Red Hot + Rhapsody: The Gershwin Groove

Red Hot AIDS Benefit Series

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 6, 1998)
• Original Release Date: October 6, 1998
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Polygram Records
• ASIN: B00000C2FQ
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #59,328 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

• This is item 9 in The Red Hot AIDS Benefit Series.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
As Red Hot Organization celebrations of composers and genres go, Red Hot & Rhapsody is certainly timely, coming as it does at the 100th anniversary of George Gershwin's birth. Like its predecessors, it's also trendily eclectic. While its "groove" sometimes falls on the wrong side of the divide between sinuous and sleepy--a version of "Summertime" by Morcheeba and lite-jazz flutist Hubert Laws that finds vocalist Sky Edwards carefully pronouncing the "g" that isn't in the word "jumpin'"--and Natalie Merchant and Duncan Sheik are just plain wrong for their material, this is a solid disc that makes a good case for having Bobby Womack, Luscious Jackson, Money Mark, and Clark Terry on the same five inches of plastic and aluminum. --Rickey Wright

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A refreshing, and sometimes surprising take on Gershwin, November 3, 1998

By	[e-mail] (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

Like most of the Red, Hot releases, this CD is eclectic. The joys are found in the individual performances as opposed the the album as a whole. If you ever wondered about the african-american influences on George Gershwin, listen to Baaba Maal's take on "Bess you Is My Woman Now" it will break your heart with its beauty. Skye and Hubert Laws show us again why "Summertime" is one of the most covered songs of all time. Smoke City reinvents "They Can't Take That Away From Me" with their island, trip-hop beat. And, don't miss taking a journey with David Bowie and Angelo Badalemente on "Foggy Day" - it's moody and delicious.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars so-so if you ask me, August 8, 2001

By	Karen Robinson (california) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If George Gerswhin heard this cd, he'd probably turn over in his grave. It's just an insult to the man's art to cover his songs by just singing over a Casio beat (refer to tracks 1, 4, 10, 12, 13, and 14). But the biggest disappointments came from the big names on the cd-- namely Natalie Merchant. Her version of "But Not for Me" is soooo boring. Even I can sing it better than she can. Sinead O'Conner didn't do much better with "Someone to Watch Over Me". The only standout track was Clark Terry's "Let's Call the Whole Think Off". Maybe it was best to give these classic songs a 90's facelift and add the drum tracks and all that programming/sampling. Smoke City's "They Can't Take That Away From Me"(song #4) and Sarah Cracknell's "The Man I Love" (song #13) are pretty good. This isn't that bad of a cd, but it could be so much better. Seems like many people liked it by all the 5-star reviews. But if you happen to buy this cd and are a little disappointed, don't be because you're still helping out a wonderful cause.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Uneven collection, but the high points are exceptional, February 16, 1999

By A Customer

Trying to bring so many different artists to cover so many different types of material is a tough project. This entry in the Red Hot... series isn't the best, but it has some of the brightest spots. Most of the best moments are near the end of the disc, especially Sinead O'Connor's "Someone to Watch over Me" and the atmospheric "Bess You Is my Woman Now" and "A Foggy Day in London Town". I use 'foggy' to put my kid to sleep.