Customer Reviews

Swings Cole Porter

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Anita O'Day remains one of the greatest singers of the entire twentieth century. Anita could take a tune and inject it with a type of electricity that was all her own. Never afraid to scat, change tempos or just play with intonation and syllables, Anita displayed a boldness and flair that set her apart from many vocalists. This CD proves it.

The CD starts with the twelve tracks that were on the 1959 record album entitled Anita O'Day Swings Cole Porter With Billy May; and then we get a few bonus tracks Anita did with other arrangers.

"Just One Of Those Things" starts the CD as if it were a piñata that's just been struck wide open; Billy May's typical use of the horns works well as Anita weaves her magic from the start. Anita sings this as a true jazz song and a classic both at once. "Love For Sale" gets a flashy treatment by both Anita O'Day and Billy May; the tempo changes enhance the beauty and drama of the number.

Other gems in the track set copied from the 1959 record album include "I Get A Kick Out Of You;" this song explores the joys of being with your one true love. Anita and Billy May start this slow with an opening verse; and when the tempo increases you can feel the jet engines whizzing faster than you've ever felt them! Anita doesn't always stick to the melody as she sings the lyrics; this proves her excellent ability to do any and all vocal gymnastics.

"I've Got You Under My Skin" gets the royal Latin treatment from Billy May's arrangement; and naturally Anita more than keeps up with May's work. Anita's voice oozes femininity as she uses her voice to jump up, down and all about on this number. Anita truly performs "I've Got You Under My Skin" to perfection!

"It's Delovely" boasts an energetic yet romantic flavor to it; the tempo may be fast but make no mistake: Anita O'Day sings this with passion and Billy May's arrangement shines like pure gold! The arrangement makes great use of the horns. "What Is This Thing Called Love" features Anita singing with confidence as she scats, plays with the tempo of her vocals while Billy May's tempo stays much more constant, and pours her heart and soul into performing this number as only she could.

We also get bonus tracks that reflect Anita's genius with other arrangers. I love the passion and forcefulness of Buddy Bregman's arrangement for the trombones on "You're The Top;" Anita's voice is in excellent form once again for this number. The romantic number "My Heart Belongs To Daddy" shows how Anita could get away with singing this number by occasionally leaving out the "My" in "My Heart Belongs To Daddy." And you know what? Anita does it with such a natural talent that it works very well. Jimmy Giuffre's arrangement works well, too, for "My Heart Belongs To Daddy."

"From This Moment On" begins with a beautiful piano flourish and Anita whizzes through this ballad without stumbling--and she doesn't sing a superfluous note, either! This number shines and stands as a highlight of this CD. The final track, another interpretation of ""Just One Of Those Things" has different tempo changes than the first version on this CD; the arrangement by Ralph Burns also features guitarist Tal Farlowe.

The liner notes include the recording dates for each song and Will Friedwald contributes a fine essay about Anita O'Day and her work with the different arrangers on this album.

Anita O'Day is something to be personally experienced; I can't quite find the words to completely convey the high octane, forceful energy and electricity with which she performed countless songs throughout her very long career. This CD would be a "must-have" for Anita's fans; and people who enjoy classic jazz will enjoy this CD, too. If you want to become better acquainted with the artistry of Anita O'Day, this CD is also a great place to start.

Enjoy!

I saw Anita O'Day March 2000 at one of her shows in Los Angeles and I told her she was the greatest and she blushed. This is one of my favorite O'Day CD's and after talking to Anita who signed my CD, it's one of her favorites too she had nothing but great things to say about Billy May who arranged the album. This CD is highly recommeded as well as her autobiography "High Times, Hard times" buy it and read it while listening to this Cd. Then go see Anita next time she plays through your town, or come to LA and see her at her regular spot The Atlas on most monday nights.

I've owned this CD since is came out in the early 90's, and it is one I listen to again and again--it strikes me as the best O'Day available now, sparkling with up-tempo stretches and pullings on Porter's original rhythms, melodic lines and verses. Even after dozens of listenings I can always find--or rediscover--wonderful ear-shocks.

Fun, fun, fun!

The title to this review refers to the fact that I consider this album the perfect companion of Anita O'day Sings Rodgers and Hart so I'm speaking here about the two albums and I suggest to everyone the purchase of both. Anita was accompanied here like in the R&H album by Billy May who has been a spectular choice for Anita. Some people seem unable to catch impressive Anita's vocal genius. She's one of the best Jazz singers in the whole history of Jazz music. She's so personal, so charismatic, so graced with talent that hearing her singing Little Girl Blue or Bewitched (R&H album) is incredibly rewarding. She flies over May's powerful or tender arrangements like only a master Jazz musician can do. She hadn't Vaughan unreachable instrument and her black attitude (Vaughan has been the greatest of them all, no doubt about it), she wasn't divine. She was human, but with an impressive talent of her own. She hadn't Holiday black tragedies to tell. She was white, she wasn't discriminated (even if she surely saw some bad things travelling with black people in those days) so she sang like a white girl, with a white blues feeling, with perfect intonation, perfect time and an originality that hook me every time I hear her sing. She can really enlight a song or a lyric. She's incredible. I really love Anita and probably the two albums (Cole Porter and R&H) are some of the best music she's ever recorded. Billy May prepared for her thunderous arrangements with her voice in mind and the results of course became legendary.

