Cole Porter - Night And Day

            also known as

Night & Day – The Very Best of Cole Porter

Louise Gold starred as Reno Sweeney from Anything Goes, Reader’s Digest Recording

Catalogue number:  (CD) RDCD 1181-3, (Cassette) RDC 9281-3, (2004 reissue CD) RDCD4571-3

 

Cast

Thomas Allen (as Fred Graham from Kiss Me Kate)

Graham Bickley (as Bill Calhoun from Kiss Me Kate)

Sally Burgess

Clare Burt

Paul Collis (as Paul from Kiss Me Kate – in some versions the character is called Ralph)

Janice Day

Gregg Edelman (as Billy Crocker from Anything Goes)

Louise Gold (as Reno Sweeney from Anything Goes)

Brian Greene (as 1st Gangster from Kiss Me Kate)

Tara Hugo (as Erma from Anything Goes)

Salena Jones

Darryl Knock

Diane Langton (as Lois Lane from Kiss Me Kate)

Michael Law

Simon Masterson-Smith (as the Captain from Anything Goes)

Diana Montague (as Lilli Vanessi from Kiss Me Kate)

Katrina Murphy (as Hope Harcourt from Anything Goes)

Shezwae Powell (as Hattie from Kiss Me Kate)

Bertice Reading

Liz Robertson

Julia Shore

Issy Van Randwyck

Elisabeth Welch (as Haidee from Nymph Errant and other characters)

Matt Zimmerman (as 2nd Gangster from Kiss Me Kate and Moon-Face-Martin from Anything Goes)

 

Production Team

Music and Lyrics - Cole Porter

 Conductors - Jonathan Cohen, Michael Law, John Owen Edwards, Paul Sawtell, Neil Thornton, Chris Walker, Roger Webb, and, Martin Yates

Produced by JAY/TER

Sleeve notes - The Reader’s Digest Ltd

 

Track Listing

Volume 1: Melodies That Will Live Forever RDCD 1181 / RDCD4571

1. Wunderbar (from Kiss Me Kate) - Thomas Allen and Diana Montague with the NSO conducted by John Owen Edwards

2. Why Can’t You Behave (from Kiss Me Kate) - Diane Langton with the NSO conducted by John Owen-Edwards

3. Easy To Love (from Anything Goes) - Gregg Edelman with the NSO conducted by John Owen Edwards

4. Were Thine That Special Face (from Kiss Me Kate) - Thomas Allen with the NSO conducted by John Owen Edwards

5. So In Love (from Kiss Me Kate) - Diana Montague with the NSO conducted by John Owen Edwards

6. I Get A Kick Out Of You (from Anything Goes) - Louise Gold with the NSO conducted by John Owen Edwards

7. We Open In Venice (from Kiss Me Kate) - Graham Bickley, Diane Langton, Thomas Allen, and, Diana Montague with the NSO conducted by John Owen Edwards

8. Brush Up Your Shakespeare (from Kiss Me Kate) - Brian Greene and Matt Zimmerman, with the NSO conducted by John Owen Edwards

9. Where Is The Life That Late I Lead (from Kiss Me Kate) - Thomas Allen with the NSO conducted by John Owen Edwards

10. Anything Goes (from Anything Goes) - Louise Gold, and company, with the NSO conducted by John Owen Edwards

11. It’s Delovely (from Anything Goes, and, Red Hot & Blue) - Gregg Edelman and Katrina Murphy, with the NSO conducted by John Owen Edwards

12. Friendship (from Anything Goes, and, Du Barry Was A Lady) - Louise Gold and Matt Zimmerman, with the NSO conducted by John Owen Edwards

13. Another Op’nin’, Another Show (from Kiss Me Kate) - Shezwae Powell and company, with the NSO conducted by John Owen Edwards

14. Public Enemy Number One (from Anything Goes) - Simon Masterson-Smith and Company, with the NSO conducted by John Owen Edwards

