The Sound of Silence/Portrait of Carmen

Editorial Reviews
Album Description
Offbeat phrasing and unique interpretations helped singer Carmen McRae carve her own niche in the Jazz world from the '40s through the '80s. Her dynamic artistry is revealed on these original Atlantic albums produced by Nesuhi Ertegun. On this 2-for-1 CD, Ms. McRae tackles contemporary songs of the day as well as standards of the late '60s such as The Sounds of Silence, Elusive Butterfly, and I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good. A Collectables release.

Tracks:

The Sound Of Silence
I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good
MacArthur Park
Watch What Happens
Stardust
Don't Go Away
Gloomy Sunday
I Sold My Heart To The Junkman
Poor Butterfly
My Heart Reminds Me
The Folks Who Live On The Hill
Can You Tell
I'm Always Drunk In San Francisco
Elusive Butterfly
Day By Day
When You Get Around To Me
Walking Happy
My Very Own Person
Ask Any Woman
Boy, Do I Have A Surprise For You
Loads Of Love
I Haven't Got Anything Better To Do
Wonder Why

Album Description

Offbeat phrasing and unique interpretations helped singer Carmen McRae carve her own niche in the Jazz world from the '40s through the '80s. Her dynamic artistry is revealed on these original Atlantic albums produced by Nesuhi Ertegun. On this 2-for-1 CD, Ms. McRae tackles contemporary songs of the day as well as standards of the late '60s such as The Sounds of Silence, Elusive Butterfly, and I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good. A Collectables release.

Customer Reviews:

Many sides of Carmen McRae............2004-05-29

Carmen McRae has always been able to take just about any song, standards, jazz, rock, and pop, and transform them into something quite new. This is exactly what she has done on this 2-album CD.

The title song from "The Sound of Silence" is a gutsy vocal that is a huge improvement over the original hit. Her version of "McArthur Park" is tender yet rich. Her interpretation of "Stardust" is fascinating. Carmen vividly portrays despair in "Gloomy Sunday". "I'm Always Drunk In San Francisco" is jazzy with a full, gorgeous orchestra. "I Haven't Got Anything Better To Do" is one of those smooth sultry Carmen ballads. And the grand finale "Wonder Why" is an uptempo song.

The incomparable Carmen McRae has many sides. This two album CD is a fantastic trip down memory lane.

TIMELESS CARMEN MC RAE CLASSICS!!.......2004-05-26

Carmen McRae was at her absolute peak when she signed to Atlantic Records in the sixties and these two albums are magnificent examples of the art of singing at its very finest! "The Sound Of Silence" was released in 1969 and its title song is engrossing and richly sung by Carmen and equally effective is her majestic version of the classic "I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)". This stellar set has great vocals on every song and Carmen makes the Billie Holiday "Gloomy Sunday" a total masterpiece with a chilling and haunting vocal that is unforgettable!! "Portrait Of Carmen" was released a year earlier in 1968 and has always been one of my all time favorite vocal albums and one of Carmen's very best!! Funky and soulful is Carmen on the rowdy "I'm Always Drunk In San Francisco" while "Elusive Butterfly" is stirring and emotional. Every song is strong on this classic set with Carmen's voice rich and powerful with glorious tones that make her one of the best ever!!! Do not miss this collection if you love great singing with flawless orchestrations and arrangements-this is the greatest!! Bravo Carmen!!!!

Outstanding Material, Poor Presentation.......2004-01-30

Two of the greatest - and least known - Atlantic albums of pop standards from the late sixties, in one package. Brilliant songs throughout, extraordinary performances by McRae. Unfortunately, Collectables failed to digitally remaster the tracks on this release, and several of the recordings suffer from significant amounts of noise distortion, as well as slight crackling, hissing and popping throughout. In fact, Carmen's brilliant renditions of "Elusive Butterfly" and "Walking Happy" are virtually unlistenable.

If you're going to experience a masterpiece, why ruin it for yourself? Skip this substandard reproduction of the original, and seek out the vinyl LPs instead, until Atlantic has enough insight and foresight to buy back the rights and digitally remaster all of this material.

I am unsure if the additional outstanding selections in the Collectables catalog (eg. Peggy Lee's 'Is that all there Is?,' Ira Sullivan's 'Horizons') suffer from such grave flaws, but after this rude awakening today, I'm not likely to take another leap of faith with the same label.

Carmen's very distinctive style gives new life to old songs.......2002-06-29

This collection shows how pointless it can be to classify music by genre. This could be classed as pop, jazz, R+B or easy listening, yet it is none of these, but a brilliant blend of them all. Fortunately, I realised a long time ago that the only classification that matters is whether I like it or not - and it passes that test with ease.

Although I don't recognise all the songs, I suspect they are all covers. Some were old songs even at the time they were recorded - Stardust and I got it bad were already nearly forty years old - while others were contemporary, but Carmen always stamped her identity on each and every song with her soulful voice.

Sixties songs are well represented, including Sound of silence, Elusive butterfly, Ask any woman, and Macarthur park, but I've never come across versions quite like these - they are very distinctive.

To sum up, this album could appeal to people who like any of the genres already mentioned, but may have most appeal for those (like me) who like a variety of different genres. If you only like one genre of music to the exclusion of all others, you may be best to look elsewhere for your musical entertainment.

carmen is so cool.......2001-08-09

You just can't be disappointed with Carmen McRae. Another fine reissue from Collectables. I preferred the first album on this 2-fer, but on the second one there's the incomparable "I'm Always Drunk in San Francisco." You can't beat Carmen for quality, and you've gotta love Collectables for reissuing these great vocal albums from Atlantic.

Music:

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