The Complete Cole Porter Songbooks [Box set]

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
It's rare that a great tunesmith is also a great lyricist, but Porter was both, and the formal perfection of his best songs made them favorites among both singers and instrumentalists. These three discs (two vocal, one instrumental) raid the archives for renditions by jazz types (from Ella Fitzgerald to Roland Kirk), more straightforward pop singers, and a few ringers, like Fred Astaire, who does nicely by "I Concentrate on You." The singers love Porter for the depth, wittiness, and just-repressed-enough sentimentality of his lyrics, and for the melodies clustered around a few notes that let them show off whatever they've got; the non-singers dig his deft, unpredictable chords and adaptability of mood. --Douglas Wolk

Tracks:

I've Got You Under My Skin - Dinah Washington
Love For Sale - Shirley Horn
Let's Do It (Let's Fall In Love) - Louis Armstrong
Anything Goes - Ella Fitzgerald
What Is This Thing Called Love - Mel Torme
You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To - Helen Merrill
At Long Last - Bill Henderson
I Love You - Anita O'day
Just One Of Those Things - Louis Armstrong
It's De-Lovely - Sarah Vaughan
Always True To You In My Fashion - Blossom Dearie
I Concentrate On You - Fred Aistaire
I Get A Kick Out Of You - Dinah Washington
In The Still Of The Night - Billy Eckstine
Easy To Love - Billie Holiday
Night And Day - Ella Fitzgerald
Ev'rytime We Say Goodbye - Betty Carter

Tracks:

I Get A Kick Out Of You - Louis Armstrong
My Heart Belongs To Daddy - Anita O'day
I've Got You Under My Skin - Ella Fitzgerald
After You, Who? - Helen Merrill
So In Love - Dinah Washington
Too Darn Hot - Mel Torme
Just One Of Those Things - Sarah Vaughan
Get Out Of Town - Shirley Horn
Love For Sale - Billie Holiday
From This Moment On - Anita O'day
Night And Day - Fred Astaire
Give Him The Ooh-La-La - Blossom Dearie
Ev'rything I Love - Morgana King
Miss Otis Regrets (She's Unable To Lunch Today) - Ella Fitzgerald
All Of You - Helen Merrill
You're The Top - Louis Armstrong
Most Gentleman Don't Like Love - Betty Carter

Tracks:

What Is This Thing Called Love? - Charlie Parker And His Orchestra
Love For Sale - Al Cohn-Zoot Sims Quintet
Begin The Beguine - Art Tatum
My Heart Belongs To Daddy - Dizzy Gillespie Quintet
Get Out Of Town - Roland Kirk Quartet
Easy To Love - Sonny Stitt Quartet
I Get A Kick Out Of You - Clifford Brown-Max Roach Quintet
Night And Day - Stan Getz And Bill Evans
Just One Of Those Things - Bud Powell
You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To - Ben Webster And Coleman Hawkins
Anything Goes - Tal Farlow Trio
I Love You - Oscar Peterson Trio
I've Got You Under My Skin - Bill Evans And Jim Hall
I Concentrate On You - Max Roach Sextet

Amazon.com

It's rare that a great tunesmith is also a great lyricist, but Porter was both, and the formal perfection of his best songs made them favorites among both singers and instrumentalists. These three discs (two vocal, one instrumental) raid the archives for renditions by jazz types (from Ella Fitzgerald to Roland Kirk), more straightforward pop singers, and a few ringers, like Fred Astaire, who does nicely by "I Concentrate on You." The singers love Porter for the depth, wittiness, and just-repressed-enough sentimentality of his lyrics, and for the melodies clustered around a few notes that let them show off whatever they've got; the non-singers dig his deft, unpredictable chords and adaptability of mood. --Douglas Wolk

Customer Reviews:

