A nice pairing of Ella Fitzgerald and Nelson Riddle – done away from the Songbook series, with titles that include "I'm Gonna Go Fishing", "The Gentleman Is A Dope", "Mean To Me", "I Won't Dance", "Love Me Or Leave Me", and "What Am I Here For". LP, Vinyl record album

Sweet arrangements by Nelson Riddle! LP, Vinyl record album

Sweet arrangements by Nelson Riddle – on 3CDs' worth of tunes by George & Ira Gershwin! CD

A later entry in Ella's Songbook series for Verve – but a great one too, thanks to some strong arrangements from Nelson Riddle! Riddle's working here at a level that he brought to his earlier sessions with Frank Sinatra – one that colors in the tunes with just the right amount of shadings needed for each different composition, but which also still leaves plenty of space for the vocalist to dominate the recordings. Ella's in fine form throughout – swinging easily on the more upbeat numbers, but also balancing things out with some thoughtful ballad work that stands as some of her best of the 60s. Titles include "Let's Begin", "Remind Me", "Yesterdays", "Why Was I Born", "She Didn't Say Yes", and "You Couldn't Be Cuter". CD

2 Capitol Records gems from Louis Prima & Keely Smith – on a single CD, and with bonus tracks too! Hey Boy Hey Girl is a groovy little soundtrack recording – done for a rare film that starred Louis Prima and Keely Smith, working very much at the height of their 50s Capitol powers! The sound of the album's every bit as great as some of the better-known studio sets by the pair – and like those sets, the record's a mix of the duo's great duet numbers and some excellent solo tracks too – numbers that either have Louis in the lead, or Keely hitting a few warmer, mellower notes. Backings are by Sam Butera & The Witnesses – and titles include "Hey Boy Hey Girl", "Banana Split For My Baby", "Fever", "You Are My Love", "Oh Marie", "Lazy River", and "Nitey-Nite". Swinging Pretty is a classic album by Keely Smith – Louis Prima's one-time wife and classic singing partner, working here on her own! Arrangements are by Nelson Riddle – showcasing Keely as a great singer in her own right, able to work in that sophisticated jazz-based style that you'd find with the best Capitol singers, like Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, or Nat King Cole. Titles include "It's Magic", "Indian Love Call", "Someone To Watch Over Me", "Stormy Weather", and "There Will Never Be Another You". Bonus tracks include "A Foggy Day", "Nothings Too Good For My Baby", "The Lip", and "I've Got You Under My Skin" by Louis & Keely – plus "It's Magic", "Don't Let A Memory", and "Don't Take Your Love From Me" by Keely Smith. CD

One of Frank Sinatra's last great ballad albums for Capitol – a sad and dreamy batch of tunes that kicks off with the incredible "Only The Lonely" – one of those Sinatra torch songs that's so great, so sad, nobody else has ever been able to record a better version, nor have they really tried! The rest of the album's great, too – with arrangements by Nelson Riddle that are very much in the Wee Small Hours mode – expressive, but subtle and sophisticated – at that level that set Sinatra so far apart from most other male singers of the 50s. Despite the creepy cover, there's a mature, adult approach to the whole thing – a new level of emotion that most other singers wouldn't find for a decade. Titles include "Only The Lonely", "Angel Eyes", "What's New", "Ebb Tide", "Spring Is Here", "Goodbye", and the sublime "One For My Baby". CD

Frank's first album for his own label – Reprise catalog number 1001 (originally), a number that must have made Sinatra proud! The album's got a really swinging feel that befits the title, and which follows in the best Capitol work by Nelson Riddle. Things are very jazzy and upbeat, thanks to arrangements by Johnny Mandel – and the set list includes loads of great numbers that Frank carries off to perfection! Titles include "Ring A Ding Ding", "The Coffee Song", "Let's Face The Music & Dance", "Let's Fall In Love", "A Fine Romance", and "You & The Night & The Music". Includes 3 bonus tracks – "The Last Dance", "The Second Time Around", and "Zing Went The Strings Of My Heart". CD

A Swingin Session indeed – as Frank steps out with Nelson Riddle on one of his last great albums for Capitol! The record's got the bounce and lilt of Frank's earlier gems with Riddle – a sly mix of jazz and strings that's every bit the best fit for Blue Eyes' vocals at the end of the 50s as it was back when he and Riddle cooked up the comeback sound earlier in the decade – and as before, although the tunes are mostly familiar, they're spun out by Frank as if they're his own – phrased beautifully, punched up nicely, and swung in just the right way to fit the spirit of the session! Titles include "I Concentrate On You", "Blue Moon", "When You're Smiling", "It's Only A Paper Moon", "Always", and "September In The Rain". CD

