Search - Gershwin, Upshaw, Mcdonald :: Standards & Gems

Standards & Gems
Gershwin, Upshaw, Mcdonald
Standards & Gems
Genres: Pop, Classical, Broadway & Vocalists
 
  •  Track Listings (15) - Disc #1

With the centenary of George Gershwin's birth at hand, the tribute albums are thick on the ground. Standards and Gems is an agreeable if uneven addition to the pack, collecting material written for such Jazz Age warhorses ...  more »

     
   

CD Details

All Artists: Gershwin, Upshaw, Mcdonald, Blazer, Pizzarelli
Title: Standards & Gems
Members Wishing: 0
Total Copies: 2
Label: Nonesuch
Original Release Date: 9/1/1998
Release Date: 9/1/1998
Genres: Pop, Classical, Broadway & Vocalists
Styles: Oldies, Vocal Pop, Symphonies, Musicals
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPC: 075597949827

Synopsis

Amazon.com
With the centenary of George Gershwin's birth at hand, the tribute albums are thick on the ground. Standards and Gems is an agreeable if uneven addition to the pack, collecting material written for such Jazz Age warhorses as Lady, Be Good!, Oh, Kay!, and Girl Crazy. The gems (i.e., rarities) can be taken with a grain of salt. Indeed, it's hard not to wince hearing John Pizzarelli wobble through such undistinguished do-whacka fare as "Little Jazz Bird." Yet the obscure "Meadow Serenade," a Gershwinian version of the pastoral, is a charming discovery. And the standards, of course, are just that--indestructible melodies wedded to the wittiest lyrics of the era. Only a career curmudgeon could resist Dawn Upshaw's "Someone to Watch over Me," in which the soprano, emoting not a whit, delivers a crystalline (and, yes, classical) reading. There are some surprises, too. Audra McDonald's "How Long Has This Been Going On?" is no mother of all torch songs, but an exhibit of uptempo sauciness--and who but Ira Gershwin would have the nerve to rhyme "panties," "aunties," and "Dante's" in the space of a single verse? They just don't make them like that anymore. --James Marcus

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CD Reviews

The only Gershwin CD you'll ever need (or at least the best)
08/12/1999
(4 out of 5 stars)

"The CD actually belongs to my roommate, but I listen to it even more than she does. As the name implies, this album contains both familiar songs (Someone to Watch Over Me, Fascinatin' Rhythm, But Not For Me) and some lavishing in undeserved obscurity (the sweet little Meadow Serenade is by far the best track). The album is not completely perfect; 'Someone to Watch Over Me,' for example, morphs from a sad show tune into a diva vehicle with scarcely a moment's notice. Still, this is one of my favorite CD's in, er, my roommate's collection: a good one to sing along with at the top of your lungs while housecleaning."