Anything goes........2006-07-20

Aaawwwhhh...did the mean old jazz musicians reinterpret melody and tinker with song structures? Boo-hoo! Those crazy beatniks, what'll they think of next!? Oh wait, that's what jazz musicians do...they reinterpret and improvise. That's one of the great things about this collection. You get to hear Cole Porter's beautiful songs interpreted by some of the titans of jazz. Max Roach, Clifford Brown, Ben Webster, Coleman Hawkins, Sonny Stitt. I don't know about you, but I trust these guys with the music. And let's face it, it's only on the third disc where there's any real jazz. The first two discs feature vocals and are pretty straight-forward musically. If, for some reason, jazz offends you, then skip the third disc and just go for the first two (the CDs in this collection can be purchased individually). The singers are some of the best ever and they do a wonderful job with Cole Porter's lyrics.

I've had these CDs since 1996 or 97 and I always come back to them and smile. It's beautiful music and it would be a shame if people skipped over it because a few reviewers took issue with the premise of the collection itself.

Ignore the one star reviewers.......2001-12-19

First off, this is a 'Verve' jazz box set of Cole Porter tunes. Verve. The jazz label. Which means the box probably has jazz tunes on it. Right? Jazz renditions of Porter tunes. Now use that brain folks, God didn't put it there to keep the wind from making a whistling sound through your head... if you want original Porter tunes done pre-1940 in that scratchy 78 revolutions sound stay far away from this compilation (try the excellent 'You're The Top: Cole Porter In The 1930s' box instead). Classic Verve jazz fanatics know what they will find on this set, beautiful renditions of Cole Porter standards by 'jazz' (there's that jazz word again) greats. Renditions. Not tinny Artie Shaw recordings (don't get me wrong, I love Artie Shaw too) off of wax cylinders. Look at the listings, Louie Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Clifford Brown, Roland Kirk... no Frank or Dean or Tony BECAUSE they didn't record for Verve. It's a 'Verve' box set. And what you get is an extraordinary collection of jazz performances of Porter tunes.

Cole Porter Songbook...Not.......2001-10-14

If you are looking for the quintessential Cole Porter collection, keep looking. If you're looking for some classical renditions of Cole Porter favorites keep looking. What this is, in my opinion, is a collection of songs that were obviously easy to get royalty wise. A bunch of scat singing on the vocals by Ella Louie and Mel, and a bunch of challenges to the musical scales by improvisation-happy saxophonists. No Frank, Dean, Perry, Tony. In this collection you get Cole Porter lyrics but not enough Cole Porter music. Cole must be spinning in his grave so fast he could reach the center of the earth in a New York minute if he was interred vertically.

Another Dissent.......2001-09-01

No lover of American song should be without these terrific Verve box sets. I agree that the Verve catalog is more jazz-oriented than some others. Listeners who prefer more straight-up renditions of the American song standards might prefer the "Capitol Sings" series. But don't throw out the baby with the bathwater!

The Verve sets aren't just for the jazz afficionado. Goodness gracious, there are performances by Fred Astaire, Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald on these disks -- I love all of them, but I would hardly call them avant garde.

True, the instrumental disks (one in each 3CD set) bop a little harder. That's why Verve wisely also sells these songbooks as separate CDs, too. Buyers who prefer the vocal versions can save a little money by buying a la carte. The vocal CDs do mix in some Shirley Horn and Betty Carter, and other "progressive" artists, to good effect. Those less-familiar versions only serve to refresh the timeless wonder of of the talents of Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, and our other great songwriters.

On the contrary..........2000-06-11

While I can appreciate the opinions of the other reviewers I just had to write and disagree. Maybe I'm just not as much of a purist as the others, but it seems to me that music should be reinvented from time to time. It's what keeps it alive and vital.

The performances and performers on this CD are top-rate. It was in fact this collection of such talent that introduced me to Porter in the first place and I'm grateful to it's makers. Since first listening to it a few years ago I've developed more of a taste for thirties style musical numbers, but some of these tracks are still my favorite takes on his music.

I will agree that this collection will appeal to you more if you like jazz. If you do though, you can't go wrong with the material that these fine artists have worked with.

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