Till the Night is Gone: A Tribute to Doc Pomus

Doc Pomus (Tribute), Various Artists - Rock

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 28, 1995)
• Original Release Date: March 28, 1995
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Rhino / Wea
• ASIN: B0000033GU
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #77,525 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

1. Lonely Avenue - Los Lobos

2. Boogie Woogie Country Girl - Bob Dylan

3. Viva Las Vegas - Shawn Colvin

4. Mess of Blues - John Hiatt

5. This Magic Moment - Lou Reed

6. Blinded by Love - B.B. King

7. Young Blood - The Band

8. There Must Be a Better World Somewhere - Irma Thomas

9. Turn Me Loose - Dion

10. I Count the Tears - Rosanne Cash

11. I'm on a Roll - Dr. John

12. Still in Love - Solomon Burke

13. Sweets for My Sweet - Brian Wilson

14. Save the Last Dance for Me - Aaron Neville

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Born Jerome Felder in Brooklyn in 1925, Doc Pomus was stricken with polio at age nine and spent most of his life on crutches or in a wheelchair. That didn't stop him from imitating his hero Big Joe Turner in Manhattan clubs with musicians like Milt Jackson, Horace Silver, King Curtis, and Buddy Tate. He soon found he had a gift for writing witty lyrics to standard blues changes, and in 1955, a 17-year-old kid named Mort Shuman started hanging around Pomus's apartment as a sort of apprentice songwriter. Shuman wrote catchy pop/R&B tunes for Pomus's lyrics, and by '59 they had hits with Dion's "Teenager in Love" and the Mystics' "Hushabye." Before they broke up in '65, they had written 20 songs for Elvis Presley and at least half that many for the Drifters. After a 10-year retirement, Pomus started writing again with Mac Rebennack for albums by B.B. King, Jimmy Witherspoon, and Johnny Adams. Till the Night Is Gone: A Tribute to Doc Pomus reinforces the obvious point that Pomus's tunes should be considered American pop standards as much as Irving Berlin or Harold Arlen's compositions, and should be recorded again and again. The three greatest American songwriters of the '60s--Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson, and Lou Reed--are all on hand to pay their respects. Dylan turns in the disc's most surprising performance, a slinky, funky, country-swing version of "Boogie Woogie Country Girl." Reed injects a modern irony into "This Magic Moment" by contrasting a straightforward, optimistic vocal against grinding, apocalyptic guitars. Los Lobos and John Hiatt & the Guilty Dogs turn in invigorating, garage-rock demolitions of "Lonely Avenue" and "Mess O' Blues" respectively. In fact, the only misstep on the whole album is Shawn Colvin's ponderous, portentous take on "Viva Las Vegas." --Geoffrey Himes

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars buy this CD for Shawn Colvin's Viva Las Vegas!, September 15, 1999

By A Customer

I simply want to say that, pace the Himes review above, Shawn Colvin's version of Pomus's Viva Las Vegas is far from a "misstep," but rather worth the price of the CD. I enjoy many of the other cuts too, but I could listen to that one till the night is gone, baby.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great artists pay tribute to a great songwriter, September 27, 2006

By	Mr. RE Bareham - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Having owned and listened to this over 10 years I can say with absolute confidence this ranks as the best tribute CD I own by a stretch. The diversity of the music on this CD is a wonderful tribute to a terrific songwriter. (PS : The headline review couldn't be more wrong about Shawn Colvin's version of Viva Las Vegas - it's a stunner).

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars reasons to buy the Pomus tribute, September 30, 2000

By	G. Wallace (Hilliard, OH USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Los Lobos bluesy "Lonely Avenue" and Bob Dylan's rocking "Boogie Woogie Country Girl" get this tribute off to a flying start. But it gets better from there. There are two standout R&B tracks: a stem-winding "Must be a Better World Somewhere" from Irma Thomas and a sophisticated "Still in Love with You" from the rarely heard Solomon Burke. Dion's "Turn Me Loose" is also very strong. B.B. King, Shawn Colvin, and Roseanne Cash also deliver some fine performances. There's really no bad track. Highly recommended.