15. Buddy Beware (from Anything Goes) - Tara Hugo and Quartet, with the NSO conducted by John Owen Edwards

16. Bianca (from Kiss Me Kate) - Graham Bickley and Company with the NSO conducted by John Owen Edwards

17. Always True To You In My Fashion (from Kiss Me Kate) - Diane Langton with the NSO conducted by John Owen Edwards

18. All Through The Night (from Anything Goes) - Gregg Edelman with the NSO conducted by John Owen Edwards

 

Volume 2: Magical Memories RDCD 1182 / RDCD4572

1. Night And Day (from Gay Divorce) - Darryl Knock with the NSO Ensemble conducted by Martin Yates

2. In The Still Of The Night (from Rosalie) - Clare Burt with the NSO Ensemble conducted by Martin Yates

3. Miss Otis Regrets (from Hi Diddle Diddle) - Sally Burgess with the NSO Ensemble conducted by Neil Thornton

4. Just One Of Those Things (from Jubilee) - Darryl Knock with the NSO Ensemble conducted by Martin Yates

5. I Love Paris (Can Can) - Clare Burt with the NSO Ensemble conducted by Martin Yates

6. All Of You (from Silk Stockings) - Darryl Knock with the NSO Ensemble conducted by Martin Yates

7. Get Out Of Town (from Leave It To Me) - Bertice Reading with the NSO Ensemble conducted by Roger Webb

8. Solomon (from Nymph Errant) - Elisabeth Welch live with instrumental accompaniment

9 It’s Alright With Me (from Can Can) - Darryl Knock with the NSO Ensemble conducted by Martin Yates

10. What Is This Thing Called Love (Wake Up And Dream) - Elisabeth Welch with Ensemble conducted by Jonathan Cohen

11. True Love (from High Society) - Salena Jones with the NSO Ensemble conducted by Paul Sawtell

12. I Concentrate On You (from Broadway Melody Of 1940) - Darryl Knock with the NSO Ensemble conducted by Martin Yates

13. Allez-Vous-En (from Can Can) - Clare Burt with the NSO Ensemble conducted by Martin Yates

14. Love For Sale (from The Newyorkers) - Elisabeth Welch live with instrumental accompaniment

15. You Do Something To Me (from Fifty Million Frenchmen) - Clare Burt with the NSO Ensemble conducted by Martin Yates

16. From This Moment On (from Out Of This World) - Liz Robertson with the NSO Ensemble conducted by Chris Walker

17. Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye (from Seven Lively Arts) - Issy Van Randwyck with the NSO conducted by Martin Yates

 

Volume 3: Golden Favourites 1183 | RDCD4573

1. You’re The Top (from Anything Goes) - Gregg Edelman and Louise Gold, with the NSO conducted by John Owen Edwards

2. Blow, Gabriel Blow (from Anything Goes) - Louise Gold, and the company, with the NSO conducted by John Owen Edwards

3. Begin The Beguine (from Jubilee) - Michael Law with the Piccadilly Dance Orchestra conducted by Michael Law

4. I’ve Got You Under My Skin (from Born To Dance) - Michael Law and Janice Day, with the Piccadilly Dance Orchestra conducted by Michael Law

5. How Could We Be Wrong (from Nymph Errant) - Michael Law and Julia Shore, with the Piccadilly Dance Orchestra conducted by Michael Law

6. Silk Stockings Medley (from Silk Stockings) - the NSO conducted by John Owen Edwards

7. Can-Can Medley (from Can Can) - the NSO conducted by John Owen Edwards

8. Too Darn Hot (from Kiss Me Kate) - Paul Collis and company, with the NSO conducted by John Owen Edwards

9. Let’s Do It, Let’s Fall In Love (Paris, English production of Wake Up And Dream) - Michael Law and Julia Shore, with the Piccadilly Dance Orchestra conducted by Michael Law

10. My Heart Belongs To Daddy (Leave It To Me)- Julia Shore with the Piccadilly Dance Orchestra conducted by Michael Law

11. Rosalie (from Rosalie) - Michael Law with the Piccadilly Dance Orchestra conducted by Michael Law

12. Experiment (from Nymph Errant) - Michael Law and Julia Shore, with the Piccadilly Dance Orchestra conducted by Michael Law

