Customer Reviews

Swings Shubert Alley

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4 star:		(3)
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I must admit that I wasn't much of a Mel Torme fan before I picked this album up at the recommendation of a friend who took it upon themselves to give me an education in the finer points of jazz vocalists. Mostly, that was because of judgments I made based on Mel's popular image which, during the time I was growing up (and as someone else has pointed out) was essentially limited to appearances on "Night Court" and "The Christmas Song" Besides, I was more of a Sinatra fan and Mel seemed, well, just a little wimpy......I admit now that I was wrong.

This album is simply spectacular. Marty Paich's arrangements are superb and Mel's singing is beyond compare. On this album, and throughout his career, Mel Torme differentiated himself from singers like Sinatra and Tony Bennett in that he made it seem that his voice was just an other instrument in the band, and that style is readily apparent here in songs like "Too Close for Comfort", "Once In Love With Amy", and "Surrey With The Fringe On Top". He shows himself to truly be a *jazz* singer (which is a title that was sometimes given to Sinatra, but doesn't really apply) in the style of Ella, Billie Holliday, or Lambert, Hendricks & Ross (Torme's singing on this album is heavily influenced by the vocalese style they L,H&R were famous for).

I still like Sinatra more than Mel, but this album is on my Top 10 list right next to Songs for Swingin' Lovers.

If your idea of Mel Torme is the same as mine was, then you definitely need to pick up this album and give it a listen. You're in for a (very pleasant) surprise.

'Swings Shubert Alley' is not only perhaps the finest of Mel Torme's recordings but also one of the finest jazz albums ever recorded. I highly recommend it for both Mel's impeccable swing, pitch, and vocalese and for the Marty Paich arrangements and the band's flawless execution. I bought this cd back in '94 after hearing 'Too Darn Hot' on NPR and I love it. In fact, my first copy is now scratched and I am going to buy another. Mel and the band are in excellant form on this album. If you love instrumental jazz buy this album for Frank Rosolino, Mel Lewis, Art Pepper, and the rest of this tight swinging small band. If you love show tunes, buy it for 'On the Street Where You Live' and 'Old Devil Moon' and 'Too Darn Hot.' If you are new to Mel Torme or love straight ahead, big band jazz, buy this cd.

This album doesn't stop from the start to the end. It swings loud, hard, and fast. A classic, really shows that Torme was the greatest of his generation of singers! Buy This Album

The CD "Swing Shubert Alley" finds Mel Torme at the top of his game. This was one of several recordings Torme made with the brilliant pianst/arranger Marty Paich and the magic of that classic collaboration is evident throughout. Paich employs a ten piece band (including french horn and tuba) to provide Torme with a much freer framework than the typical big band/strings set up that most vocalists employed at the time. The arrangements are fairly complex but are, at the same time, a perfect compliment to Torme's stellar vocal artistry. Torme's skill as a pure jazz singer is unmatched and his ability to blend in with this top notch ensemble, almost acting as another instrument in the band, shows a versatility that many of his well known contemporaries would never be able to achieve. Torme's exuberant romp through this selection of Broadway hits is a must have for anyone who wants to hear vocal jazz at its best.

Golden vocal CD for the 20th Century. Torm? in his best shape. Intelligent and presto singing. The longtime Torme-Paich collaboration is always a must-have. Don't hesitate. Buy it now.

...many shows might still be running.
This is an excellent CD, showcasing Torme at the top of his game. Not many people really know how many songs we now call "jazz standards" were actually born on the Broadway stage. Many think these songs might just be songs that were written for the sake of being a song. Most of the time, the songs were part of a larger story, but they could be pulled out of context and could stand up as their own entity. Such is the case with these tunes. And then they're swung! Torme and Paich style! Marty Paich's orchestrations mirror exactly Torme's sense of swing and style and playfulness in jazzing the Broadway tune. My favorite tracks would be "On The Street Where You Live" and "Too Darn Hot," the latter breaking the normal boundaries of how the song is structured and swinging back and forth between chorus and bridge.
This is way before Andrew Lloyd Webber and Sondheim (even though his lyrics are featured on "All I Need Is The Girl") so the songs are easily lifted out of the show and placed in the jazz club. That's not to say that they are any less sophisticated. Pour a glass of wine, put this CD on, and listen to another side of the Broadway tune.

