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

Simply beautiful

Daniel Jolley | Shelby, North Carolina USA | 05/01/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Sammy Davis, Jr. sings and Laurindo Almeida plays; that's the simple and amazing basis of this remarkable CD. On June 14 and 15, 1966, Sammy sat down with one incredibly talented guitarist and recorded this album of slow, gentle, moving songs. Sammy could swing and wail like no other, but he was more than anything else a truly blessed singer. There's no Las Vegas atmosphere here, no finger-clicking showstoppers, no adoring fans lavishing him with heartfelt applause, no cutting up in front of the crowd, no Rat Pack escapades or stories. This is just pure music, soft and touching - "all the flim flam diddyway, gone," as Stan Cornyn says in the liner notes. I don't know of very many singers, no matter how talented they are, who would sit down in a studio with one guitarist and just sing; Sammy did it, and the recordings from these sessions not only prove the magnitude of his miraculous voice, they prove his true love for music. Several of these songs are familiar, but rarely have you heard them sung so softly and beautifully. Here's That Rainy Day, having appeared on one of Sammy's greatest hits albums, is a familiar and perfect representative of these songs. Familiar Sammy classics such as The Shadow of Your Smile and We'll Be Together Again, take on whole new meanings in this purest of interpretations. Familiar show tunes such as Where is Love? and Joey, Joey, Joey become elegant pieces of depth and beauty. I'm Always Chasing Rainbows is simply poignant and beautiful, as is Misty (a bonus track from the original recordings). I don't listen to this album as often as I indulge in Sammy's flashier numbers, but it is impossible to describe the simple beauty of this music, stripped to its bare, purest essentials in the form of the amazing Almeida's guitar playing and Sammy's unequalled singing."

The loneliest music ever

The Delite Rancher | Phoenix, Arizona | 05/10/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A solitary seagull flying on the wind . . . could there be a lonelier image? The real question is could there be a more lonesome album than "Sammy Davis, Jr. Sings and Laurindo Almeida Plays?" The album cover is a perfect representation of the music contained within this painfully lonely album. I don't write this in a negative sense; imagine the most beautifully lonely music that could ever be played - it doesn't match the sorrow, forlornness or simple elegance from this 1966 session. Sammy Davis Jr. sings songs of heart break over Laurindo Almeida's somber guitar chords. This disc contains none of Davis' Rat Pack style swagger or any of Almedia's Brazilian optimism. The austerity of the arrangements lend to the theme of isolation; indeed, the two make the most perfectly melancholy duo. If you're going through a break-up (or ever have), this recording will resonate. While Country and Western music has a reputation for being the genre that most perfectly captures the loneliness of the human condition, this recording proves that a crooner and Bossa Nova guitarist can capture the essence of solitude as the world has never heard."

Someday we'll build a home on a hilltop high,you and I...

Marc Flanagan | Santa Monica, Ca. | 09/14/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A portion of the lyrics from, "The Folks Who Live On The Hill", a tune from Loesser's "Most Happy Fella", and Sammy Davis and Laurindo Almeida perform it to perfection. A lovely album from the late sixties on Reprise, I believe this to be one of Mr. Davis's finest.

A low key album, great for late in evening listening, every song is a gem. I have been putting it on my record player ,my cd player and now my IPod, for thirty plus years and it still delights me."