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Categories JAZZ Ella Fitzgerald - Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Harold Arlen Songbook - 180g 2LP
Ella Fitzgerald - Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Harold Arlen Songbook - 180g 2LP
Product no.: V6-4046-2In stock
£69.97
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AAA 100% Analogue This LP was Remastered using Pure Analogue Components Only from the Master Tapes through to the Cutting Head
Verve / Speakers Corner - V6-4046-2 - 180 Gram Virgin Vinyl - AAA 100% Analogue
Limited Edition - Pure Analogue Audiophile Mastering - Pressed at Pallas Germany
Verve’s legendary songbook editions are among Ella Fitzgerald’s very best repertoire. The singer, who was stylistically at home in every genre – from jazz, to the evergreens of the Great American Songbooks, to pop songs –, is to this day one of the most versatile interpreters of the American vocal scene.
Her recording of the "Harold Arlen Songbook", made in 1960 and ’61, is, along with similar projects with songs by Rodgers & Hart , Cole Porter George Gershwin and Duke Ellington , the very best of its kind. Harold Arlen discovered his propensity for jazz as a pianist, orchestrator and musical producer of the Cotton Club shows over many years. So it is not surprising that much of what flowed from his pen had a distinct jazz leaning. »Ella is the only vocalist who manages to sing even the most complicated phrases of my songs with poise and lightness«, he stated upon completion of the production. The musical quality of the 26 refurbished audiophile tracks, including two bonus tracks, make this re-release a timeless work of reference of American easy listening.
The superb big band, along with the brilliant arrangements and conducting of Billy May, provides a perfect backing.
Ella Fitzgerald's idea to sing the songbooks of major writers proved smart, savvy, and artful. By the time she began to record Sings the Harold Arlen Song Book in 1960, she had sung the songbooks of Duke Ellington, Rodgers & Hart, and Irving Berlin. This relaxed and tastefully arranged set showcases Fitzgerald in her prime, confidently engaging 28 of Arlen's best songs. Familiar pieces like "One for My Baby" and "That Old Black Magic" make appearances, along with all-time classics like "Stormy Weather" and "Over the Rainbow." On this latter tune, she adds the front verses, an appealing addition that few will be familiar with. Billy May's orchestra lays down a quiet mix of horns and strings that perfectly supports Fitzgerald on songs like "When the Sun Comes Out" and "Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe." Four bonus tracks, including two alternative cuts, spice up the package. A particular oddity, "Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead," converts surprisingly well into big-band jazz. The attractive Set also includes the original album cover, an outline of a face drawn by Henri Matisse.
Sings the Harold Alden Song Book is an exquisite album, a classic in vocal jazz, and one of Fitzgerald's best recordings.
:
Ella Fitzgerald, vocals
Billy May (arr) & his orchestra including strings
1. Blues in the Night
2. Let's Fall in Love
3. Stormy Weather
4. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
5. My Shining Hour
6. Hooray For Love
7. Sing My Heart (Mono)
8. This Time The Dream's On Me
9. That Old Black Magic
10. I've Got the World on a String
11. Let's Take a Walk Around the Block
12. III Wind
13. Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive
14. When The Sun Comes Out
15. Come Rain or Come Shine
16. As Long As I Live
17. Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe
18. It's Only a Paper Moon
19. The Man That Got Away
20. One For My Baby
21. It Was Written In The Stars
22. Get Happy
23. I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues
24. Out Of This World
25. Over the Rainbow
26. (Ding Dong) The Witch Is Dead (Mono)
Recording: August 1960 and January 1961 in Los Angeles, CA.
AAA 100% Analogue This Speakers Corner LP was remastered using pure analogue components only, from the master tapes through to the cutting head 25 Years pure Analogue
MADE FROM THE ORIGINAL MASTER TAPES
AAA 100% ANALOGUE - PURE ANALOGUE AUDIOPHILE MASTERING
We use the Original Tapes and work with only the Best Mastering Studios Worldwide
180 GRAM VIRGIN VINYL PLATED & PRESSED AT PALLAS GERMANY
Faithful Reproduction of the Original Artwork and Labels
LIMITED EDITION Released in Limited Quantities
All Licences and Mechanical Rights Paid
Are your records completely analogue?
