hollywood Canteen)

14. 'Night And Day': 'Drink' (Seven Lively Arts)

15. 'Night And Day': 'Night And Day' (Gay Divorce)

16. 'Night And Day': 'It Was Written In The Stars' (Du Barry Was A Lady)

17. 'Night And Day': 'I Concentrate On You' (Broadway Melody Of 1940)

18. 'Night And Day': 'Bull Dog' (Yale College)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cole must have been watching over this project, September 5, 2000

By 

Tom MacGowan (Spring Lake, N.J., U.S.A) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Night and Day: Thomas Hampson Sings Cole Porter (Audio CD)

John McGlinn's orchestrations on this compilation of Cole Porter tunes have as much to do with the brilliance of this CD as Mr Hampson's vocal renderings. Both have that lush sound that make a Porter tune sound like what this reviewer believes Porter would have appreciated, judging by his own versions of his songs, and the arrangements that he was involved in. McGlinn remained faithful to those original arrangements and added a few of his own ideas and along with modern day recording improvements produced a sound that I think Porter would very much approve of. My only complaint is the selection of songs, but that as always comes down to personal taste. However in doing so I was tuned into a few songs that I had never heard before, some of which are now among my favorite Porter songs. Specifically, 'Who said Gay Paree' is a sublime version of a lesser known Porter tune. It is one of his tunes about Paris but unlike the others its a sad tune of love lost with McGlinn and Hampson both at their finest. Another one new to me was'My Cozy Little Corner In the Ritz' an early Porter tune with him at his sarcastic best and a brilliant rendition. The standards are all briliantly done. 'In the Still of the Night' is my favorite, followed by I Concentrate on You', 'Easy To Love', 'Night and Day' (edging out Sinara's version, but not quite as magical as Fred Astaire's from the movie 'Gay Divorcee', but close) 'I've Got You Under My Skin' is divine, Begin the Beguine and 'Don't Fence me in'. All the others are great versions but none would make my top 50 Porter tunes. With the convenience of tracking with CD's though I program my favorites in and hear an hour of heavenly music from one of my favorite tunesmiths as interpreted by two contemporary masters of our time.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Let theyself be hereby dubbed.........Best Broadway Tune Vocalist..., June 21, 2007

By 

JUST A REVIEWER2 - See all my reviews

This review is from: Night and Day: Thomas Hampson Sings Cole Porter (Audio CD)

Of my dozens and dozens of Broadway music performances, I find only one singer can be dubbed "Best." That person, Thomas Hampson, is thee. While show performers and ballad singers have all had their way with these tunes, only one is across-the-board great in them.

And whether or not these are the "best" representative songs of Porter is a moot point, something entirely up to personal taste. The point is that these songs have not been better performed by an individual male singer. It certainly doesn't hurt, either, that the great John McGlinn was on board as conductor/director (and likely strongly involved in arranging).

****

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This isn't a vanity crossover project but Cole Porter with art and style, July 17, 2006

By 

Santa Fe Listener (Santa Fe, NM USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Night and Day: Thomas Hampson Sings Cole Porter (Audio CD)

The glut of crossover albums that came our way in the ripe era of Pavarotti and Domingo has abated, leaving not the best taste in the mouth. But there were some high points, and this 1991 Cole Porter collection from Thomas Hampson is a gorgeous example. Like his hero from the 30s, Lawrence Tibbett, who triumphed as much on radio as in the opera house, Hampson sings full out, applying an overtly operatic baritone to popular song. He has such a command of vocal technique that, as with Tibbett and more recently Ben Heppner, the glory of the vocalism would carry the day on its own.

But Hampson adds to this a good deal of finesse, humor, and suavity--particularly the last. "Begin the Beguine" and "In the Still of the Night" convey the cosmopolitan asurance that is a Cole Porter trademark. There are also some bigger songs, such as "It Was Written in the Stars," where Hampson can unleash his voice at full force, a thrilling experience. I don't think there's been an opera star who's made a Cole Porter recording other than Kiri Te Kanawa, in forty years. This is a very enjoyable one indeed.