Ella Fitzgerald Album: «Something to Live for»

Album information

Customers rating: (4.8 of 5)
Title:Something to Live for
Release date:1999-11-02
Type:Audio CD
Label:Polygram Records
UPC:731454780025

Customers rating

Average (4.8 of 5)(6 votes)
.5 votes
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Track listing

1 - 1 A-tisket A-tasketimg 2:40
1 - 2You Showed Me the Way
1 - 3 Stairway to the Starsimg 3:08
1 - 4 How High The Moonimg 8:01
1 - 5Perdido
1 - 6Can Anyone Explain? Sy Oliver's Orchestra, Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald
1 - 7Ella's Contribution to the Blues
1 - 8 But Not for Meimg 3:15
1 - 9Thanks for the Memory
1 - 10 Ridin' Highimg 3:25
1 - 11 Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbyeimg 3:35
1 - 12 Angel Eyes Roy Eldridge, Herb Ellis, Ella Fitzgerald, Don Abney, Ray Brown and Papa Jo Jonesimg 3:28
1 - 13 Goody Goodyimg 2:26
1 - 14 Oh, Lady Be Goodimg 4:05
2 - 1 The Lady Is A Trampimg 3:27
2 - 2 Body and Soulimg 4:08
2 - 3Airmail Special
2 - 4Midnight Sun
2 - 5 Summertime Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrongimg 2:55
2 - 6 Mack The Knifeimg 4:03
2 - 7 Mistyimg 2:54
2 - 8 The Man I Loveimg 3:57
2 - 9You'll Have to Swing It (Mr. Paganini)
2 - 10 Round Midnightimg 3:16
2 - 11Bill Bailey
2 - 12Yesterdays
2 - 13 Lover Manimg 5:04
2 - 14Dukes Place Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington
2 - 15Sweet Georgia Brown
2 - 16Something to Live For Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington

Review - Product Description

Ella's best Decca and Verve sides, united for the first time! From her Chick Webb years through her reign as the First Lady of Song, this has it all: A-Tisket, A-Tasket; How High the Moon; But Not for Me; Oh, Lady Be Good; The Lady Is a Tramp; Mack the Knife , the title song and 23 more tracks of essential Ella, all in one 2-CD set!

Review - Amazon.com

With a voice that could pretzel and scat and skitter and bellow, Ella Fitzgerald was bound to end up in myriad musical settings. The trouble with Ella's output is exactly its breadth, especially when creating an anthology out of three prime decades of her career. This two-CD set (released as a companion to the American Masters biography aired on PBS) anthologizes for the first time her work done for Decca (from 1935-65) and, later, Norman Granz's Verve Records. The early material, and lots of the later stuff, is infectious, with Fitzgerald chirping and leaping with all the vigor of her youth. "Perdido," a 1949 cut from Granz's Jazz at the Philharmonic, features a grainy but spry band with Roy Eldridge, Charlie Parker, and Fitzgerald singing away from the microphone before chiming in and driving the piece homeward. There are odd spots, like the obviously commercial Nelson Riddle-backed "Man I Love" and "Yesterdays" and the crisp "Angel Eyes" with Barney Kessel on guitar. Ella also freeplays her way through "Mack the Knife" from her fabled Berlin appearance in 1960 and then does wonders with "Duke's Place" backed by the Ellington orchestra. You might find yourself adjusting to the ever-changing instrumental contexts Fitzgerald sings in front of, but overall, you're likely to find yourself charmed by this set. It's bold, and in some ways faulty, in its reach. But at least it reaches high. --Andrew Bartlett

Customer review

PW (Florida, USA)

December 06, 1999

25 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

- FIVE STARS ARE NOT NEARLY ENOUGH

Ella Fitzgerald is one of the best vocalists of all time. And her music is an essential to anyone's collection. Her music has the ability to make you feel so many different emotions. It's best enjoyed with your eyes closed and either alone or with someone you care deeply for. This collection is some of her best performances (not that she ever had a bad one). I highly recommend this CD, and anything else by Ella to anyone who truly loves good music.

Customer review

Mr Likeable (Melbourne, Australia)

July 25, 2005

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

- This collection is more about the singer than the songs

Ella is terrific, and this collection showcases her virtuosity. If you're looking for virtuoso vocal work, look no further and buy this!

But I find this set - and some of Fitzgerald's other collections - a little frustrating. Don't get me wrong - it's easy to cull a very, very nice iPod playlist from these songs.

But if you specifically want to listen to great interpretations of great songs, there's quite a bit of filler here. It seems that quite a few of Ella's performances become "about the singer and the singing" rather than remaining true to the substance of the songs. "Mack the Knife" is, of course, a famous case in point as Ella replaces forgotten verses with an improvised commentary on the fact that she has forgotten them. But too many of the songs on this collection follow a similar path: the core of many of the songs are replaced by demonstrations of vocal skill, and large chunks of lyrical content are shunned, only to be replaced by Ella's (admittedly excellent) scat - or by sung descriptions of singing. Enough I say!

In summary: If you're looking for documentation around one of the greatest live-show singers of all-time, then this is a nice document. If, however, you're looking for magnificent delivery of magnificent songs - where the songs are truly revered - I'd have to suggest that this package - and quite a bit of Ella's material - comes up a little short. And that's the criteria on which I like to make my purchases. I hope this helps your selection, and ultimately: this is a collection that includes some awesome interpretations of awesome songs.

Customer review

VESP11 "vesp11" (Commack, NY USA)

January 14, 2013

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

- 5 stars

Classic Ella - great 2 CD set - have so many of her music and there are some repeats, but also some hard to find songs