The BEST Gershwin/Porter album - Perhaps I m romanticizing, but this was THE cd I listened to in high school. The arrangements are absolutely captivating, building new material over the original themes while referencing them so purely. I couldn t imagine a better use of your money than purchasing this album, it will bring you years of joy!
Glowing Coles of Porter... - I can only comment on the Porter half of this recording, as I own it on original vinyl. It s a mono copy, but you wouldn t know it. As usual, excellent engineering from Mercury, who set standards in the early 60 s that still count (IMHO) as best practice.Frederick Fennell is right at home in the warmth of these beautifully wrought Ray Wright orchestrations. As he should be, Wright s day job was orchestrating for Radio City Music Hall. The sound is lush, the dynamics amazing, the performance spot on. It gets four stars only because I can t justify five, not having heard the Gershwin half.I suppose that if you can t find a nice copy to play on a good turntable with a warm amplifier, then this CD would do - but then, you miss the excitement of hearing sound you ve been taught can only come from a CD, magically floating straight up from ancient vinyl.