Search - Ella Fitzgerald :: Ultimate Ella Fitzgerald

Not so ultimate

LG | Austin, TX USA | 03/27/2009

(1 out of 5 stars)

"An "ultimate" MP3 collection missing "Mack the Knife" and "Oh, Lady Be Good"? Casual listeners should probably look elsewhere, such as Pure Ella or the very good 1997 Verve CD compilation incorrectly linked to this product, which the first "5-star" reviewer is actually talking about. Perhaps completists will find items to appreciate here... but as a further disappointment, even the sound quality on most tracks appears to be lousy. (I'll stick with my out-of-print Essential Ella Fitzgerald CD.) Surely the compilers of this 2008 set had some goal in mind, but without any description or liner notes, it's hard to know what that was -- haphazardly throwing a large collection together doesn't automatically make this a great value. Disclaimer: I'm not an Ella devotee, and my comments are based solely on the song selection, description and MP3 previews presented here."

Ella - But This One Is For All The Wrong Reasons

Coltbear - A Music Fan | NY/NJ Metro Area | 03/27/2009

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Ella is perhaps my favorite female vocalist, and I have many of her recordings, all of which I love - including most of her Decca and Verve catalogue, the complete "Songbooks" and the "Complete Ella & Louis" among many others, so I feel qualified to know what I'm talking about here.



However, after researching the distributor's site, the X5 Music Group, I came away with a VERY distasteful feeling - they're just in it for the bucks, worse yet, along with Amazon as one of their partners (for this particular release under review.)



When any recording company throws compilation after compilation together and sacrifices quality (as is the case here - many of these songs are unlistenable, as in "If Only You Knew" (#31) - you can hear the needle and scratches on the vinyl, and the sound quality of many others leave a LOT to be desired - I wouldn't touch this compilation (or many other generic ones from the X5 Music Group) at all. You can go to their website and look at their "News" section to see what I'm talking about.



Just because you CAN do something doesn't always mean that you should...

releasing poor quality songs from unknown sources from an artist on a compilation (or in X5's case - MANY compilations), hoping that "they'll reach the Top 10 in the charts," which means profit - not quality or concern for the artist OR the fan.



Do yourself a favor and pick up some fine Ella (and Louis!) compilations on the Verve or Decca labels. You can find many excellent ones such as "Pure Ella," (on Verve or Decca, or both!); "The Best of the Songbooks"; "Ella Fitzgerald - Gold"; "Ken Burns' Jazz" comp of Ella Fitzgerald (which covers songs from 1938 to 1963!) Some include many of the songs on this compilation. All of those mentioned as well as many others are an excellent introduction to Ella, and can be had on Amazon at extremely reasonable prices. Best of all, you can even get a few of them for under $5.00, and believe me - the difference in quality is worth it! If you can't afford Ella's superb 16-CD "Songbooks" collection, which, IMHO, should be required listening for everyone, most libraries have it. Either way, you'll hear some of the FINEST singing you've ever heard in your life - for all the right reasons. They were all compiled with love and respect for the artist as well as their fans. And with Ella, it just doesn't get any better!"

Lotta songs!

Jess | Montana | 03/28/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I agree that this compilation is missing some classics and a few of the recordings are very poor quality. However, there are a LOT of songs! I downloaded the mp3 album for $5 and am hugely enjoying the variety of songs. Definitely worth it if you are a big fan of Ella--more than just the classics!"