Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A wonderful introduction, December 22, 1999
By A Customer
This is one of my all-time favorites, blending classical Gershwin (my opinion, right up there with Bar-B-Q and freedom as one of America's best exports)with contemporary voices and updated arrangements. For parents of young adults, this is a wonderful introduction CD for expanding the range of music your children might listen to...the artists in many cases are recognisable to them and if they listen to it once, they might get hooked on something beyond 'Top 10' hits! Not the album to buy if interested in just harmonica music, and the Elton John pieces are very weak (but hey, he helped pay for it so he has to be on the album) but very worth the money.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Terrific Performances and Arrangements, May 3, 2003
The year after this album was released, Larry Adler came to Australia, and I was privileged to hear him perform these songs with Issy Van Randwyck and a great Aussie jazz band to about 300 people in a small hall in Penrith. It was a wonderful afternoon of music-making, complemented by Larry's atrocious jokes! He began the program playing Summertime with left hand on the piano and right hand holding his harmonica. Fantastic!Soon after the album was released, I discovered that veteran jazz lovers may not enjoy it as much as I do. I am not sure if it is the shock of hearing rock singers performing in a different genre, or if the performances really are unstylistic and unfaithful to the original ideas of Gershwin. But to this ignorant Aussie, the album is very enjoyable. Some of the best performances on the album are:
Peter Gabriel's Summertime
Elton John's Someone to Watch Over Me/Our Love Is Here to Stay
Elvis Costello singing But Not For Me
Issy Van Randwyck's delicious version of I'll Build A Stairway to Paradise I like Larry's performance of Rhapsody in Blue, but at times the harmonica sounds a little thin. But it is pretty good for an 80 year old! If the names of the performers are more familiar to you than the names of the tunes, this could be a great introduction to some wonderful songs. One of my favourite CDs.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Truly 90s, Truly Gershwin, April 19, 2001
By A Customer
I bought this CD back in 1995 and have been enjoying it ever since. For those of us who grew up with the classics (and by such I do mean Ella and Frank besides Bach and Beethoven) this will be a nice update. Sting's rendition is clever, Elvis Costello's But Not For Me is superb, Peter Gabriel's Summertime is outstanding and when it comes time for the girls every single one shines: Oleta Adams, Kate Bush, Lisa Stansfield (specially Lisa), Cher, Sinead O'Connor and Carly Simon. Courtney Pine's rendition of Summertime, though nice, tends to be repetitive and eventhough I take pride in stating that I am not a Meatloaf fan I can honestly say that he does justice to his somewhat subdued piece. All and all this is a CD that you can rely on to soothe, background and even stress-out a hard days night. Good purchase and nice work if you can get it...
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