A beautiful pairing of the vocals of Billy Eckstine and the arranging talents of
Pete Rugolo – a real standout set that's easily one of Eckstine's greatest albums ever! By the time of this set,
Rugolo had made a great name for himself arranging other vocal sides for June Christy, The Four Freshmen, and others – and he's bringing a sense of poise and space to the album that's often missing from much of Billy's later work. The warm Eckstine voice is allowed plenty of space to do its thing here – floating out effortlessly over the larger
orchestrations and gliding with the gentle darkness that first made him stand out from the pack so many years ago. There's nothing too fancy or fussy going on here, and Billy's performance is a key example of
his strong talent for understatement at its best. Titles include "It Was So Beautiful", "I Got A Right To Sing The Blues", "Imagination", "Lullaby Of The Leaves", "That's All", "I Cover The Waterfront", and "A Faded Summer Love".