A Swingin Session indeed – as Frank steps out with Nelson Riddle on one of his last great albums for Capitol! The record's got the bounce and lilt of Frank's earlier gems with Riddle – a sly mix of jazz and strings that's every bit the best fit for Blue Eyes' vocals at the end of the 50s as it was back when he and Riddle cooked up the comeback sound earlier in the decade – and as before, although the tunes are mostly familiar, they're spun out by Frank as if they're his own – phrased beautifully, punched up nicely, and swung in just the right way to fit the spirit of the session! Titles include "I Concentrate On You", "Blue Moon", "When You're Smiling", "It's Only A Paper Moon", "Always", and "September In The Rain". CD features 3 bonus tracks – "Sentimental Baby", "Hidden Persuasion", and "Ol MacDonald". CD

A near-perfect session of 50s Sinatra – upbeat, lively, and with an undeniable punch that completely transforms every tune! The great Nelson Riddle is backing Frank up on the set – and the album's one of their liveliest from the time, filled with familiar tunes that Frank slips into like an old glove – then runs with as if they're his own! Titles include "It Happened In Monterey", "Love Is Here To Stay", "I've Got You Under My Skin", "You Make Me Feel So Young", "Old Devil Moon", and "How About You?". CD

Arguably one of Frank's best collections of standards – with sublime Nelson Riddle arrangements! Titles include "The Girl Next Door", "Like Someone In Love", "A Foggy Day", "It Worries Me", "I Get A Kick Out Of You", "Little Girl Blue", and "Violets For Your Furs". LP, Vinyl record album

Two great albums from Frank, both with sublime Nelson Riddle arrangements! CD

Two great albums from Frank, both with sublime Nelson Riddle arrangements! LP, Vinyl record album

Two great albums from Frank, both with sublime Nelson Riddle arrangements! CD

A Swingin Affair indeed – as the album's one of our favorite ever from Frank's Capitol years! Nelson Riddle shows here that he can be just as great on the uptempo numbers as he is on the ballads – and casts Sinatra's full rich vocals into a great set of older swinging tunes. Frank really breathes new life into these standards – completely transforming them and making them his own – and in the process making us love tunes that we never thought we'd care for! Titles include "Oh Look At Me Now", "At Long Last Love", "From This Moment On", "I Got Plenty O Nuttin", "I Wish I Were In Love Again", and "Night & Day". CD

A Swingin Affair indeed – as the album's one of our favorite ever from Frank's Capitol years! Nelson Riddle shows here that he can be just as great on the uptempo numbers as he is on the ballads – and casts Sinatra's full rich vocals into a great set of older swinging tunes. Frank really breathes new life into these standards – completely transforming them and making them his own – and in the process making us love tunes that we never thought we'd care for! Titles include "Oh Look At Me Now", "At Long Last Love", "From This Moment On", "I Got Plenty O Nuttin", "I Wish I Were In Love Again", and "Night & Day". LP, Vinyl record album

A delightful little jukebox EP from one of Sinatra's greatest records ever – pure genius all the way through! Frank's backed here by the orchestra of Count Basie, with some incredible arrangements by Quincy Jones that really have a jazzy, syncopated kick to them. The move seems to be an unintentional way of covering for Frank's slightly failing pipes – but it also picks up on a seminal beat change in 60s pop, the same sort of gentle snapping groove that you'd find in the best work by Bacharach, a shift that really infuses Frank's vocals with a whole new sound, one that shows that he's ready to keep on growing and growing after being stuck in a Nelson Riddle rut. All tracks are superb – hip 60s pop and showtunes, like "Fly Me To the Moon", "More", "The Good Life", and "I Wanna Be Around". (Funky 45's, Vocalists) 7-inch, Vinyl record

The gentler side of Keely Smith – recorded here away from Louis Prima in a warmly sweet style that reminds us that she's a heck of a great singer on her own! The album features some top-shelf backings by Nelson Riddle, who gives Keely the kind of sensitive interpretations that he brought to his Sinatra albums for Capitol during the 50s – a style that makes the session way more than just a simple batch of pop tunes and ballads, and places Keely right up there with some of the best interpreters of American song at the time. Most of the tunes are standards, done in Riddle's lightly jazzy way – and titles include "Imagination", "I Wish You Love", "When You're Alone", "Don't Take Your Love From Me", "Mr Wonderful", "When Day Is Done", and "When Your Lover Has Gone". CD also features 6 more bonus tracks – some of which break the format of the album a bit – "I Wish You Love (alternate)", "Rock A Doodle Doo", "I Would Do Most Anything For You", "Shy", and "Just As Much". CD

Ed Townsend's best known as a famous songwriter and producer – whose work through the 60s and 70s made him more than a bit of green – but this early album has Ed trying his pipes as a male vocal lead, singing in a style that's smooth and mellow, a bit in the vein of Jesse Belvin, and really sounding great overall! Orchestrations are by Nelson Riddle, and the album's got a gentle swing that we really enjoy – Ed singing over some lesser known tracks, and bringing a raspy soulfulness to the more familiar ones. Titles include "What's Wrong With Me", "Golden Earrings", "I'm In Love", "Don't Ever Leave Me", and "On The Street Where You Live". LP, Vinyl record album

Sweet arrangements by Nelson Riddle! LP, Vinyl record album