Various Artists - Red Hot + Rhapsody: The Gershwin Groove

As Red Hot Organization celebrations of composers and genres go, Red Hot & Rhapsody is certainly timely, coming as it does at the 100th anniversary of George Gershwin's birth. Like its predecessors, it's also trendily eclectic. While its "groove" sometimes falls on the wrong side of the divide between sinuous and sleepy--a version of "Summertime" by Morcheeba and lite-jazz flutist Hubert Laws that finds vocalist Sky Edwards carefully pronouncing the "g" that isn't in the word "jumpin'"--and Natalie Merchant and Duncan Sheik are just plain wrong for their material, this is a solid disc that makes a good case for having Bobby Womack, Luscious Jackson, Money Mark, and Clark Terry on the same five inches of plastic and aluminum. --Rickey Wright Amazon.com

Meh.

I love Red, Hot and Blue, and also really enjoyed Red, Hot and Rio, so I suppose two out of three isn't so bad.

Red, Hot and Rhapsody sounds like something to be played at a funeral. I saw that another reviewer had written "inspired" as one of his adjectives to describe this album, and I actually read it as "insipid."

I suppose, if it was over 100 degrees outside, and I was drinking serious adult beverages, this would be appropriate to play. It's so slow and dirge-like, I can't imagine any other circumstance in which I'd want to listen to it. June 30, 2008

gershwin is always good

two years ago, i got this idea for a themed concert. i called it the 'the red hot dance concert' and asked the teachers to select songs from the red hot series, red hot and blue, red hot and dance, red hot and rio, red hot and gershwin and any others we could get our red hot hands on were under immediate consideration.

for some odd reason, 'red hot and gershwin' got passed over quite a bit.

i think i know why. the range of songs and treatments are great ambient music. i love davina's raspy vocals on 'i was doing all right'. they are a great compliment to the baaba maal at the end of the disc. and sinead o'connor's breathy, waif sound is a blessing to 'someone to watch over me', considering that linda ronstadt's blare-through is still upon us from some twenty years ago. stereolab's 's'wonderful' is also chic, cosmo-swirling stuff.

but nothing here really gets the foot to tapping. and it really doesn't need to, either. just put it on and shake the martinis! May 11, 2007

Groovy Revisit of Classic Tunes

A unique re-mix of fantastic tunes. Everytime I play this CD, friends are asking who is singing and where they can get a copy. A great CD with clever adaptations by Finley "Quaye, Natalie Merchant and Bowie (to name a few). July 20, 2005

so-so if you ask me

If George Gerswhin heard this cd, he'd probably turn over in his grave. It's just an insult to the man's art to cover his songs by just singing over a Casio beat (refer to tracks 1, 4, 10, 12, 13, and 14). But the biggest disappointments came from the big names on the cd-- namely Natalie Merchant. Her version of "But Not for Me" is soooo boring. Even I can sing it better than she can. Sinead O'Conner didn't do much better with "Someone to Watch Over Me". The only standout track was Clark Terry's "Let's Call the Whole Think Off". Maybe it was best to give these classic songs a 90's facelift and add the drum tracks and all that programming/sampling. Smoke City's "They Can't Take That Away From Me"(song #4) and Sarah Cracknell's "The Man I Love" (song #13) are pretty good. This isn't that bad of a cd, but it could be so much better. Seems like many people liked it by all the 5-star reviews. But if you happen to buy this cd and are a little disappointed, don't be because you're still helping out a wonderful cause. August 8, 2001

Gershwin With a Beat

This album will float you through those sultry summer evenings with its smooth sounds. For the Gershwin lover, for the R&B lover, or for just the lover: it's a purchase you won't regret. May 23, 2000

More reviews at Amazon.com ...