Rock Bands & Pop Stars
Ella Fitzgerald Pictures
Artist:
Ella Fitzgerald
Origin:
United States, Newport News - VirginiaUnited States
Born date:
April 25, 1917
Death date:
June 15, 1996
Ella Fitzgerald Album: «Oh Lady Be Good!-Best of Gers»
Ella Fitzgerald Album: «Oh Lady Be Good!-Best of Gers» (Front side)
    Album information
  • Customers rating: (4.7 of 5)
  • Title:Oh Lady Be Good!-Best of Gers
  • Release date:
  • Type:Audio CD
  • Label:
  • UPC:
Customers rating
Track listing
Review - Product Description
Ira Gershwin was at these storied 1959 sessions! Here are 17 of the best from the five original LPs: Oh, Lady, Be Good!; But Not for Me; 'S Wonderful; I Got Rhythm , and more!
Review - Amazon.com
Ella recorded five LPs' worth of Gershwin tunes for her songbook series, which was frankly a little much, so this single disc skims the cream. These songs are the ur-texts of American pre-war pop, straightforward love songs made to flow off a singer's tongue, and here they're in the hands of a master. Nelson Riddle's arrangements tend toward the soupy side--the bombastic string sections are distinctly nonjazz--but Ella, as always, sings with absolute taste and authority. She doesn't seem to be living inside the lyrics the way she does with, say, the Cole Porter songbook, but the simplicity of the Gershwins' melodies and sentiments let her get across some gently nuanced, technically exquisite singing. --Douglas Wolk
Customer review
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
- Oh Lady Be Good is BETTER Than Good!

For those who want to hear Ella weave her magic in crisp, sparkling STEREO this is one of the VERY best of her many CDs. On this one she performs a unique, slow-tempo "Oh Lady Be Good" (that's right, SLOW and MELLOW as you've never heard it before and as only she could do it - and this alone is worth the price of admission). All the other top Gershwin goodies ("A Foggy Day", "But not For Me", "The Man I Love", etc.) are enhanced by Nelson Riddle's incomparable arrangements recorded in magnificent wrap-around sound that puts you right in front row center. So buckle up. This is a thrill-ride you'll want to experience again and again and again!

Customer review
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
- Share this lovely masterpiece with the one you love.

Her intonation, timing and sweet delivery are astonishing on this CD. Superb pop/swing arrangements by Nelson Riddle. Beautiful, romantic and entertaining. I don't care who you are, you will regard this as one of the greatest CDs you have ever heard. Not pure jazz like her other "must have" CD's, but this collection of superb Gershwin tunes is her most beautiful.

The liner notes included with this CD sum it up perfectly: "If, as is widely believed, Ella Fitzgerald is the best female jazz singer... her songbook albums constitute her best work... the Gershwin volume is the best of the songbook series and... this is the best of the Gershwin collection, then what you have here is the best of the best of the best of the best."

Customer review
12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
- The Best of the Best....

Ella's voice is part of my childhood. She and George Gershwin played my lullabies. Not a bad introduction to music. Even now when I can't sleep I bring her back and let her sing in my head. Was there ever anything as lovely as Ella's voice? Everything falls away except the for the pure magic of her voice, the orchestra soaring...

This CD comes as close to the old "Ella Sings Gershwin" LP my parents had that I have found. Only "Clap a'Yo Hands" is missing. These are songs you love to listen to and love to sing. All my life I'll be grateful that Ella taught me how to sing! How can you not sing when you hear "Someone to Watch Over Me"? "The Man I Love"? How sweet is "I've Got a Crush on You"? I feel like I've just found buried treasure! I've got more Ella recordings that anything else in my collection, but like the CD itself says, "The Best of the Best of the Best of the Best." It's fabulous to have the all these amazing songs on one CD.

I just got myself a great present. You should get one too!

Customer review
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
- Simply the best

Ella is great and Gershwin is (are?) great. The whole is even greater than the parts, however, in this incredible recording. If you like Ella, you'll love this album. If you like Gershwin, you'll love this album. If you like both, you'll play it until the laser burns a hole in the CD!

Customer review
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
- What a wonderful CD

Every song is a good one, and Ella Fitzgerald's voice is smooth as velvet. This became my favorite CD the first time I heard it. Now I want to order it for everyone I know, it's that good!