Thursday, January 20, 2011

Since we seem to be on a roll with the "Girl Singers"........Peggy Lee w/ George Shearing


Long a favourite, and even better getting a copy without the added "crowd" noise PLUS two bonus tracks!!........I dug this one out again, and it's been my addiction for the last few days........

Seriously the best ever recorded version of "You came a long way from St. Louis", IMHO.....

  Do I Love You?
  I Lost My Sugar in Salt Lake City 
  If dreams come true
  All Too Soon 
  Mambo in Miami 
  Isn't It Romantic? 
  Blue Prelude
  You Came a Long Way From St. Louis
  Always True to You in My Fashion
  There'll Be Another Spring 
  Get Out of Town 
  Satin Doll 
  Nobody's Heart (*)
  Don't Ever Leave Me (*) 

Personnel:
Peggy Lee (Vocals)
Armando Peraza (Conga, Percussion)
Carl Pruitt (Bass)
George Shearing (Piano)
Ray Alexander (Vibraphone)
Ray Mosca (Drums)


AMG:
Originally recorded in 1959 upon its first release, Beauty and the Beat! was billed as a live recording from a Miami convention of disc jockeys. Though Peggy Lee and George Shearing did in fact perform there (and attempts were made to record them for later release), the songs heard on the subsequent LP were recorded in the studio and overdubbed with rather obvious canned applause, announcements, and even post-production echo. After one mostly faithful reissue on CD (with bonus tracks), the record reappeared in 2003 with all the offending chatter removed and a top-notch, live-in-the-studio session revealed. Lee and Shearing, who had never recorded before, conceived a set of completely new arrangements that played to their strengths: stately blues and effervescent swing. The best of the former comes on a pair of locale-referencing quasi-blues, "I Lost My Sugar in Salt Lake City" and "You Came a Long Way From St. Louis," both of which Lee and Shearing are able to transform into languorous, respectable torch songs. The usually downcast "Blue Prelude" is actually taken at a laissez faire tempo that Lee treats well, and the original set ends with "Get Out of Town" and "Satin Doll," a pair of bemused, affectionate performances that perfectly suit the pair. Lee and Shearing's only collaboration on record — though both would occasionally perform together thereafter — is a supremely chilled session of late-night blues from two masters of the form. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide 

5 comments:

  1. She did do a lot of 'best' versions of tunes that's for sure.
    I always loved her version of Love Letters in the Sand (I just checked, though, and her main competition is Al Martino and Andy Williams, not really fair heh heh).
    Peggy Lee had that uncanny ability to slow
    a
    song
    right
    down...
    and not lose its essence. The tension could be quite unbearable.
    Only singer I've heard since who does that well is Roberta,

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  2. I'm thinking of putting some of her stuff up, maybe first some of the stuff with Goodman, and early stuff with Dave Barbour....I'll have to think about how to approach that one :) You know, I think my faves of hers are "Waiting for the train to come in", and "Close your eyes". About "Love letters", I don't know....I've always liked Andy Williams, but I've never really liked his version of it. Al's is pretty good, though....

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  3. Damn! I hate when that happens. I went to post something and lost it in the 'select a profile' sidebar.

    Anyhow, what I was saying is that every once in a while I encounter someone in here that I expect it would be a gas to just sit and yak with all night. You are prolly one of that sort.

    I quit smoking +3 months ago so that bit's out, and I sure as f*** ain't sampling any of those pukey fish, but I guess I could choke down a Yankee beer or two (heh, heh, often referred to as panther pee up here in the Great White Nort' where the beer is a little more . . . robust).

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  4. That last post is me, pahprint. I seem to have misplaced my mind this afternoon.

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  5. That's ok, I imagine both of our minds are lost on that planet where all the single socks from the laundry end up ;) I can work quite easily with Canadian brew, btw, tho not at this moment....I'm been out of commission all day, due to partaking in several shots of the dreaded tequila yesterday evening (Lord knows what possessed me to do that...ta-kill-ya has always had a horrible effect on me)

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