The Nearness of You - Mel Tormé, Carmichael, Hoagy
My Romance - Mel Tormé, Hart, Lorenz
Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful? - Mel Tormé, Hammerstein, Oscar
Isn't It a Pity? - Mel Tormé, Gershwin, George
I Know Your Heart - Mel Tormé, Gray, Timothy [2]
I've Got You Under My Skin - Mel Tormé, Porter, Cole
That's All - Mel Tormé, Brandt, Alan
What Is There to Say? - Mel Tormé, Duke, Vernon
The Folks Who Live on the Hill - Mel Tormé, Hammerstein, Oscar
Every Day's a Holiday - Mel Tormé, Garson, Mike
You'd Better Love Me - Mel Tormé, Gray, Timothy [2]
Strangers in the Night - Mel Tormé, Kaempfert, Bert
The Christmas Song - Mel Tormé, Torme, Mel
When Mel Torme was recording for Columbia in the mid-1960s, he was singing both contemporary pop tunes and standards. This disc concentrates wisely on the standards, and they're almost all ballads with string settings by R... more »obert Mersey. Torme's voice had matured into a perfect musical instrument for this repertoire, a smooth, warm sound that suggested the best tenor saxophonists and blended with his flawless diction to caress the lyrics. Porter's "I've Got You Under My Skin" gets a more upbeat Latin treatment, but it's Torme's way with a ballad, rather than his jazz singing that's featured here, and virtually every great songwriter in the canon is represented. This CD includes the original That's All LP, which has since been reissued with additional tracks. --Adam Rains« less
When Mel Torme was recording for Columbia in the mid-1960s, he was singing both contemporary pop tunes and standards. This disc concentrates wisely on the standards, and they're almost all ballads with string settings by Robert Mersey. Torme's voice had matured into a perfect musical instrument for this repertoire, a smooth, warm sound that suggested the best tenor saxophonists and blended with his flawless diction to caress the lyrics. Porter's "I've Got You Under My Skin" gets a more upbeat Latin treatment, but it's Torme's way with a ballad, rather than his jazz singing that's featured here, and virtually every great songwriter in the canon is represented. This CD includes the original That's All LP, which has since been reissued with additional tracks. --Adam Rains
"IF YOU LOVED LISTENING TO MEL AS I HAVE THIS CD IS ONE OF HIS BEST AND A MUST TO OWN IT. WHAT A LOSS LOSING THIS FANTASTIC TALENT. I MISS HIM DESPERATELY."
Purchase the CD "That's All" instead
Cap'n John | Orlando, FL | 08/13/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I am a huge Mel Torme fan and the renditions on this "Most Requested" cd are some of his finest. However, you would do yourself a big favor by purchasing the CD "That's All" instead. Why? Because "That's All" contains all of the songs on this cd plus 8 more, and, because it was re-mastered in 1997, it sounds much better.
All of the reviews for this cd are correct. It is a superb collection of songs performed by a true vocal master. That is why I am certain you will appreciate the additional and re-mastered versions contained on "That's All" even more."
"I LOVED MEL. I KNOW HE HATED BEING CALLED THE VELVET FOG BUT THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT HIS VOICE WAS - VELVET. THERE WASN'T A SONG HE COULDN'T SING. I GO BACK A LONG TIME WHEN I WOULD WRITE TO THE DJ'S TO PLAY HIS RECORDINGS FOR ME. THERE WASN'T A SONG HE COULDN'T SING. MEL WAS A WONDERFUL HUMAN BEING AND WHAT A LOSS WE SUFFER WITH HIS PASSING."
Pour yourself a scotch, put on this CD, relax...
David E. Waite | Knoxville, Tennessee United States | 05/27/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I mean really relax. This CD has been criticized for being "too mellow", for not being "jazzy" enough. Well, sometimes mellow is good. I especially enjoy "mellow" after a hard day at work. But I don't enjoy the shallow, John Tesh kind of mellow. I like good jazz and this CD contains a lot of good jazz, expertly performed by a master jazz vocalist. Sure, its mellow and relaxing, but so are Monet's "Water Lilies", and I am not afraid to compare Torme to Monet. Especially on this CD, Mel handles the lyrics, as well as the tunes, in the same deceptively simple manner that Monet used in painting. This CD may sound simple, just as Monet may look simple, but that is where the genius may be found: in a simplicity that is easily overlooked unless the listener (or the viewer of a good Monet) slows down enough to understand what the artist is doing. You have to relax. Once you do, the art rewards you over and over as the artist's subtle creativity is gradually revealed. This is a great jazz CD. Slow down, relax and listen."
The Velvet Fog aptly named....
SuriKatta | East Peoria, Illinois United States | 11/06/2002
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I can see why he was nicknamed the Velvet Fog. His voice is beautiful and full. While these songs may not be the jazz standards that most die hard fans love and appreciate, they are still beautiful and nicely produced. The songs on this album are more romantic and softer especially Strangers in the Night, my all time personal favorite of his. The one thing I loved most about this era was that the singers actually had talent."