You probably heard PORTER tunes done by ELLA or SINATRA,and that's interesting.With ANITA ,the approach is more risqué but so rewarding in the end.ANITA is a singer who likes to takes chances,and on this 1959 session,she is matched with BILLY MAY,who was born to work with the often difficult O'DAY.What fun it is to hear them do relectures of the famous PORTER tunes,even if you know them by heart!So, you may like that album a lot if you are game ,or hate it if you are not,it's just as simple as that.The lyrics to YOU'RE THE TOP are not the originals,but work just the same with YOU'RE THE BOP,SARAH and YARDBIRD among the word changes made to the song.One wonders though what PORTER thought of the liberties taken with his songs.This is ANITA O'DAY in full command and in her prime.A message to VERVE:will you please release the 1960 ANITA O'DAY swings RODGERS AND HART with BILLY MAY in north AMERICA?

Of couse it is hard to miss with Anita O'Day doing Porter, but Billy May adds considerably. I have never understood May's relative obscurity: he wrote dynamite arrangements and he could really swing. Still the most amazing recording here follows the 12 cuts from the O'Day-Billy May collaboration. The last six cuts are from six separate sessions with other groups. The first of these is with the trombone laden Buddy Bregman orchestra doing one of Porter's least substantial hits "You're the Top." After doing a very pleasing chorus, Alvin Stoller on drums starts to hit the cymbal and swing through a bridge into a second chorus on the theme "You're the Bop" which has clever jazz lyrics. Half way through this he starts hitting the cow bell as the swinging becomes more intense. It is an amazing recording and by itself is enough to justify buying this c.d.

Let's be frank, Ella could swing but she swung, as Ms. Turner would say, "Nice & Easy". Anita never does anything "nice & easy". So of course people have their preferences.

I love them both.

But Anita smolders these songs like cigarette ashes falling into a tray in some seedy back alley bar in a Veronica Lake film. It jumps and sweats and growls and snarls and gets drunk and then gets under the skin (and the sheets). I put this on for the first time and couldn't -can't sit still. It ROCKS!

Think of it this way Ella was the Pop Queen of her time (The best pop ever recorded)... Anita is well... the Punk Queen of her day. She wore short skirts and snarled on stage with the men, her voice wasn't pure and neither was her life and that is pretty damn punk by my standards. When I introduce people new to classic jazz I give them Anita first because they've usually been raised on rock and Ella will come off as drowsy. And sure enough they get hooked. This is some of the best stuff ever recorded, period and why it wasn't on RS list of best albums of all time baffles me.

Since Anita died in late 2006, and was still performing sporadically up to her final year of life, meaning well into her mid-80's, this 1959 release can't even be called "Mid-career O'Day." She started making records with the Gene Krupa Orchestra before the bombing of Pearl Harbor, so at the time of this project, she was about 20 years into a 60-year gig as a paid jazz vocalist. And I do mean "jazz" because Anita never did achieve "pop" stardom or true mass appeal. This offering is quite cheerful, but while it reveals Anita's originality and devotion to jazz arrangements, it also demonstrates her weakness. O'Day did not quite have the ability to "act" a lyric and inhabit a song situation, the way Doris Day, for instance, had in the same era. That is not a harsh criticism---Ella Fitzgerald did not always make the lyric she was vocalizing warm and intimate and believable, either, for all her greatness. Anita was for fun, not for bringing the listener's own tangled love story to life via bittersweet empathy. An even better CD than this one for understanding O'Day is "Let Me Off Uptown" which features her 1940-42 tracks with Krupa. That one makes you want to get up and dance...fast. This one's 18 tracks show that Cole Porter had great enough skills so that songs he meant to be done slowly can survive and thrive when speeded up by a singer the quality of Anita O'Day. If you are an O'Day fan, you'll need this one in the collection, for sure, and Billy May and his men contribute a great deal to the success of this release. If not already a fan, it might make you one, but I'm betting that her early work with Krupa will please you even more.

Cole Porter is all about sass and Anita is the sassiest sasser of 'em all. Like a hidden treasure, you discover over and over.

I guess I'm an ignorant music lover because I only recently found out about Anita O'day. First heard her on the Direct tv music channels, (Rat Pack, great American Standards, and vocal jazz hits). I heard her while listening and enjoying my afternoon cocktail while reading. looked up to see who's voice it was and saw her name as the artist on the tv screen. I then saw her story on the Documentary channel. I was in love with her and her music.
this is a great cd. don't know if it is her best but very good.