Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Hi-Fly
2. Born to Be Blue
3. Lullaby of Birdland
4. Stardust
5. Love Is Just Around the Corner
6. This Time the Dream's on Me
7. Just Friends
8. Don'cha Go 'Way Mad
9. Spoken Intro
10. New York, New York Medley: for Me and My Gal/Mack the Knife/Birth of T
11. Sweet Georgia Brown
12. Carioca
13. Too Close for Comfort
14. Lovely Way to Spend an Evening

Disc 2:

1. Day In - Day Out
2. You're Driving Me Crazy
3. Ellington Medley: Cotton Tail/I Didn't Know About You/Don't Get Around
4. Christmas Song/Autumn Leaves
5. Sent for You Yesterday (And Here You Come Today)
6. I'm Nothing Without You
7. After You've Gone
8. These Foolish Things
9. Three Little Words
10. Pennies from Heaven
11. I Get a Kick Out of You
12. Liza (All the Clouds'll Roll Away)
13. Spoken Intro
14. Stairway to the Stars

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #75550 in Music
• Released on: 1999-10-12
• Number of discs: 2
• Dimensions: .31 pounds

Customer Reviews

Velvet Perfection
I confess that until I heard this compilation, I thought that the best years of Mel Torme were behind him by the 1980s. But this collection changed my perception entirely. Not only could Mel still croon like nobody's business, but he could still scat like he had been taking lessons from Ella earlier that day. These CDs really do contain definitive versions of Lullaby of Birdland, a killer anything-but New York, New York medley, and a Christmas Song/Autumn Leaves track with the Frank Wess Orchestra. George Shearing is present on about half the tracks, and is just superb throughout. But the best part of all is that there really aren't any duds here. The pacing, in particular, is magnificent; the sound quality is superb; and the live performances are wonderfully intimate. If you are already a Mel Torme fan, you will want this collection because it is a wonderful final chapter to a monumental musical career. On the other hand, if you are just learning about Mel Torme, then you will definitely want to buy this collection because, hey, if this stuff doesn't get you hooked on Mel, nothing will.

Definitive
This album sums up the last productive years of Torme's long and trailblazing career. A fine collection from the variety of albums spanning 15 years of Torme's special talent. A range of musical collaborations Marty Paich, Big Boss Band, Cleo Laine and of course George Shearing and Torme's own trios. Tributes here (Bing Crosby) creative mixtures of Torme's Heroes (Benny Goodman, Fred Astaire, Ellington and Basie). There are also touches of the classics, live recordings and studio recordings. This collection shows the genius of Mel and reprises much of his earlier work in a very modern style. If you don't have any other Torme's get this one.

Proof that talent like his is rare indeed.
I have so many Torme records I forget about half of them. When I purchased this collection, however, it reminded me of just what a genius he was.

The singing on the first disc reminded me of how great those first Concord discs were. Amazingly, though, the quality never drops throughout the set--all the way to the Disney conert in 1996, right before his unfortunate stroke. This was some of the best music of the 80s and 90s.

Casual Torme fans might not know that most of the record labels he worked with refused to grant him creative freedom. Concord did, and the results are just terrific. For two hours of pure pleasure, buy this collection. It saddens me that there will be no new yearly Torme records anymore, but as long as there's stuff like this in print, it makes life easier.