13. Jubilee Medley (from Jubilee) - the NSO conducted by John Owen Edwards

14. Out Of This World Medley (from Out Of This World) - the NSO conducted by John Owen Edwards

 

The Cassettes follow the same track listing as the CDs with: the first cassette containing CD1 Tracks 1 to 9 on Side A and Tracks 10 to 18 on Side B, the second cassette containing CD2 Tracks 1 to 8 on Side A and Tracks 9 to 17 on Side B, and the third cassette containing CD3 Tracks 1 to 7 on Side A and Tracks 8 to 14 on Side B.

The CD (RDCD 1181-3), and, cassette (RDC 9281-3) were originally issued in 1996, as Cole Porter Night And Day. In 2004 they were reissued (and given a wider release) as the CD RDCD 4571-3 with the title Night & Day The Very Best Of Cole Porter.

The material on this album from Anything Goes (Easy To Love, I Get A Kick Out Of You, Anything Goes, It’s Delovely, Friendship, Public Enemy Number One, Buddie Beware, All Through The Night, You’re The Top, and, Blow Gabriel Blow), starring: Louise Gold with Gregg Edelman, Matt Zimmerman, Katrina Murphy, Brian Greene, Tara Hugo and Simon Masterson-Smith and conducted by John Owen Edwards comes from the JAY/TER recording of Anything Goes - Website Recommended Album

An excerpt of Louise Gold’s recording of I Get A Kick Out Of You has also managed to find its way onto The History Of The Musical

Clare Burt, Gregg Edelman, and, Louise Gold also feature on Cabaret, which was also conducted by John Owen Edwards

Gregg Edelman, Simon Masterson-Smith, Katrina Murphy, Louise Gold, and, Matt Zimmerman also features on On The Town, which also featured the NSO conducted by John Owen Edwards

Katrina Murphy also features on Stop The World I Want To Get Off, which also featured the NSO conducted by Martin Yates

Thomas Allen, Graham Bickley, Louise Gold, and, Selena Jones, along with the conducting of John Owen Edwards, Paul Sawtell, and, Martin Yates also feature on The Best Of Broadway Musicals, which also features this albums recording of I Get A Kick Out Of You from Anything Goes.

Thomas Allen, Graham Bickley, Clare Burt, Louise Gold, Katrina Murphy, Shezwae Powell, and, Issy Van Randwyck, along with the NSO conducted by John Owen Edwards, and, Martin Yates also feature on Encore - The Very Best From The Musicals, which also features this album’s recordings of Blow Gabriel Blow from Anything Goes, and Another Op’n Of Another Show from Kiss Me Kate.

Thomas Allen, Graham Bickley, Gregg Edelman, Louise Gold, and, Katrina Murphy, along with the NSO conducted by John Owen Edwards and Martin Yates also feature on Great Duets From The Musicals, which also feature this album’s recording of You’re The Top from Anything Goes.

Graham Bickley, Clare Burt, Gregg Edelman, and, Katrina Murphy can also be heard on Simply Musicals, which also features the NSO conducted by John Owen Edwards, and, Martin Yates. That album also contains the same recording of Anything Goes (sung by Louise Gold).  

Louise Gold and Matt Zimmerman also appeared together in the stage version of Anything Goes, where they dueted Friendship.

Louise Gold and Matt Zimmerman also appeared in Let ‘Em Eat Cake

John Owen Edwards’s previous musical direction credits include Metropolitan Mikado and a concert of highlights from Ratepayers' Iolanthe & Metropolitan Mikado

Martin Yates’s credits include writing the music for a musical called The Soap Opera

Graham Bickley also appeared in The Pirates Of Penzance (Stage) and with the cast of that show in The Pirates Of Penzance (Gala Performance), The Pirates Of Penzance (Gala Preview), and, The Pirates Of Penzance (Benefit Preview).

