The Song Is You: Best of the Verve Songbooks

Oscar Peterson, Oscar Peterson & Stephane Grappelli | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 21, 1996)
• Original Release Date: May 21, 1996
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Polygram Records
• ASIN: B00000473C
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #188,000 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Cheek To Cheek

2. It Ain't Necessarily So

3. Just A-Sittin' And A Rockin'

4. What Is This Thing Called Love

5. Prelude To A Kiss

6. Fascinating Rhythm

7. Easter Parade

8. Night And Day

9. Long Ago And Far Away

10. Tea For Two

See all 16 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Only Have Eyes For You

2. I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues

3. You Must Have Been A Beautiful Baby

4. Come Rain Or Come Shine

5. I Can't Give You Anything But Love

6. I'm In The Mood For Love

7. John Hardy's Wife

8. I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)

9. That Old Black Magic

10. A Foggy Day

See all 16 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

audio cd - jazz be-bop - compilation 2 discs from 2 different years of Oscar Peterson in trio.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars True to the Melody, September 4, 2000

By 

Thomas M. Granda (Reston, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Song Is You: Best of the Verve Songbooks (Audio CD)

If you like the old favorites and you like the piano player to keep the melody up front and recognizable, you'll love this CD. This is the Oscar Peterson I like best; he strikes the right balance between the way the melody was meant to be played and his easily recognizable crisp and lively style. It may sound strange but his style even keeps faith with the lyrics of these fine songs that we all know. He plays and we listen and even start singing along. Even though this CD is filled with great renditions, my favorites are "What Is This Thing Called Love," "Prelude To A Kiss," and, "A Foggy Day." Buy it and find your own favorites .... you'll love it.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars DON'T HESITATE, November 29, 2002

By 

ALAIN ROBERT (ST-HUBERT,QUÉBEC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Song Is You: Best of the Verve Songbooks (Audio CD)

Fine selection of material from the songbooks recorded by PETERSON during the fifties.Two versions of BLUE MOON,you may ask why they included both?The approach differ completely and are fascinating to compare.OSCAR seems to have had lots of fun with the VINCENT YOUMANS songs:TEA FOR TWO,I WANT TO BE HAPPY and WITHOUT A LOVE.On these particular tunes,he went the adventurous way.This is perfect to listen to after a hard day at work,when no one wants to talk at supper time.So far,four originals among these records have appeared on the cd market;they have assembled the DUKE ELLINGTON songbooks into one cd(2 on 1)and they did the same with ARLEN,GERSHWIN and PORTER.The others will hopefully follow.If you may let me give you an advice,i'll tell you this:by listening to those two cds,learn your favorites and then buy the cds of the composers you like best.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Distinctively Peterson . . . Only A Bit Mellower, But Still Remarkable, February 27, 2008

By 

Rebecca*rhapsodyinblue* (CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Song Is You: Best of the Verve Songbooks (Audio CD)

"Jazz musicians normally choose tunes whose melodic and harmonic implications offer them the fullest opportunity to express their art and define their style: very often, the process will take them a long way from the composer's intention and mood. But here Peterson and his confrères are primarily concerned with the composers' art, and not their own. Not for nothing are the albums known as "the songbook series," the accent is on the American popular song at its best." ~ Richard Palmer ~

For those who are familiar with Oscar Peterson Songbook series, there is nothing new to this two-CD-set, "The Song Is You: Best of the Verve Songbooks." However, what makes this set worthy to any Peterson aficionado is that it consists of the best of the best in the Songbook series produced by Norman Granz under Verve Records. The thirty-two most outstanding tracks were selected from twenty different albums that he recorded between 1952 and 1959 representing the timeless melodies of the most brilliant composers of all-time: George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, Jimmy McHugh, Jerome Kern, Duke Ellington, Richard Rodgers, Harry Warren, Harold Arlen and Vincent Youmans.

In these recordings, the genius of jazz piano is competently supported by Ray Brown (bass), Ed Thigpen (drums), Barney Kessel and Herb Ellis (guitar).

The late Mr. Peterson once said that "he never tried to sound like a trumpet or a clarinet. He was taught to respect the piano for what it was. And it spoke with a certain voice. And that was what he was determined to bring forward." That is especially true with his superb renditions of all the tunes from this impressive set, which highlights "Cheek To Cheek," "It Ain't Necessarily So," "Tea For Two," "Without A Song" and "The Song Is You" on Disc One, and "I Only Have Eyes For You," "Come Rain Or Come Shine," "A Foggy Day," "Serenade In Blue" and "The Song Is Ended" on Disc Two. There are two versions of "Blue Moon" -- the first version on Disc One was taken from "Plays Richard Rodgers" recorded in December of 1953, and the other version on Disc Two was taken from "The Richard Rodgers Songbook" recorded in 1959. Both recordings feature Brown and Ellis.

Richard Palmer, who in 1996 recently completed a collaboration with Peterson on the pianist's then-forthcoming autobiography, A Jazz Odyssey: My Life in Jazz (Bayou Jazz Lives S.), has written a very informative Liner Notes stating that if "they do not present Peterson the jazz pianist at his most ambitious, majestic, or definitive, you cannot understand Peterson the accompanist, Peterson the musical brain, or Peterson the mature virtuoso without a proper recognition of what these sessions did to and for him."

This was what Brown had to say about Peterson's beautiful arrangements on these recordings shortly after their fifteen-year partnership came to an end, and I quote: "We worked hard at it every day, every night. And if you want to be good playing jazz, you have to work at it all the time. We did a variety of things, and Oscar wrote some hard music, but he didn't write it down. We had to memorize all of it."

This set is a welcome addition to your Peterson collection. I graciously recommend it. It's a great listen!