Yes! This we guarantee!
As a matter of principle, only analogue masters are used, and the necessary cutting delay is also analogue. All our cutting engineers use only Neumann cutting consoles, and these too are analogue. The only exception is where a recording has been made – either partly or entirely – using digital technology, but we do not have such items in our catalogue at the present time
Are your records cut from the original masters?
In our re-releases it is our aim to faithfully reproduce the original intentions of the musicians and recording engineers which, however, could not be realised at the time due to technical limitations. Faithfulness to the original is our top priority, not the interpretation of the original: there is no such thing as a “Speakers Corner Sound”. Naturally, the best results are obtained when the original master is used. Therefore we always try to locate these and use them for cutting. Should this not be possible, – because the original tape is defective or has disappeared, for example – we do accept a first-generation copy. But this remains an absolute exception for us.
Who cuts the records?
In order to obtain the most faithful reproduction of the original, we have the lacquers cut on the spot, by engineers who, on the whole, have been dealing with such tapes for many years. Some are even cut by the very same engineer who cut the original lacquers of the first release. Over the years the following engineers have been and still are working for us: Tony Hawkins, Willem Makkee, Kevin Gray, Maarten de Boer, Scott Hull, and Ray Staff, to name but a few.
At the beginning of the ‘90s, in the early days of audiophile vinyl re-releases, the reissue policy was fairly straightforward. Companies such as DCC Compact Classics, Mobile Fidelity, Classic Records and others, including of course Speakers Corner, all maintained a mutual, unwritten code of ethics: we would manufacture records sourced only from analogue tapes.
Vinyl’s newfound popularity has led many other companies to jump on the bandwagon in the hope of securing a corner of the market. Very often they are not so ethical and use every imaginable source from which to master: CDs, LPs, digital files and even MP3s.
Even some who do use an analogue tape source employ a digital delay line, a misguided ’80s and ‘90s digital technology that replaces the analogue preview head originally used to “tell” the cutter head in advance what was about to happen musically, so it could adjust the groove “pitch” (the distance between the grooves) to make room for wide dynamic swings and large low frequency excursions. Over time analogue preview heads became more rare and thus expensive.
So while the low bit rate (less resolution than a 16 bit CD) digital delay line is less expensive and easier to use than an analogue “preview head”, its use, ironically, results in lacquers cut from the low bit rate digital signal instead of from the analogue source!
Speakers Corner wishes to make clear that it produces lacquers using only original master tapes and an entirely analogue cutting system. New metal stampers used to press records are produced from that lacquer. The only exceptions are when existing metal parts are superior to new ones that might be cut, which includes our release of “Elvis is Back”, which was cut by Stan Ricker or several titles from our Philips Classics series, where were cut in the 1990s using original master tapes by Willem Makkee at the Emil Berliner Studios. In those cases we used only the original “mother” to produce new stampers.
In addition, we admit to having one digital recording in our catalogue: Alan Parsons’ “Eye in the Sky”, which was recorded digitally but mixed to analogue tape that we used to cut lacquers.
In closing, we want to insure our loyal customers that, with but a few exceptions as noted, our releases are “AAA”— analogue tape, an all analogue cutting system, and newly cut lacquers.
60 Years Pallas
Audiophile Vinyl - Made in Germany For over 60 years the family business in the third generation of the special personal service and quality "Made by Pallas" is known worldwide. Our custom PVC formulation produces consistently high pressing quality with the lowest surface noise in the industry. Our PVC complies with 2015 European environmental standards and does not contain toxic materials such as Lead, Cadmium or Toluene. Our vinyl is both audiophile and eco-grade!
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