Customer Reviews

Lee Wiley Sings the Songs of George & Ira Gershwin & Cole Porter

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Lee Wiley made these recordings for the Liberty Record Shop in the days before conglomerates controlled everything on record. She was a singer with great musical style and a clarity of voice that lets every lyric shine through. Plus, she knew everyone in New York and got the best musicians as back up to her intimate, sophisticated vocals. I especially like the tracks with "Organ by Maurice" -- Hammond organ played by Fats Waller, though contract restrictions prohibited using his name. I'd give the Gershwin recordings a slight edge over the Cole Porter takes, but all of them are terrific. This is incredibly stylish music from a time when style meant more than the clothes one wore. The recording quality is quite good -- an essential disc for every lover the American popular song.

I am a 21 year old jazz collector, I have over 2000 jazz lp's and Cd's, 78's exe.. and this is my favorite jazz vocal CD. Lee Wiley is wonderful(read Will Fiedwald's "Jazz Singing to find out how wonderful Lee Wiley is). Listen to Wiley's voice and let all the cares in the world just disappear. Buy the best cd in the world.

There never was a singer like Lee Wiley and these singular recordings have survived over the decades as a testament to a smokey, knowing, wry, evocative jazz vocalist beyond compare. The songs have survived over the decades, too--literate, unusual, engaging. A wonderful collection.

Few singers achieve such immediacy and winning, longing impact as Ms Wiley does. Mixing an easy, ready tug of war with her listener's heart, Wiley's softly held drawl floats short phrases out ever so invitingly, her quixotic colors draped in a soft smoky lanugo of mystery and miracle.

In her best work, such as this album, specially designed to promote the work of the finest individual geniuses of American song, Wiley quite simply ravishes the soul. Singing like this stops clocks, stops breathing...

Wiley's magical way with every phrase suspends and blesses; listening to her singing we move into a rare orb, one where only a very few melodists have ever been, Bix first of all.

Some of the greatest songs ever written, sung by one of the supreme artists.

'S Marvelous/That she should sing like this/'S Awfully nice/'S Paradise/Like dreaming of a kiss./She'll make your life so glamorous....buy it.

Enjoyed the CD very much. Lee Wiley singing Gershwin and Cole Porter can only be a hit. She is a classic singer. I have few vocal artists in my collection but this is one of my favorites. Her "How Long Has This Been Going On?" just causes goose-bumps. All hits on this one. A winner!

Lee Wiley was unique as are these recordings. Her voice is sultry, soft and wonderful to listen to. The songs are all "pop" with great lyrics that make today's songs pale in comparison. I have been a fan of Wiley's for many years but only recently learned we share the same birthdate, October 9th. Maybe that was a "hidden affinity". But in any event I think she is one of the most underrated jazz vocalists of all time.