Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Where or When
2. Stranger in Town
3. Day by Day
4. Willow Road
5. Born to Be Blue
6. What Is This Thing Called Love?
7. Get Out of Town
8. For You, for Me, for Evermore
9. It's Dreamtime
10. Gone With the Wind
11. Cottage for Sale
12. Makin' Whoopee
13. Night and Day
14. County Fair
15. Three Little Words
16. Love Me or Leave Me
17. How High the Moon
18. Careless Hands
19. Blue Moon
20. Again
21. Four Winds and the Seven Seas
22. Got the Gate on the Golden Gate
23. Cross Your Heart
24. Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered
25. It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)
26. All of You

Disc 2:

1. That Old Black Magic
2. Mountain Greenery
3. Bernie's Tune
4. Goody Goody
5. I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)
6. All This and Heaven Too
7. Isn't It Romantic?
8. Lulu's Back in Town
9. Blues
10. Lullaby of Birdland
11. Carioca
12. Fascinating Rhythm
13. Lady Is a Tramp
14. I Got Plenty O' Nuttin'
15. Nice Work If You Can Get It
16. Way You Look Tonight
17. Foggy Day
18. Something's Gotta Give
19. Cheek to Cheek
20. Just One of Those Things
21. I'm Beginning to See the Light
22. It's All Right With Me
23. Autumn Leaves
24. Poor Little Extra Girl

Disc 3:

1. Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square
2. These Foolish Things
3. Try a Little Tenderness
4. Prelude to a Kiss
5. I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart
6. Blues in the Night
7. Vaya Con Dios (May God Be with You)
8. Frenesi
9. At the Crossroads (Malaguena)
10. It Happened in Monterey
11. Too Close for Comfort
12. Swingin' on the Moon
13. Medley from Wildcat: Far Away from Home/Angelina
14. I'm Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town
15. Sent for You Yesterday (And Here You Come Today)
16. By Myself
17. When the World Was Young
18. It's De-Lovely
19. Dat Dere
20. On Green Dolphin Street
21. Walking Shoes

Disc 4:

1. Comin' Home Baby
2. Right Now
3. Cast Your Fate to the Wind
4. Hey, Look Me Over!
5. 42nd Street
6. Sunday in New York
7. You'd Better Love Me
8. I've Got You Under My Skin
9. Folks Who Live on the Hill
10. Haven't We Met?
11. Strangers in the Night
12. Day in the Life of Bonnie and Clyde
13. Yesterday, When I Was Young
14. What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?
15. Gershwin Medley: I Got Rhythm/Mine/Do-Do-Di/'s Wonderful/Embraceable
16. Pick Yourself Up
17. Best Is Yet to Come
18. Zaz Turned Blue
19. Big City Blues
20. Theme from Arthur (Best That I Can Do)
21. Christmas Song

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #124614 in Music
• Released on: 1996-06-04
• Number of discs: 4
• Format: Box set

Amazon.com
Mel Torme has always resented his famous nickname, "The Velvet Fog," not because it's inaccurate, but because it only captures one small aspect of his music-making. He does have a velvety baritone that creates a breathy intimacy on certain romantic ballads. But he has done much, much more in a 67-year professional career that began when he was a four-year-old novelty singer for Chicago's Coon-Sanders Nighthawk Band in 1929 and continues today as the last of the great pre-rock crooners whose voice is still in good shape. That career is nicely summarized in the 4 CD, 92-track box set, "The Mel Torme Collection: 1944-1985" (Rhino). --Geoffrey Himes

Customer Reviews

The Velvet Fog - Peerless
This set is very well put together. The book walks through Mel's career from when he was a child onward and has many great color and b&w photos. The recording quality is excellent. It contains many tracks that are unavailable elsewhere (like Mel's nightclub version of the theme from "Arthur"). It also has great cuts from "Mel Torme In Hollywood" -- live at the old Crecendo Club. Sound quality is very good even on these live cuts. Nice loungy feel. This set avoids some of the dopey stuff Mel did for Capitol records in the 60's (like remakes of Rock songs to try to sound 'hip') --- Mel hated having to do that stuff. This set sticks to classic Torme stuff (Chiristmas Song, etc.). I only wish there were more cuts where he scatted. He and Ella are known as the most reknowned scat singers of our time but you don't get much of a feel for that on this set.

There's only one cut really we could have done without -- "Zaz Turned Blue." There's a bizzare story behind that number that's detailed in the booklet and it's kind of a goofy tune-- still Mel's voice is as velveteen as ever on it.

Real Torme fans should own this set.

A Stranger in The Night
The Boxset swings hard and fast, check out, "It Don't Mean A Thing", the classic "Stangers in the Night", and amazing live version of, "The Best Is Yet To Come"

Mel Torme Can Save Your Life
If you adore the Great American Songbook get this collection.

In my opinion, Mr. Torme remains almost peerless interpreting 40s-80s jazz/pop standards with songwriter sensitivity and empathy.