Graham Bickley, Diane Langton, Liz Robertson, and, Matt Zimmerman also appeared in The Royal Variety Performance (1982)

Diane Langton and Liz Robertson also appeared in Chicago & Company

Shezwae Powell and Elisabeth Welch also appeared in Kids At Heart

Liz Robertson and Elisabeth Welch also appeared in: A Time To Start Living

Liz Robertson and Issy Van Randwyck went on to appear in: Regents Park 70th Anniversary Gala, and to take part in Shopping With The Stars 2008.

Liz Robertson also appeared in Noel/Cole: Let’s Do It, Side By Side By Sondheim, Side By Side By Sondheim 25th Anniversary Gala, Happily Ever After, Side By Side By Sondheim 30th Anniversary Gala, and A Celebration Of The Life And Work Of Dick Vosburgh, and on the album Noel/Cole: Let’s Do It (Recording) (where she was involved in singing another version of From This Moment On). She also took part in Shopping With The Stars 2009.

Issy Van Randwyck also appeared in: Love Life, By Jupiter, Kiss Me Kate, Hot & Spicey 2 and Dress Circle Grand Reopening

Liz Robertson may have appeared in Will-Aid, which Jonathan Cohen may also have been involved with.

Diane Langton may have appeared in Comedy Tonight

Diane Langton and Schezwae Powell went on to appear in Follies

Diane Langton’s recording credits include Defiant Dames

Chris Walker has gone on to work on Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Thomas Allen, Brian Greene, Schezwae Powell, Julia Shore, Issy Van Randwyck, and, Matt Zimmerman, along with The Piccadilly Dance Orchestra, and The National Symphony Orchestra conducted by John Owen Edwards and Martin Yates also feature on The History Of The Musical which includes excerpts from Louise Gold’s recording of I Get A Kick Out Of You, and, Brian Greene & Matt Zimmerman’s recording of Brush Up Your Shakespeare.

Clare Burt, Brian Greene, Darryl Knock, Simon Masterson-Smith, and, Matt Zimmerman, along with The National Symphony Orchestra conducted by John Owen Edwards and Martin Yates can also be heard on another Readers Digest album The Greatest Musicals of the 20th Century, as can the recordings of: I Get A Kick Out Of You, I Love Paris, It’s Alright With Me, and, Brush up Your Shakespeare on this album.

Clare Burt has gone on to appear in A Love Letter To Dan.

Thomas Allen was a guest on the TV programme The Ghost Of Faffner Hall.

Graham Bickley, Paul Collis, Louise Gold, and, Diane Langton along with The National Symphony Orchestra conducted by John Owen Edwards, and, Martin Yates can be heard on The Great Musicals - Wonderful Tales, as can the recordings of Anything Goes, and Two Darn Hot on this album; which was also produced by The Reader’s Digest.

Clare Burt’s recording credits include Centre Stage Showtime!; Which also features The National Symphony Orchestra; along with maestros John Owen Edwards, and, Martin Yates.

Thomas Allen, Graham Bickley, Louise Gold, Michael Law, Diana Montague, and, Katrina Murphy’s recording credits include The Great Musicals – Glamour And Majesty. This also involved the National Symphony Orchestra, and, the Piccadilly Dance Orchestra; with the maestros Michael Law, John Owen Edwards, and, Martin Yates. The album was also produced by The Readers Digest; and includes the same recordings of Wunderbar, and, I Get A Kick Out Of You.

Thomas Allen, Graham Bickley, Michael Law, Katrina Murphy, Julia Shore, and, Elisabeth Welch’s recording credits include The Great Musicals – Dashing Heroes, Blushing Maidens; This also involved The National Symphony Orchestra, and, The Piccadilly Dance Orchestra; with maestros Michael Law, John Owen Edwards, and, Martin Yates. It was also produced by The Readers Digest. This includes the same recording of Were Thine That Special Face.

Sally Burgess, Gregg Edelman, Louise Gold, Darryl Knock, Diane Langton, Liz Robertson, Issy Van Randwyck, and, Elisabeth Welch’s recording credits include The Great Musicals – Laughter And Tears; This also involved The National Symphony Orchestra; with maestros John Owen Edwards, Chris Walker, and, Martin Yates. This album was also produced by The Readers Digest. This includes the same recording of You’re The Top.

