Track Listing

1. Girl Talk - Howard Roberts
2. Serenata - Jonah Jones Quartet, The Swinginest Chorale
3. Sleepwalk - Henri Ren�
4. Smoke Gets in Your Eyes - Mallet Men
5. Go Slow - Julie London
6. Ebb Tide - Al Anthony
7. If I Should Lose You - George Shearing
8. Willow Weep for Me - Muzzy Marcellino
9. Dansero - Don Baker Trio,
10. Lunar Rhapsody - Les Baxter, Les Baxter, Samuel J. Hoffman
11. You're My Thrill - Dolores Gray
12. Fever - Richard Marino & His Orchestra
13. Blues in My Heart - John Buzon Trio
14. Tenderly - Jackie Gleason, Bobby Hackett
15. Theme from Picnic - Terry Snyder
16. Turquoise - Milt Buckner, Earle Warren
17. Do It Again - April Stevens
18. Ruby - Les Baxter & His Orchestra, Danny Welton

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #64727 in Music
• Released on: 1996-02-20
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .23 pounds

Album Description
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Customer Reviews

The best in the series
This album, without a doubt, the absolute best album in the ultra lounge collection. It's that album that you reach for when you need to sit back, and relax. It's the perfect mood music for those lazy afternoons, or early evenings hanging out with your baby sipping a few drinks. I prefer to listen to it, while I'm soaking in 20 dollar bubble bath. It brings me relaxation, especially Julie London's "Go slow" Boy is that song sexy or what?

Sit back and relax, while the lights dim down low...
This album was one of my first forays into the lounge/easy listening music of the 1950s and 60s. I bought it during the summer of 2004 and haven't looked back since! I now own nearly 14 entries in the Ultra-Lounge series, including their Christmas Cocktails pt. 1 & 2, but this album is one of my absolute favorites. To me, Rhapsodesia is the epitome of late night, end of the day, melt your sorrows away music. It is slinky, sexy, and ready made for a candle lit dinner for two. Just press play on the old hi-fi system and let songs such as "Go Slow," "You're My Thrill," and the poignant "Tenderly," performed by none other than Jackie Gleason himself, do the wooing of your sweet heart for you!

Comprised of hits by well known artists, Rhapsodesia also features many lesser known renditions from the Capitol Records vaults - and many of the tracks are only available on CD from Ultra-Lounge. I highly recommend this album, to anyone who's ever dreamed of, been in, or fallen out of love. Remember the good times and forget the bad. Dim the lights, pour yourself a martini, and treat yourself to Rhapsodesia.

Light Mood Music for Lounge Lovers
This volume is not one of my immediate favorites in the series, but it does have a charm that is inescapable.

Standouts include The Mallet Men's hypnotic "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes," Julie London's steamy "Go Slow," Jackie Gleason's misty, longing "Tenderly" (check out his wonderful set, 'The Romantic Moods of Jackie Gleason') and great George Shearing's sweeping, dramatic "If I Should Lose You."

Milt Buckner (who did "The Beast," one of the best tracks on Vol.4) turns in another winner with the sexy, silky, seductive "Turquoise," although much of the praise is due to the saxophonist. I totally agree with one of the below reviews about Les Baxter's "Lunar Rhapsody." It sounds like a spacey fluff piece at the beginnins, but when that theremin flows in, you're taken away... "Girl Talk" is probably the most memorable song here, if only for the reason that the tune will worm its way into your brain and never leave. The liner notes call it "a pink powder puff of cushioned insinuation." You can't describe it any better than that. It recalls memories of Santo and Johnny's era-defining "Sleepwalk." Perhaps the compiler thought this too, because a version of that song isn't long after. The gently swinging introduction lets you know something special is ahead, and it is. This is a great cover, although I must confess I've never heard a bad one. (The Brian Setzer Orchestra does an incredible Grammy-winning version on their 'Dirty Boogie' CD.) And you know it wouldn't be complete without a cover of "Fever." (The original by Peggy Lee is on Volume 5.) With its pounding opening, its naughty muted trumpet, and chiming, climbing vibes, this is easily the jazziest entry on this volume, with its snazzy, slightly audacious feel.

Al Anthony's enchanting "Ebb Tide" puts you under a spell. When you hear this one, it's best to just sit back, close your eyes, and let the music wash over you like ocean waves. This, lounge lizards, is mood music at its greatest.

A great late-night soundtrack (along with Volume 4), this is one everyone should hear.