My Isle of Golden Dreams - Nelson Riddle, Blaufuss, Walter
Tangi Tahiti (The Call of Tahiti) - Nelson Riddle, Pober
Dream - Nelson Riddle, Mercer
There's No You - Nelson Riddle, Adair, Tom
Drifting and Dreaming - Nelson Riddle, Curtis
Easter Isle - Nelson Riddle, Gilette
Let's Fall in Love - Nelson Riddle, Arlen, Harold
Polka Dots and Moonbeams - Nelson Riddle, Burke
Put Your Dreams Away (For Another Day) - Nelson Riddle, Lowe
Autumn Leaves - Nelson Riddle, Kosma
Sea of Dreams - Nelson Riddle, Bergman
Bali Ha'i - Nelson Riddle, Hammerstein, Oscar
Ill Wind - Nelson Riddle, Arlen
East of the Sun - Nelson Riddle, Bowman
Till the End of Time - Nelson Riddle, Kaye
Caravan - Nelson Riddle, Ellington
Sweet Leilani - Nelson Riddle, Owens, Harry
Take Me in Your Arms - Nelson Riddle, Markush
Solitude - Nelson Riddle, DeLange, Eddie
Santana - Nelson Riddle, Riddle
Honeysuckle Rose - Nelson Riddle, Razaf, Andy
Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me - Nelson Riddle, Noble
Love Tides - Nelson Riddle, Gillette
Digitally Remastered Edition of Two Albums on a Single Disc from One of the Most Respected Arrangers and Conductors Every. Riddle Became a Star in his Own Right with his Instrumental Albums in the 1950's and These Two Refl... more »ect his Love of the Beach and the Sea, as They were Conceived on the Beach Where He Lived.« less
Digitally Remastered Edition of Two Albums on a Single Disc from One of the Most Respected Arrangers and Conductors Every. Riddle Became a Star in his Own Right with his Instrumental Albums in the 1950's and These Two Reflect his Love of the Beach and the Sea, as They were Conceived on the Beach Where He Lived.
CD Reviews
Riddle in a Mellow Mood
04/17/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This double album finds Nelson Riddle in a mellow mood, aided by one of the lushest string sections he ever used on record. "Sea of Dreams" is a tranquil ballad album that actually jettisons the winds completely and simply lets those lush strings have their say (with only the occasional celesta obbligato to aid the arrangements along). As a result, songs like even the normally bouncy "Let's Fall in Love" slow down to a state of quiet reverie. "Love Tide" has a slightly jazzier feel to it, with more of Riddle's trademark gentle swing infusing the music. (The use of a small rhythem section behind the strings helps here.) Riddle dabbles around in instrumental exotica ("Bali Ha'i" and "Santana," among others) as well as jazz staples like "Caravan" and "Solitude." Both albums are among the most sheerly gorgeous of all Riddle's orchestral arrangements, and deserve to be played over and over again"
A sea dream
Alain Didier | Atlanta, GA USA | 06/28/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"tone poem in the same spirit as Martin Denny's _Enchanted Sea_ and Les Baxter's _Jewels of the Sea_, but even more relaxing than those great records. This will transport you to a late afternoon at a quiet beach somewhere.. circa 1956... Look at the album cover; in this case it's an accurate representation of the music inside. Slip inside..."
Nels at Center Stage
C. C. Black | Princeton, NJ USA | 09/18/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The great arrangers of the 1950s suffered the same injustice that befalls composers of music for motion pictures: If people start paying attention to them instead of the star or movie they are hired to support, then they've failed. Nobody ever sang America's songbook like Sinatra or Clooney, Ella or Nat. And yet, if they hadn't been backed by such talents as Nelson Riddle, Billy May, or Robert Farnon, even the stars would have sounded as though they were crooning in the kitchen.
Riddle was among the greatest of the great arrangers, and it's a joy to experience his group of superlative session musicians in the spotlight. This disc offers a pair of some of Riddle's loveliest and most atmospheric covers on LP. Debussy and Ravel would have understood, and enjoyed."
Riddle of the sea
Stuart M. Paine | Arlington, VA USA | 11/25/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"SEA OF DREAMS is luxurient string orchestra with celeste, harp, guitar and (a touch of) percussion - an hour of easy listening with a hint of the exotic. Riddle's players are right on and the strings are warm and silky smooth. Great stereo effects, too, with the celeste and harp. I'd describe three cuts ("My Isle of Golden Dreams", "Tangi Tahiti" and "Let's Fall in Love") as peripheral exotica of a nature akin to Les Baxter's 1956 LP, CARIBBEAN MOONLIGHT, and the rest as elegant easy listening. Riddle kept it comfortable, so ultimately it's music to relax by. Still, the arrangements are exquisite, as one would expect, and the performances and recording are beautiful.
LOVE TIDE is more adventurous - with drums, guitar, harp, celeste and occasional vibes and marimba. I'd call six or seven of its twelve tracks exotica. Standouts are "Bali Ha'i", "Ill Wind", "Sweet Leilani", a jazzy "Caravan", and "Love Tides" which could be frankly described as rhythm section, harp and celeste accompanied by strings.
These two albums were actually meant to be heard one after the other, so thank you, EMI, for combining them. The insert offers very attractive front and back photos of the British EMI album covers, but no further info."
Track Listings (24) - Disc #1