Thomas Allen, Graham Bickley, Clare Burt, Diana Montague, Katrina Murphy, and, Elisabeth Welch’s recording credits include Magic Of The Musicals; This also involved the National Symphony Orchestra; with maestros Jonathan Cohen, John Owen Edwards, Chris Walker, and, Martin Yates. This includes the same recordings of Anything Goes, and, Wunderbar.

Louise Gold, and, Katrina Murphy’s recording credits include The Best Of The Musicals; this also involved the National Symphony Orchestra / NSO Ensemble, with maestros John Owen Edwards, and, Martin Yates. That album includes the same recording of Anything Goes.

Gregg Edelman, Diane Langton, Issy Van Randwyck, and Elisabeth Welch can also be heard on 100 Hits Musicals; accompanied by The National Symphony Orchestra, with maestros Jonathan Cohen, John Owen Edwards, and, Martin Yates.

Louise Gold has appeared in six and a half Cole Porter shows (and one of those she’s done twice), namely the five shows he wrote for Ethel Merman: Anything Goes, Red Hot & Blue, Du Barry Was A Lady (see: Du Barry Was A Lady (1993 Production), and, Du Barry Was A Lady (2001 Production)), Panama Hattie, and Something For The Boys, as well as Kiss Me Kate, the half being Noel/Cole: Let’s Do It (since it is half by Cole Porter and half by Noel Coward). She has also sung Cole Porter’s songs on stage on various other occasions, such as: A Time To Start Living, A Lost Musicals Occasion, and, her own cabaret LOUISE GOLD...By Appointment. Unfortunately she has seldom recorded Cole Porter. In 2001 she starred on BBC Radio in a broadcast of Du Barry Was A Lady; While in her capacity as a puppeteer she sang (and puppeteered) a parody of I Get A Kick Out Of You as I Get A Kick Out Of U , and, Anything Goes as Anyone’s Nose both on Sesame Street. But the only actual albums she has recorded are Noel/Cole: Let’s Do It (Recording) (where she sang another version of Blow Gabriel Blow)  and, JAY?TER version of Anything Goes - Website Recommended Album, both of which were difficult to come by, although various excerpts from the latter have turned up on a number of compilation albums, including this one, and it eventually went on general release in its own right early in 2004.

Although it is not mentioned anywhere in the sleeve notes for this album, The Readers Digest, besides a variety of mentions in a diverse array of musicals, was itself the inspiration for one Cole Porter musical, Something For The Boys.

Diane Langton has gone on to appear, along with Louise Gold, in Mary Poppins.

Clare Burt, Shezwae Powell, and, Jonathan Cohen may have taken part in Thing A Thon.

 

Review

by Emma Shane, 21 July 2002

If, like me, you are a fan of Cole Porter then this 3 CD set is certainly a welcome addition to any collection, a shame it only seems to be available through The Reader’s Digest. Some of the numbers on it are outstanding. That said there are also some bits one could do very well without. The best tracks on it are performed seriously, with only carefully considered individual embellishments. This is just the way Cole Porter songs should be performed. I for one frequently get fed up with hearing these glorious songs over embellished.

