Track Listings (8) - Disc #1| All Artists: Ethel Merman Title: Ethel Merman Disco Album Members Wishing: 1 Total Copies: 0 Label: Varese Sarabande Release Date: 1/28/2003 Album Type: Live Genres: Dance & Electronic, Jazz, Special Interest, Pop, Broadway & Vocalists Styles: Disco, Swing Jazz, Nostalgia, Dance Pop, Oldies, Vocal Pop, By Decade, 1970s, Traditional Vocal Pop Number of Discs: 1 SwapaCD Credits: 1 UPC: 030206217025 |
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Search - Ethel Merman :: Ethel Merman Disco Album
 | Ethel Merman Ethel Merman Disco Album Genres: Dance & Electronic, Jazz, Special Interest, Pop, Broadway & Vocalists
The title says it all. This is the disco album "the Merm" recorded in 1979, a few years before her death. Rumor has it that Merman couldn't stand the disco craze that was sweeping the nation in the late '70s, recording her... more » |
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Amazon.com The title says it all. This is the disco album "the Merm" recorded in 1979, a few years before her death. Rumor has it that Merman couldn't stand the disco craze that was sweeping the nation in the late '70s, recording her vocals before the instrumental tracks were laid down. Masterminded by Peter Matz, who produced, arranged, and conducted the whole thing, Merman's disco album is one of those jaw-dropping, "what were they thinking?" UFOs that periodically land on the pop landscape. Merman (at her most bombastic, vibrato-laden) barrels through eight of her signature tunes. All are taken at breakneck speed, and even dramatic show-stoppers, such as "Everything's Coming Up Roses" (from Gypsy), become dance-floor burners. Whether you find the album simply horrifying or an entrancing testimony to the power of people to lose their heads as they fall prey to a dance fad, this collision between two completely different American musical traditions is nothing short of, ahem, breathtaking. --Elisabeth Vincentelli Similarly Requested CDs
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CD ReviewsEthel Merman's last big hurrah Byron Kolln | the corner where Broadway meets Hollywood | 02/23/2004 (4 out of 5 stars) "Ethel Merman's infamous disco album, simply called THE ETHEL MERMAN DISCO ALBUM, has now been reissued on the Fynsworth Alley/Varese Sarabande label, following years of being one of the most coveted and sought-after LP's for Broadway fans.The unstoppable Miss Merman belts out a handful of her biggest songs including tunes from GYPSY as well as her legendary, star-making turn "I Got Rhythm" from GIRL CRAZY.She's backed up by a chorus of singers as well as the droning, monotonous beats of the disco synthesiser. Merman apparently recorded her vocals separately with a piano accompaniment and her vocals were then mixed into the disco arrangements.Surprisingly, this album is quite fun, though Broadway fans are likely to be the only ones who'll really enjoy hearing these classic showtunes in an entirely different light.A great album...now how about a reissue of Mae West's infamous but oh-so-enjoyable GREAT BALLS OF FIRE album???!!!??..." A "Must" for Camp Collectors...And a Real Crowd Pleaser Tomsienyc | New York City | 11/09/2004 (5 out of 5 stars) "I've owned the vinyl for years, and it never ceases to make an impression on visitors, who can scarcely believe such a thing existed. Although it is one of those late-era disco pieces that sounds forumulaic and the programmed beat canned, it IS indeed listenable because of the strength of the underlying broadway classics (by Irving Berlin, others) and the novelty of Merman's unmistakable voice & delivery. Be popular! Everyone wants to hear it, often more than once! I keep mine in a glass case alongside my Michael Jackson -brand soda can, bigfoot tracks, Sea Monkeys other cultural curiousities, until it's time to "boogie."" Ethel Was Riding High - Get A Clue! Geoffrey Mark Fidelman | Sherman Oaks, CA United States | 03/30/2003 (4 out of 5 stars) "When Merman recorded this album in 1979, she was actually enjoying a resurgence in her popularity. Her autobiography was published the year before, and was a best seller. She and Mary Martin had done a one-night-only concert in 1977 that brought no less than five full pages of attention in the New York Times. Ethel was booked four years in advance with her concerts with symphony orchestras. And yes she was doing Merv Griffin, Johnny Carson, The Match Game and Hollywood Squares. The point is, Merman was very aware of publicity, and keeping her name current as opposed to being a nostalgia act. Thus, this disco album. Whether Merman was in good voice (she was), whether Peter Matz orchestrations were original and supportive (they weren't) didn't matter. Just the names Merman and Disco linked together gave Ethel another year's worth of free publicity. She understood the business of show business. She had the performing talent of a genius. When she had her illness in 1983, she was booked to appear on the Oscars, Tonys and Emmys all in the same year. She died the legend she always was. If you want to hear Ethel sing her signature songs (and it really is too bad she didn't record "Blow Gabriel Blow" here; I honestly think that could have been a disco hit) including the rarely recorded "Something For The Boys" with a dance beat, then rush to get a copy of this CD. There are all too few recordings of Merman in stereo as most of what is available on CD was waxed back in the 1930s and 1940s. Forget comparing this album with anything else and enjoy the party!"
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