Ella & Louis [Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered, Import]

In any rational list of the 20th-century's top song-stylists, Ella Fitzgerald would have to rank in the Top 5. Ella had a wonderful, distinct voice and style. Many singers have great skills. Many have perfect pitch and great intonation. But very few singers can use their voice like a fine instrument. Ella was one of those select few.

Apart from having a wonderful voice, Ella was next to incomparable when it came to interpreting lyrics. It is no wonder that lyricists loved her and were ecstatic when she covered one of their songs. It is also no wonder that during the course of her career Ella recorded various "Song Books" in which she took the work of a great composer/lyricist and dedicated an album or two to their work. Ella did Irving Berlin, Harold Arlen, Rodgers & Hart, the Gershwins', and Jerome Kern song books among others. They are all wonderful to listen to, all 5-star performances (with the possible exception of the Gershwin song book) but my favorite of all her song books is this one: "Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Song Book".

Although the first half of the 20th century had a surplus of great songwriters (see the above) there was something about Cole Porter's that has kept those lyrics fresh and even edgy in the 21st-century. The pairing of Fitzgerald and Porter then is the equivalent of the perfect. A lyricist whose lyrics are funny, witty, charming and, yes, poetic and a singer capable of doing justice to those great lyrics makes for a memorable CD.

This is a 2-CD set (the product description lists it incorrectly as 4). It contains an awful lot of Porter's great songs. Anything Goes, Too Darn Hot, Let's Do it, and I'm Always True to You in My Fashion are my highlights for CD-1. Night and Day, I've Got You Under My Skin, Love for Sale, and You're the Top, top off CD-2. Ella recorded these in 1956, exactly half a century ago under the auspices of the wonderful producer Norman Granz. Verve Records has restored the masters and the sound quality is excellent for a re-mastered recording.

Cole Porter once said that "In olden days a glimpse of stockings, was looked on as something shocking, Now heaven knows, anything goes." Well, all these decades later these songs go great with anything. You can enjoy them "in the still of the night" or "all through the night". These songs "do something to me" and I can say nothing more than this CD is the tops, it's the Tower of Pisa, it's the smile on the Mona Lisa.

If you can find this available, do yourself a favor and buy it, then sit back and enjoy.

Ella is always a pleasure to listen to, but Ella with classy material is something special. This is what you get on this double album. The "Song Book" series is renown and this is arguably the best.

I own the earlier CD releases as well as this later double album. There is a difference in the sound as a result of the re-mastering but I would not like to say which sounds the better. I do wonder why Verve bothered to re-master when the originals still sound wonderful but do not let this consideration of fine judgement prevent you from buying a great album.

If you are a jazz fan, you've heard most of the songs on this album a hundred times in a thousand different versions, mostly as instrumentals. Now is your chance to hear them as Cole Porter wrote them and, in particular, to pay attention to the lyrics. Porter's powerful poetry would often be banned in today's politcally correct world. Thank god we still have these recordings.

We all have a tendency to think that Sinatra put down the official american songbook soundtrack (please **** off, Rod Stewart, Jaimie whatsit, Bubley and all the rest of you new converts) but Ella's recordings sit side by side with the Chairman of the Board's.

None of Ella's fantastic scat here. Just plain straight forward singing of the songs of one of the 20th century's greatest composers with wonderful arrangements and a fantastic diction which makes printed lyrics unnecessary.

We can all complain about the Cole Porter songs that are missing from this set, but it is wonderful. A couple of tracks with 1950s latin feel have aged enormously, but the majority is just plain brilliant.

If you are a musician you will agree tha Cole Porter's are amongst the most difficult standards to play. Ella will give you a lesson in simplicity that you will never forget.
Just listen to Miss Otis Regrets. This is clearly a desert island disc.