Search - Jackie Gleason :: Tawny/Music, Martinis and Memories

Music to relax to!

AbeStreet | Mayfield Heights, OH United States | 01/26/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I, having just turned 36 years old, am not old enough to have been around when this music was first presented. Thanks to my father I found out about Mr. Gleason and his many albums. MUSIC, MARTINIS, AND MEMORIES (MM&M) has been a favorite album of mine for years. I was pleased to find it on cd. This cd has been combined with another of Gleason's albums, TAWNY. It is a shame that people of my generation (Generation X, it's hard to believe we're almost if not middle age now) and the younger generations dismiss Gleason and other musical artists of the 1950's as elevator music.



Gleason's band, along with other instrumental bands and orchestras of the 50's, such as Mantovani and 101 Strings, really have detailed arrangements. Songs like "I'll Be Seeing You" are so detailed you can practically hear the lyrics everytime the horn tunes up during the chours. Also, each song blends, almost unnoticeably, into the next. The mood that Gleason helps create is not broken by a musical selection that clashes with the one preceding it.



I should note, for those people who have either of the indivdual albums, that the songs are not in album form. They are mixed in together. This is not a bad thing, only for those of us who are used to hearing the songs in a certain order may be caught off guard. We'll be expecting one song but get another.



The title says it all. This "music" will bring back "memories", "martinis" are optional. By the way, I love the cover art for MM&M. It fits the title and songs just perfect."

Live in a Joan Crawford Movie

Joan Crawford | Lansing, MI USA | 01/28/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you've heard Jackie Gleason's music, in particular MUSIC, MARTINIES, AND MEMORIES, than you probably know what I mean. This music sounds like it came from one of those great old movies. It is sad, and sweet, and very, very lush. If you want to feel like you're living in a Joan Crawford or Lana Turner melodrama all day and suffer grandly, simply put on this cd and you will be transported back into a distant era when one could sit back with a martini and think about "memories" without seeming anti-social, just a little bit corny maybe and sentimental. It's music for people who have big, broken hearts.



I have always had a love for eras past, especially the early 50s glamour, and this album tops them all. I first heard it at my grandpa's. He had the original record in his collection and I was hooked. Certainly not elevator music--these are the arrangements that prove melody is sometimes greater than lyrics. It's all about the melody here--and that gorgeous trumpet! I am 20--so don't assume this is music only the older generations could appreciate. It's timeless."

Great romantic music.

D. R. Schryer | Poquoson, VA United States | 08/27/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The 1950s yielded some excellent romantic "mood music" by artists such as Percy Faith, Frank Chacksfield, and Ray Anthony. But the best romantic albums were the early albums by Jackie Gleason which featured a lush string orchestra -- with no percussion to jar the romantic mood -- and incredibly smooth and mellow solos by the great trumpeter/cornetist Bobby Hackett. Gleason's first album was the super hit Music for Lover's Only. But Music, Martinis and Memories was just as good and the sound was much better. The extra songs from the album Tawny are a welcome bonus. Unfortunately, most so-called "mood music" played today is justly dismissed as "musical wallpaper" or "elevator music." If you want to hear how good the best romantic music was, listen to the early albums by Jackie Gleason and Bobby Hackett. This album is a great one to start with."