Title: The Very Best of Mel Tormé Artist: Mel Torme Release Date: 5/21/2007 Label: Warner Jazz Album Type(s): Greatest Hits UPC: 5051442157529 Genre: Vocal Music Styles: Show Tunes, Swing, American Popular Song, Traditional Pop, Vocal Jazz Moods: Cheerful, Confident, Earnest, Refined/Mannered, Exuberant, Playful, Rousing, Sentimental, Soothing, Springlike, Stylish, Intimate, Poignant, Reflective, Sophisticated, Bittersweet, Gentle, Romantic, Sweet, Autumnal, Carefree, Delicate, Freewheeling, Laid-Back/Mellow, Wistful, Amiable/Good-Natured, Elegant Total Copies: 0 Members Wishing: 0 Number of Discs/SwapaCD Credits: 1

1. Lulu's Back in Town
2. Careless Hands
3. Mountain Greenery [Live]
4. Born to Be Blue
5. A Stranger in Town
6. Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered
7. Fascinating Rhythm
8. Puttin' on the Ritz
9. The Lady's in Love with You
10. Lullaby of Birdland
11. Forty-Second Street
12. Harlem Nocturne (Nocturne for the Blues)
13. Sing You Sinners
14. Comin' Home Baby
15. Right Now
16. All That Jazz [From a Man Called Adam]
17. New York, New York
18. It's Delovely [Live]
19. What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life? [Live]
20. Gershwin Medley: I Got Rhythm/Mine/Do-Do-Do/'s Wonderful/Embraceable Yo
21. A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square
22. The Christmas Song

Year Type Label Catalog # 2007 CD Warner Jazz 5144215752

No other editions were found for this album.

Although on the surface it doesn't look very different from the dozens of Mel Tormé compilations available at any one time, the Rhino U.K. release The Very Best of Mel Tormé is easily the best single volume on Tormé ever done. Spanning the '40s to the '80s (which is a real rarity in the world of Tormé), it balances his hits and his best material, adds in the best of his live performances, and appropriately, spends the most time on his career-defining work of the '50s and '60s (when he was recording for Bethlehem, Verve, and Atlantic). The major chart entries of his career, "Careless Hands" and "Comin' Home Baby," are here, as are the best inclusions from iconic LPs like Lulu's Back in Town and fantastic live set pieces like "Mountain Greenery" and "It's Delovely." A bit of his '70s material is also included to show that Tormé was still doing great work during his forgotten decade, and his renaissance of the '80s is covered with "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" (featuring George Shearing). If there's one caveat, it's that Rhino focused more on his Atlantic catalog than the Verve years (which would have required more licensing), but it's a small one -- this is an excellent look at Mel Tormé, and the only better career-spanning compendium is the massive four-disc box The Mel Tormé Collection. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide

Name Credits Al Pellegrini Conductor Florence Halfon Compilation Giovanni Scatola Mastering Keith Shadwick Liner Notes