Search - Sammy Davis Jr, Laurindo Almeida :: Sings & Plays

Sing softly love...

Merilahti Kristiina | Finland | 10/16/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I've chased this one for years, and it was worth it. Since the songs aren't listed here, I'll start with it:Here's that rainy day
Two different worlds
The shadow of your smile
Where is love?
Every time we say goodbye
I'm always chasing rainbows
We'll be together again
Joey, Joey, Joey
The folks who live on the hill
Speak low
Bonus: Misty1966 these two guys made a studio album, which was released as a CD in 1991. There really isn't anything more, just Sammy Davis Jr. singing with Almeida playing the guitar, no tricks, no echos, nothing else. You can hardly get more intimate and vulnerable than this - and you really need to be as good as these men to make it.I personally have always appreciated Sammy Davis Jr, though his nasal kind of voice doesn't belong to my biggest favourites. Here he can use it to its fullest, with slight nuances and all the talent he had. And of course Almeida plays like an angel, though they both keep it very simple - or seemingly simple. The recordings are very, very intimate, quiet, soft. It works best, when melodies are already good, like Every time we say goodbye and The shadow of your smile (this is propably my favourite recording of it) but can become dull, if the melody doesn't take you away or is too long. Joey, Joey, Joey was the one that turned my liking into 'doesn't it already stop?'. And that's why I didn't give five stars, though I've been searching for this record for years until I found it through Amazon.However, this works well as background music, on romantic dinners or if you just want to relax and sink into lazy, warm thoughts - or maybe get some sleep. And sometimes you might not get enough of this soft, deeply emotional, subtle music. And very few people can do this. As Stan Cornyn says on the inside cover: "Sammy Davis sings. Laurindo Almeida plays. Everybody else, give up.""

SAMMY UNPLUGGED

verbaud | 10/13/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have long claimed to have conceived of the "Unplugged" concept. I first heard this recording in '67 or '68. I thought every singer should test his or her fan base by singing to bare arrangments since then. This is Sammy Davis Jr. without the brass, the taps, the gold, the showgirls in feathers, without the Rat Pack.

When I finally re-found this CD in SF several years ago, I used to trot it out for dinner parties, mixed it with some Bill Evans and Rickie Lee Jones' "PopPop". Most people had no idea who this voice belonged to.

"Here's that rainy day" is NOT "The Candy Man". In the midst of the late 60's with Peace Protests, cities burning, the war, Sammy got VERY introspective with this choice of material.

"Two different worlds" - we forget how racially divided this country was then, even as we gripe about it now.

"The shadow of your smile" - everybody was doing this song then. Sammy and Laurindo pumped a little sensuous bossa nova into it, making it a sexy little ballad.

"Where is love?" - Sammy on a bare stage. Exquisite.

"Every time we say goodbye" - I really personalized this song then and now. Highschool kids were going to Vietnam, you never knew who you'd ever see again...

"I'm always chasing rainbows" - Still the hope that was the 60's. Funny, recently, a politician said we didn't need Hope, just hard work...gimme a rainbow to chase anyday..

"We'll be together again" - another wistful ballad "we both have a lifetime before us..." Sammy sweeps you up and makes you want to come back. He let some pain come through on this one.

"Joey, Joey, Joey" - this a surreal little ballad from a surreal time which Sammy makes his own. How many songs from that era were about leavin town? Sammy nails it.

"The folks who live on the hill" Underneath that Joey who was itching for the road, how many lasted? Sammy tried his whole life to be "normal", to be accepted without the clowning that hid so much of his heartache. This would have been a great song to wrap this album.

"Speak low" - good job, but somehow doesnt fit with the rest of the mood, almost like an afterthought.

"Misty" - there was a reason this was left off the original release.

All in all, this is the voice behind the spotlight. I would love to have been in the room when this was recorded.

Buy it, and wrap yourself in a little luxury. This voice won't be back, and there are none on the horizen that come close.





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