Louis Armstrong, Anita O'day, Ella Fitzgerald, Helen Merrill, Dinah Washington, Mel Torme, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, Various Artists - I Get A Kick Out Of You: Cole Porter Songbook Vol. 2

Cole Porter's the top !!!

I Get A Kick Out Of You: Cole Porter Songbook Vol. 2 has another seventeen wonderful hits and tunes by the great Cole Porter. The sound quality is wonderful; and the artwork is very nicely done.

Louis Armstrong starts things off right with a sublime rendition of "I Get A Kick Out Of You;" this somewhat jazzy arrangement shines like silver and gold--and how's about that piano arrangement? Anita O'Day follows with a great interpretation of "My Heart Belongs To Daddy." "My Heart Belongs To Daddy" is one of my favorite classic pop vocals and Anita O'Day performs this very well. Ella Fitzgerald, the First Lady Of Song, also turns in a great number as she sings "I've Got You Under My Skin." Ella gets to show off some of the fantastic qualities of her singularly beautiful voice and it all holds its own very well.

Mel Torme sings "Too Darn Hot" with panache; this arrangement features Mel playing with the tempo and key modulations somewhat to place his own stamp on this ballad. "It's Too Darn Hot" has a jazzy arrangement that works well even though I'm not too used to hearing this song performed this way. Sarah Vaughan's "Just One Of Those Things" really swings brightly and Sarah never sings a superfluous note! Sarah Vaughan never sounded better and she belts this out like the pro she always was!

Billie Holiday performs "Love For Sale" with a melancholy tone in her voice; Billie performs this with great sensitivity and she makes this number very special. Anita O'Day returns to do a sublime rendition of "From This Moment On;" Anita sings this with panache and I'm very impressed. Fred Astaire also sings "Night And Day" with heart and soul; Fred knew how to deliver this timeless love song in such a way that it's always a major highlight of any album.

"Miss Otis Regrets (She's Unable To Lunch Today)" by Ella Fitzgerald sounds sweet and the melancholy ballad never sounded finer! The strings are used to great advantage and Ella sings this with so much feeling that it truly amazes me. Louis Armstrong also returns to sing that awesome Cole Porter tune, "You're The Top." "You're The Top" gets a regal treatment from Louis Armstrong who delivers this with lots of positive energy. Great!

Betty Carter's "Most Gentlemen Don't Like Love" ends the album with quite a jazzy flourish; and Betty's voice is as clear as a bell. "Most Gentlemen Don't Like Love" is an excellent way to end this album.

Cole Porter fans will want this album; and people who love classic pop vocals will enjoy this CD for quite some while to come.
May 9, 2008

SUPER PORTER RENDITIONS

Volume 2 of the complete COLE PORTER songbooks on VERVE is a clinger all the way.Songs like EVERYTHING I LOVE,GIVE HIM THE OOH-LA-LA and MOST GENTLEMEN DON'T LIKE LOVE are not often recorded.ANITA gives us a typical treatment of MY HEART BELONGS TO DADDY which means her way;The ELLA renditions are not from the songbooks of 1956;i personnaly enjoy AFTER YOU,WHO from the magical voice of HELEN MERRILL and SO IN LOVE done in cha-cha by that maneater par excellence DINAH WASHINGTON.This is an excellent tibute to COLE PORTER,well worth buying. February 13, 2003

Excellent compilation!

Terrific versions of classic Porter songs recorded by jazz's greatest vocalists... It's hard to go wrong with this CD. This is the second volume of the Cole Porter's songbook and it is appreciably better than the first volume, which was titled "Night & Day" August 11, 2002

I get a kick out of Cole Porter

This is an excellent compilation of Cole Porter's famous and not-so famous but nonetheless excellent songs. A wonderful tribute to a wonderful man. January 7, 2001

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