Velvet Soul

Carmen McRae | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 16, 2009)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: LRC Ltd.
• ASIN: B00005REUX
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #123,348 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Velvet Soul by Carmen McRae

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars McRae at her best, July 1, 2005

By 

R. M. Barge (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Velvet Soul (Audio CD)

This album holds some of my favorite songs McRae ever performed, mostly obscure songs performed with a solo electric piano or guitar, or a quiet trio: I Fall in Love Too Easily, Where are the Words, Inside a Silent Tear (wow - wait until you hear the low note she nails), Imagination (double wow), Right to Love, You and I. To me, this is the absolute best she has ever sounded. She was in great voice for the session and the work is full of subtlety and craftmanship, with the quiet accompaniments and live mike showing off every nuance.

Her interpretation of the standards Nice Work if You Can Get It, Straighten Up, Masquerade, and Livin' (with solo gospel piano) are also quite good (if you like the songs). Good Life isn't too bad.

Unfortunately there are a few songs not up to the same standard. Sunshine of My Life starts out extremely promising but falls apart when she goes up tempo. Exactly Like You is an honest effort that fails. How Could I Settle for Less and It Takes a Whole Lot of Human Feeling are just bad, and yes, the trumpet player on the former does a Herb Alpert imitation.

At the price, though, I'd pay $8 to hear her sing "Imagination".

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sublime vocal magic~Bravo Carmen McRae!, April 20, 2011

By 

Bradly Briggs (TOLUCA LAKE, CALIFORNIA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Velvet Soul (Audio CD)

"There Will Come A Time", when the music and the people rhyme was the hopeful message from this great song in the seventies when Carmen McRae recorded these amazing tracks but sadly this was not to happen...instead music started a dizzying downward spiral continuing to date with singers like Carmen McRae taken for granted releasing one tremendous release after another like these awesome Lp's with no radio exposure or promotion (if given radio didn't give any support) & sadly as a result these two incredible Lp's sank with no fanfare only appreciated by real music lovers sadly ending in bargain bends for $.99c! These awesome Vocal Masterpieces featured legendary musicians Becky Pizzarelli, Zoot Sims and Joe Pass and clearly for any lover of talent this was not the fate these classic works deserved...sad and sick & little wonder the music industry is in a complete mess with all major chains now closed & knew as an avid music lover this was going to be the result when great artists like Carmen McRae were being completely ignored by radio...how many Lp's can continue to be produced with such disgusting lack of radio programming support & listen to these great tracks and wonder how an industry can be so arrogant to ignore such greatness and what went wrong with the airwaves concerning programming? This awesome collection contains two original Lp's from legendary Carmen McRae in peak form who is what great music is all about and anyone lucky to obtain this glorious set will be rewarded with the best music has to offer...Bravo Carmen McRae and thank you for your genius that was so richly recorded over the decades and too bad we didn't have airwaves to give needed support & RIP