Ultra-Lounge Wild Cool & Swingin' - Artist Series, Vol. 1: Louis Prima & Keely Smith

Louis Prima & His New Orleans Gang, Keely Smith, Louis Prima | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 8, 1999)
• Original Release Date: June 8, 1999
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Capitol
• ASIN: B00000J5ZZ
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #32,791 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #41 in Music > Blues > Jump Blues
  • #52 in Music > Jazz > Dixieland

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The back of this two-CD set may say "File under Lounge," but frankly, lounging will be the very last thing on your mind once you put Louis and Keely on. It's simply impossible to stand still while the duo, backed by Sam Butera and the Witnesses, gets going. When Keely sings "Hey boy, I can really cook," there's a tiny chance she's talking about something that takes place in the kitchen, but the galloping bass line behind her says that she really belongs to the dance floor. Whoo-hee! Cole Porter's "Just One of Those Things" is taken at a frenetic pace--do these people ever pause to breathe? The bulk of this collection was recorded between 1957 and 1962, and it makes for an explosive document of a now-gone era when men in sharp suits hung out at the Copa, babes with pointy rocket-launcher breasts at their arms. The sheer effortlessness of it all is still supremely exciting. --Elisabeth Vincentelli

Product Description

2 CDs of the classic sides he laid down with Keely Smith and Sam Butera! Includes That Old Black Magic; I've Got You Under My Skin; Hey Boy, Hey Girl!; The Music Goes 'Round and 'Round; Oh Marie; Up a Lazy River; Fee Fie Foo; Jump, Jive an' Wail; Angelina/Zooma Zooma; Buona Sera; Basin Street Blues/When It's Sleepy Time Down South; Just a Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody , and more. 44 tracks!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun with the swing masters, November 8, 2000

By 

Yakov Hadash (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ultra-Lounge Wild Cool & Swingin' - Artist Series, Vol. 1: Louis Prima & Keely Smith (Audio CD)

Louis Prima and Keely Smith with Sam Butera and the Witnesses constitute probably the single greatest influence on today's swing scene. I am not exaggerating. And this double-CD is a great place to start: Over two hours of remastered music, a great production design (neo-retro), and long liner notes. My only problem with the presentation is that the individual musician credits are left out. A must for all swing dancers and jazz musicians! ///// KOBY.

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Louis Prima .... The Best and Greatest, June 19, 2000

By 

Aaron C (Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ultra-Lounge Wild Cool & Swingin' - Artist Series, Vol. 1: Louis Prima & Keely Smith (Audio CD)

Who knew that the husband-wife duo of Louis Prima and Keely Smith would have such an impact on pop culture? It's very easy to overlook this pair, although frequently featured in motion pictures, commercials, and covers of other artists. Prima and Smith's music will live on forever....especially in this set. All tracks have been excellently digitally remastered....it's doubtful that the original tapes sounded this good. Altogether, this collection has the most popular (and easily overlooked) hits of the duo, plus a few obscure and less common tracks. From Angelina (one of my favorites) to Jump, Jive and Wail (much better than Brian Setzer's overplayed remake) to Closer to the Bone. All are hits, all are classics.....all you will enjoy.

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A trip to the Moon on nuclear wings!, December 7, 2001

By 

Mark Savary "moon_city" (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ultra-Lounge Wild Cool & Swingin' - Artist Series, Vol. 1: Louis Prima & Keely Smith (Audio CD)

What a blast!

This was my first introduction to Mr. Prima & Co. What a swingin' treat!

You can tell from each and every cut on this twin CD set that these guys were having fun. Many of the songs have little ad-libs between Louis, Keely Smith, Sam Butera, and the other band members. Louis jumps in between solos to throw out comments, he'll scat, even proto-rap, and is having such a good time he'll try to keep from laughing while he and Sam duel with brass. Only true professional musicians can get away with that sort of thing and make it sound good. Louis & Co. are top-notch pros.

Keely solos on a few cuts to round things out, and basically, you get the feeling of what it must have been like to be kickin' it in Vegas back in the swank era while taking in Louis Prima's act. Maybe tomorrow night, you'll catch Dino at the Sands, and take in Torme on Tuesday. Or, maybe you'll just keep coming back here to see Louis, Keely, Sam, and the Witnesses again and again.

Many of the songs are just plain fun ("Robin Hood/Oh Babe", "Banana Split For My Baby", "Felicia No Capicia", "Greenback Dollar Bill", "There'll Be No Next Time"), and even the old standards take on a wink and a smile when Louis gets ahold of them ("The Music Goes 'Round And Around", "That Old Black Magic", "Just One of Those Things", "Embraceable You")!

Get yourself a martini, sit back and relax, and get ready to be swung back to swanksville. This set is one swingin' good time, whether you're six or sixty!