The Best of the Song Books: The Ballads

Ella Fitzgerald

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 26, 1994)
• Original Release Date: July 26, 1994
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Polygram Records
• ASIN: B0000046U6
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #30,413 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Never as dramatic in her interpretations as Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald nonetheless imbued the songs she chose with a personal touch. This disc, one of several recent distillations of her epochal Songbook series, wisely chooses a number of relatively lesser known pieces ("Let's Begin," "You're Laughing at Me") to complement classic readings of "I'm Old Fashioned," "Oh, Lady Be Good!" and "Ill Wind (You're Blowing Me No Good)." Ella's singing tended to shield her pain, but the resigned note she brings to some of these numbers is touching. A good starter disc for those who would investigate her wide-ranging Verve catalog. --Rickey Wright

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good place to start, November 18, 1999

By A Customer

This is the first cd I ever bought of Ella. I was doing a musical tour of great singers and decided to give her a chance. I found myself listening only to this cd, over and over. I couldn't believe that there was someone so good that I didn't know. My favorite song on the cd (and this is hard choice) is "Travelin' Light." Incandescent. Tender. Achingly pure. This cd is a really good place to start learning about Ella the ballad singer versus Ella the scat singer. Well worth the investment!

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best of the "Best", December 17, 2001

By	Samuel Chell (Kenosha,, WI United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

I've been purchasing the "Best of--" CD editions as back-ups to my original vinyl copies of the "Songbooks." If you're not about to purchase the individual reissues of the Songbooks, this collection--"Ballads"--is not only the most accurately described (all of the tunes are, in fact, taken at "ballad" tempo) but the most carefully selected and artistically consistent of the anthologies. Most of the arrangements are Nelson Riddle's, and one of the exceptions, Duke's "Do Nothing Til You Hear from Me," features sterling solos by both Ben Webster and Stuff Smith. My only regret is that "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered" was not one of the inclusions on this particular collection. But along with the familiar classics, such as "I'm Old Fashioned," are some rarely heard, all-too-welcome revelations, including Irving Berlin's "Now It Can Be Told."

Whereas the other "Best of--" albums contain exemplary material, they also have a "text book" quality--strong, faithful renditions of tunes that other singers have left a more personal stamp on. Not so this album. It's Ella's alone.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ella Makes The Ballad Form Her Own On This Collection, March 28, 2000

By	Anthony G Pizza "trivialtony" (FL) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

If this outstanding Ella Fitzgerald ballads collection was released at her peak, rather than cherry-picked 40 years later from a box set of her legendary songbooks, it would hold together in the light of "blue" period Sinatra albums as Sinatra's "Only The Lonely" or "Wee Small Hours." That testifies to near-perfect song selection, empathetic arrangements (including Nelson Riddle, Billy May and, of course, Billy Strayhorn and Duke Ellington) and Ms. Fitzgerald's voice and approach to this material.

Unjustifiably neglected for her balladry compared to oft-labelmate Billie Holiday, Ella treats the melodies here like a painter does glass: carefully, but creatively. No scat-shouting "Lady Be Good"; Ella's "Easy To Love" draws the sweet seduction from Cole Porter's lyric that more swinging arrangements miss. Her languid, sanguine versions of "Day-Dream" and "Do Nothing 'Til You Hear From Me" (more than seven minutes!) find Ella cherishing the moments spent with the ballad form. She even shows a touch of syncopation playfully swinging "I'm Old Fashioned" and Jerome Kern's "Let's Begin," both Riddle arrangements.

"Ballads" salutes Ella's clear, warm voice more than what she could do with it. This makes the collection an essential first purchase for those interested in her career or the jazz singing form itself.