The first CD is indeed full of melodies that will live forever, and on this CD, thankfully, they are performed very much the way they should be if they are to live forever. Many of these songs would not be remembered if they were not introduced in a straightforward manner. That does not mean to say performers may not include their own individual interpretations, for some of the artistes on this disc, in particular: Gregg Edelaman, Louise Gold, Diane Langton, and, Matt Zimmerman, most certainly do perform these songs in their own way, but they still do it in the spirit of the original. Perhaps one could say they perform these songs the way they themselves would have done it had they been around at that time and playing that role in the show where the song was first introduced. In some cases this works magnificently, in other cases it is not so good, but still it is quite listenable to. This CD is entirely songs from Kiss Me Kate and Anything Goes (although some of the latter are interpolations from other shows). Thomas Allen manages more than adequately with the role of Fred Graham/Petruchio from Kiss Me Kate, although he is no match for Howard Keel or even Alfred Drake, his work is more than comparable to Thomas Hampson’s recording of the same role. Diana Montague is also more or less adequate as Kate, perhaps on a par with Patricia Morrison who originated the role. She certainly seems to be no where near as bad as Josephine Barstow was on the EMI Classics recording, although without hearing the crucial I Hate Men number it is a bit difficult to truly judge. Although her singing on: Wunderbar, So In Love, and, We Open In Venice are satisfactory, I still haven’t heard anyone who can sing that role anywhere near as well as either Kathryn Grayson and Louise Gold have done, they truly are incomparable. Tara Hugo has a similar, although less extensive, problem with Buddie Beware. She performs the song very nicely, but there is something not quite perfect about it. There is nothing remotely wrong with her performance, but there just seems to be something missing. That something is the fact that the song was written for Ethel Merman, and although Tara Hugo does her best with it, a case of full marks for trying, she isn’t quite the sort of person the song was written for; and as with most songs written for Merman it does show a bit. Graham Bickley sings the Bill Calhoun/ Lucentio role, from Kiss Me Kate, quite satisfactorily, certainly he is far better than Tommy Rall, and at least on a par with most of the other major people who’ve done the role. Only George Devorsky may possibly be just that bit better. But to all intents and purposes he is most certainly more than good enough. singing the Billy Crocker role from Anything Goes, Gregg Edelman has the advantage of performing some excellent but slightly less well known ballads, Easy To Love and All Through The Night, needless to say he handles both of these very well, as a soloist. He also duets very satisfactorily with Katrina Murphy in It’s Delovely, although as an interpolation the song is a little out of place, but it is such a funny song one can adjust to that.

There are two really memorable performances on this first disc. Diane Langton singing the role of Lois Lane/Bianca from Kiss Me Kate is one of the surprises of the album. I had not heard her Kiss Me Kate recording before, but I was extremely impressed by it. Having been played by Houston Texas’s Ann Miller, in the film, and on the EMI Classics album by Chattanooga Tennessee’s Kim Criswell, it seems to be becoming something of a tradition for the character to have a Southern States accent, and it is here that British Diane Langton does an outstanding Tennessee twang. To hear her sing Why Can’t You Behave on this album you’d really and truly think she was from Tennessee! In fact the first time I heard her recording of the song, not having read the sleeve notes, I actually thought “Is this the EMI Classics version?” Her rendition of Always True To You In My Fashion sounds rather less Tennessee, but both numbers are excellent. Good though the Kiss Me Kate excerpts are, the more memorable tracks on this album are those from Anything Goes, partly because this particularly excellent recording of Anything Goes is not widely available, and partly, because it includes an outstanding performance from one of Britain’s very best interpreters of Cole Porter songs, Louise Gold. With her big brassy pipes Louise Gold gives as some idea of what it might have been like to hear The Mighty Merman perform I Get A Kick Out Of You. She may not sing this quite as sweetly as Kim Criswell, but she does sing it with a lot of  warmth and feeling, and captures the songs original distinctive sound in a way that no other current performer seems able to. Friendship is a Cole Porter classic that Louise Gold has performed on several occasions, both in it’s Anything Goes incarnation, and in it’s original Du Barry Was A Lady incarnation. Unlike: Ethel Merman (who, legend has it, always performed a song exactly the same way, no matter where she was performing it) and Kim Criswell (who quite wisely, for her, tends to stick to a single interpretation she can make work) Louise Gold has done at least two different interpretations of this song. She appears to be partial to no particular way of doing a song, just whichever way will work best in the particular context in which she is singing it, and even in the same context she may, on occasion, make alterations to her way of presenting the song. Here the song is a wonderful competitive duet, Matt Zimmerman being one of the few singers (Jerry Nelson, Jessica Martin, and, Louise Plowright are some others) who can actually duet with Louise Gold without getting overshadowed. On this CD the magnificent Louise Gold, under the always excellent musical direction of John Owen Edwards, gives us one more Cole Porter classic, the title song from Anything Goes, and boy is it a stunning recording of that song. Here she let’s rip, giving the song all the power that Ethel Merman must’ve given it. But at the same time retaining her own personality. Louise Gold does not actually do an imitation of Ethel Merman, yet she is the closest thing we have to The Mighty Merman, but for all that she remains very much herself. This song, Anything Goes, is a triumph for her, it might even be a metaphor for her singing style.

