Search - Sarah Vaughan :: Sings the Mancini Songbook

A spectacular work from a consummate artist

12/10/1998

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Sarah Vaughan provides a stunning collection of some of Henry Mancini's best-known compositions, all sung in lush, grand Sarah style. "Dreamsville" and "How Soon" are gorgeous ballads, "Moon River" has just the right amount of swing, and "Days of Wine and Roses" was never given a more beautiful treatment. The real finds of the album are the exquisite bossa nova ballad "Slow Hot Wind" and the surprisingly clever "Theme from Peter Gunn" (the lyrics were written especially for this project and Sarah Vaughan; instead of a camp effect the lyrics fit the preconceived notion of the song perfectly). All the album's strengths make you forgive the marring choir on "Charade" and the compositional repetition of "I Love You (and Don't You Forget It)." An attestment to the strengths of both Vaughan and Mancini that more than deserves its reissue."

I'm in Dreamsville...........too!

robert oneil | Indiana | 11/05/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"What a fantastic marriage of musical talents !
How perfect could a collaboration be????
This is really outstanding Sarah on an even higher plane.
That Mancini material is all just soooooo delicious and
Sarah knows just what to do to make it all so steamy,
luscious, whimsical and serenely beautiful.
Sarah makes every song lyric important and true......which,
is why she could continue forever.
From the earliest recordings to her last;
she did more than just display the most gorgeous voice in jazz
history.....she made every song lyric come alive with personal meaning.
I am also a huge fan of Henry Mancini.
Naturally, I have a lot to be thankful for !
You will too, when you listen to this wonderful recording.Some of the recordings sound a little muffled and not nearly
as crisp as a recording of today's technology.
That hasn't stopped me from enjoying it, immensely.
You will be astounded, too !"

TWO OF MUSIC'S BEST FRIENDS: MANCINI AND SASSY!

Giovanni | Chicago IL | 04/11/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Henry Mancini may have written some corny things in his illustrious career, (so did Gerswhin, Porter, and Berlin, to name a few) and while Henry Mancini could never attain the heights the aformentioned legends did, he certainly was (and scored) Hollywood legend material, for the big and little screens alike. His work with Johnny Mercer alone is musical perfection. And speaking of musical perfection, it's Sarah Vaughan who tackles a handful of the Mancini songs in this wonderful reissue from Verve. I agree with the former reviewer that the standouts are the ballads, particularly "HOW SOON" and "TOO LITTLE TIME", with their wonderful string arrangements. The sheer golden curtain Sassy drops over you with her vocals on "SLOW HOT WIND' complete with it's latin reeds is down right erotic. I also enjoyed the "starry night" sung "DREAMSVILLE". And yes, the "PETER GUNN" track goes over with aplomb...a great job in restoring the original tapes and cover artwork; a product we havent been able to get much more of since Verve was bought out. Grab this while you can, and enjoy!"