It is one of the ironies of the modern age that many people know Mel Torme only as the subject of Harry Anderson's adulation on "Night Court" or the composer/crooner of that old chestnut "The Christmas Song". While Harry and Mel were real-life friends--and Mel admitted to making more than a million dollars from "The Christmas Song" alone--Mel Torme was in reality possibly the finest male jazz singer ever. This album finds Mel at the top of his game, before he became a bit too enamoured of the sound of his own voice. His intonation and meter are immaculate, his trumpet "shakes" stunning, and his sense of the music beyond reproach. Moreover, this is a true jazz work with the Marty Paich's magnificent dektet (no piano, no guitar) given lots of room to blow. [See Mel's later work with Rob McConnell for comparison.] Over the years, I have come to sing certain of the tunes on this album a la Torme, losing track of their origins in the musicals. See for example "The Surrey with the Fringe on Top", "On the Street Where You Live" and "It's Too Darned Hot". The production values are also fine here. I recall some years ago taking this album with me when shopping for new speakers. When we played "It's Too Darned Hot", a crowd gathered around with people asking, "Who *is* that?" The answer was and is...Mel Torme. As a long-time fan, it remains only to suggest that this is the place to start if you want to get to know a wonderful vocalist: Mel Torme--not the "Velvet Fog" but a swinging and vibrant singer.

I would like to say a "few" words about Mel Tormé. First off, i'm a die-hard Mel fan and I own "virtually" every one of his albums, as well as more than a dozen obscure video tapes including his live shows at Marty's in New York in the 80's. I am writing this remark primarily because I feel Mel needs some vindication. First off, I noticed that several people, (as well as allaboutjazz.com) considered this as Mel's greatest album. I was absolutely thrown back by hearing this! Let me tell you, even though I rated this album 5 stars.. I don't even own it!!! (although I have heard these songs before.)For people to say that this is Mel's best recording I would assume they either A. Haven't heard his later work,(80's-90's) or B. They are not able to fully appreciate the work of a true blue jazz singer who doesn't hesitate to showcase his astounding and innovative scatting ability, rivaled only by Ella Fitzgerald herself!! Don't get me wrong, Mel sing's well in his earlier albums, however he truly discovered himself and his instrument (his voice) in his later albums, and in my opinion, became much better with age. In sum, do yourself a favor and check out albums such as: [Sing,Sing,Sing], [An Evening With George Shearing and Mel Tormé]..(one of his grammy albums), and [Mel Tormé and Friends]... just to name a few. Hopefully this will help lead you to truly discover the culmination of Mel Tormé's being on this earth.... (and possibly your own) :D

I like jazz singing, and I like Broadway, and I like the kinds of records put out in the late '50's and early '60's, during my high school and college years. The only other Torme CD I owned was one he did with George Shearing live about 1990, and that is excellent also, but I wanted to hear the younger Mel. This is a nice choice to help the listener understand both why Torme was a favorite of other pro singers, and why he was not a mass appeal mega-star. Where he comes in behind Sinatra and say, Tony Bennett, is that those two could credibly "act" any lyric and make you believe they were living it. Mel sings well, but does not quite inhabit the situation in the songs. Where Torme outshines Bennett and Sinatra is in doing the songs with a true jazz sensibility rather than a "pop" approach. This CD is good for introducing people to Mel Torme. Fans of "Night Court" on TV who could not comprehend why Harry Anderson loved Mel so much will have a better idea after hearing this. The only one of the dozen songs which does not work is "Whatever Lola Wants" from "Damn Yankees"---never one of my favorites, but it always goes better if a woman is singing it. The rest of them, all good songs, are quite listener-friendly, not bland enough to be dull, and not scatted up so much they put one off.

Mel Torme is one of those names that, growing up in the sixties, you heard a lot but didn't know anything about. Then, by the time you got older, you couldn't work up the energy to find out anything about him because he was "so yesterday", man. Then, you get to the age where I am now where you discover all this good stuff you missed because you were too young. That's Mel Torme for me in a nutshell.

I'm a new jazz fan, a casual Sinatra fan, and I bought this CD on the recommendation of The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings: Eighth Edition (Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings). Mel is a real jewel. He has a tremendous, mellow voice, particular and steady phrasing, and of course, he swings. The songs on this CD are a good mix of familiar and not so familiar tunes, and while there isn't anything particularly adventurous or risky about any of the songs, I couldn't help but feel like Torme and the orchestra just decided to while away a Saturday afternoon in the studio and this was the result. Sound quality is fine, so this package really delivers. After starting my jazz vocalist collection with Ella, Frank, and Billie, this is a great addition to bring my CD collection into a whole different direction. I will get a lot of repeat playing with this CD, and I recommend it to all jazz fans.