Porgy & Bess

Cleo Laine, Ray Charles | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B000008BJI
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #71,590 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

19 Tracks 1/Summertime 2/My Man's Gone Now 3/A Woman is a Sometime Thing 4/They Pass by Singin 5/What you Want Wid Bess? 6/I got Plenty O' Nuttin' 7/Buzzard Song 8/Bess, You is My Woman 9/Oh, Doctor Jesus 10/Crab Man 11/Here Come De Honey Man 12/Strawberry Woman (instru.) 13/Strawberry Woman 14/It Ain't Necessarily So 15/There's A Boat Dat's Leavin' Soon for New York 16/I Loves You, Porgy 17/Oh, Bess, Oh Where's My Bess (instru.) 18/Oh Bess, Oh Where's My Bess 19/Oh Lord, I'm on My Way

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SPECTACULAR AND SOULFUL!!!!, October 18, 2005

By 

Beverly Praiswater - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Porgy & Bess (Audio CD)

Ray Charles left his own music behind to sing Gershwin with one of the most brilliant songstress of all time, Cleo Laine. The result was one of the most magical duet albums ever recorded! Beware! This is not one of your typically light opera versions of Porgy and Bess. This is the artistic interpretation of two accomplished artists who turn Gershwin's music into an unusual mix of spectacle and soul! Not since Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong has any artist attempted to put hot and raw jazz back into this magnificent array of songs. Cleo Laine's fine vocals with Ray Charles' raw soul is a perfect match!

Each song arrangement was perfectly matched to the artist by Frank DeVol with a 78-piece orchestra. Great instrumental artists like Joe Sample, Lee Ritenour, Joe Pass and Ernie Watts are just some of the many gifted in the orchestra. Many of the arrangements are so hot that they can stand on their own.

The opening number "Summertime" swells into a gorgeously rich duet. Cleo Laine's finale in "My Man's Gone Now" is a vocal high. "I Got Plenty O' Nuttin'" is a cooking duet between Ray & Cleo. "Bess, You Is My Woman" is rich with tenderness and longing from both singers. Cleo Laine hits angelic gospelly highs in "Oh, Doctor Jesus". "It Ain't Necessarily So" is one of the funkiest duets in the album. It scorches beyond belief! "I Love You, Porgy" is a sweeping tour-de-force for Cleo Laine. Ray Charles' earthy soul is full force in his version of "Oh, Bess, Oh Where's My Bess". The finale "Oh, Lord, I'm On My Way" hits the heavens with Ray's gospel vocal.

The lp was originally recorded in 1976 and the cd was digitally remastered in 1988. The vocals are marvelously recorded. You'd swear you were in the recording studio! The only downside of this cd is its limited release yet well worth the search.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cleo Laine/Ray Chales' "Porgy & Bess", January 12, 2004

By 

"meetewlul" (Germany) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Porgy & Bess (Audio CD)

One of the very best performances, and as one can realize by the prize as well, a very rare CD. My first encounter was with the LP.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's wonderfull !!, January 2, 2005

By 

Yoshiaki Oono - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Porgy & Bess (Audio CD)

I think it's one of the best CDs of Par Charles' Perfomance.