The second CD is the least remarkable of the three. It is supposed to be magical moments, but I could not find anything particularly magical about any of the moments on it. I don’t know if the absence from this CD of that excellent conductor John Owen Edwards had anything to do with that.  At best it seems to be very much background music. I won’t single out any particular performers, but even some singers who are normally excellent were somewhat unremarkable. While some tracks are better than others, for the most part I found this CD is quite simply boring.

The third CD does indeed contain some golden moments, especially those moments conducted by the wonderful John Owen Edwards. The various selections from the Piccadilly Dance Orchestra, conducted by Michael Law, are a good example of how Cole Porter’s classic songs became famous, being performed by dance bands, so I suppose it is quite appropriate to include them on this album. Far more interesting, however, are three stunning medleys, from: Silk Stockings, Can Can, Jubilee, and, Out Of This World. This quartet has that wonderfully lush sound of John Owen Edwards’s conducting. This is a great way to hear those Cole Porter tunes in a dance or instrumental setting. The first two tracks on this CD, however, You’re The Top, and, Blow Gabriel Blow, quite literally fit the title ‘Golden moments’. In a way it is a great shame they start the CD off, as it makes it that march harder for any other track to really follow that. You’re The Top may not be performed quite the way Ethel Merman would have done it, what with Louise Gold’s gift for changing accent several times a song (if she wants to, she can, and does, change accent every other line of a song), not to mention the way Gregg Edelman gets overshadowed by his lively co-star, but the spirit of the song remains intact (another of Louise Gold’s gifts is that, rather like The Muppets, she can do the most extraordinary things to a song, without spoiling it one little bit). In fact her performance actually benefits the song immeasurably. You’re The Top is probably one of Cole Porter’s greatest list songs, but performed properly it can get a bit dull. Between them John Owen Edwards and Louise Gold have managed to use their collective talents to liven it up just enough to make it thoroughly interesting, but without being at all silly. However where this wonderfully lush lively conductor and this glorious brass band of a singer really come into their own is Blow Gabriel Blow. John Owen Edwards conducts is beautifully with distinction. But what really makes the track a true golden moment is that the song is sung with the full blown power that it demands, but very rarely gets. It is a fitting tribute to Cole Porter and Ethel Merman, one of his favourite singers; and it is perfectly performed by one of the current era’s greatest performers of Cole Porter s songs, especially those written for Ethel Merman. I only wish someone would get her to record the whole lot of songs Porter wrote for Merman, from I Get A Kick Out Of You and You’re The Top to The Leader Of The Big Time Band and By The Mississinewah.

All in all by far the best tracks in this 3CD set are those where John Owen Edwards is conducting. This man really can conduct well, and most especially he can conduct Cole Porter’s music well. The highlights of the set include: Owen Edwards conducting four medley’s from various shows, and, a variety of excerpts from the JAY/TER studio cast album of Kiss Me Kate, on the latter Diane Langton should be singled out for her excellent performance of Lois/Bianca, and her southern states accent. But the very best thing about this album is the Anything Goes excerpts. This fantastic recording really deserves a wider audience. Gregg Edelman, and Matt Zimmerman sing very well on it. But the star of the piece is Louise Gold. No one, except possibly Kim Criswell, can sing Cole Porter as well as she can. It is truly fitting that she should feature on this album, especially singing some of those wonderful numbers he wrote for Ethel Merman, which she does so incomparably.

 

 

Links about Cole Porter - Night And Day

 The Reader’s Digest page for this album: https://myrd.readersdigest.co.uk/misc/JVEY-6PWEKL.htm

 

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