Search - Mel Torme, Cleo Laine :: Nothing Without You

LEE K. (koke) from SAINT LOUIS, MO
Reviewed on 8/7/2009...

A must for Torme and Cleo fans.

Great Duet Album By Two Great Legends

03/07/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"One of the Best duet albums Nothing Without You just Shines... Torme and Laine glide through the tunes and Scat-A-Wa...Be Bop for an enjoyable listening experience. ISN'T IT A PITY is a rare Gershwin gem, seldom heard sung. BIRDSONG really sings !!!!!!!!!!!Add this to your Jazz Collection."

"Throw your head right back and sing, sing, sing."

Mary Whipple | New England | 07/06/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Torme and Laine, friends and admirers for years, combine here in a spectacular album which not only showcases their individual talents but combines them in exciting new ways. Torme's lighter, clearer voice is the perfect foil for Laine's darker, fuller one, and, since both have enormous range and an impeccable sense of harmony, their duets are flawless. With Laine's husband and long-time arranger John Dankworth doing most of the arrangements, and Torme collaborating on two tracks and arranging three others, there's a sense of intimacy and a real familiarity with the individual voices which make this CD a truly rare experience.



With perfect timing and rhythm, the two range from the Latin rhythm and drum beats of "I Thought About You" to the big band sound of "I Wish I Were in Love Again" and the jazzy, more free-wheeling "Love You Madly." Harmony is emphasized in two memorable ballads, both arranged by Torme--"Isn't It a Pity" and "Angel Eyes"--where he and Laine play the songs "straight," harmonizing slowly with restrained accompaniment. In "Birdsong" they really fly, singing scat together, so closely in tandem with the sax and clarinet that it is difficult to separate the voices from the instruments. "Girl Talk" and "After You've Gone," two of the best tracks on the album, continue the melding of voices with instruments, which perfectly parallel each other before separating into solos and ranging into scat.



The climax of the CD is "Two Tune Medley," arranged by Torme. Here he combines twenty songs in a spectacular medley in which he sings one song while Laine sings another--"Honeysuckle Rose" and "Sweet Sue," for example. The segues from one song to the next are flawless, as is the band's accompaniment. The track, which lasts less than five minutes, is so smooth that it is over before the listener realizes how many different songs have been blended. As good as Torme and Laine are separately, this album may be one of their real high points. With perfect timing, phrasing, harmony, and rhythm, all of which are also matched by the band, this is a marriage of two talents who could be alteregos. Mary Whipple

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