Cheap Night in Manhattan/Sings Vincent Youmans/Sings Irving Berlin (Music) (Lee Wiley) Price

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Customer Reviews of Night in Manhattan/Sings Vincent Youmans/Sings Irving Berlin

* A SUPERB REISSUE *
This single cd represents three complete 7-inch LPs that Lee Wiley recorded in 1950 & '51. Each original LP consisted of eight songs, and they are all here, 24 tracks in total. In the past, each of these albums has been available individually, on separate cds, but this single disc does away with that costly and potentially dicey method of collecting. This reissue is a success on every level; The sound quality is superb, the songs and albums are in the proper order, and the booklet contains full-page reproductions of the fronts and backs of the original LP sleeves. My cap comes off to Collector's Choice, for this is the type of reissue which music fans often hope for, but seldom see. What's more, this cd is authorized by Sony Music, who owns the original Columbia material, so its sales promote the release of more vintage recordings with the sound quality that only the original masters can provide.

Night In Manhattan is the first of the three albums, and features an impeccable band including, among others, Bobby Hacket (who plays gorgeous trumpet obbligatos around Wiley), and pianist Joe Bushkin. The whole affair is finished with a splendidly light dusting of strings, (Bushkin's "Swinging Strings," in fact), which works perfectly, and does nothing to detract from the album's jazz essence. These are dazzling and profound readings of tunes by Gershwin, Rodgers & Hart, and others, including Oh! Look At Me Now, co-written by Bushkin, and Any Time, Any Day, Anywhere, co-written by Wiley. The entire album is an elegant, sensual, and emotionally stirring affair, which I might call a masterpiece, were I inclined to indulge in such proclamations. At any rate, Night In Manhattan is a wonderful thing, and whom else but Miss Wiley could make going to Coney and eating baloney on a role, (as in the song, Manhattan), sound so elegant?

Sings Vincent Youmans and Sings Irving Berlin each feature a backing of double pianos played by Stan Freeman and Cy Walter. The choice to record two full albums with this instrumentation seems a bit odd, but they more or less make it work. This intimate setting brings Lee Wiley's unmistakable voice front and center, hovering before the listener with amazing clarity, whilst the pianos swirl, jewel-like, behind her. Sure, there are moments where one may wish for some instrumental diversity, but such obstacles are easily overcome by Wiley's mesmerizing vocal spell. The listener is left virtually alone with every splendid nuance of Miss Wiley's voice, and such a thing is not to be missed.

I could go into great detail about all of the wonderful and interesting treatments of great compositions here, or the way Lee tackles a phrase just the right way to draw out a sensual, bittersweet, or witty meaning, but I'll save myself the work and leave these happy discoveries to you.

Enjoy.

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Chill the stemware
Mix a batch of very dry martinis, put on the sublime Miss Wiley, and experience pure pleasure. Her choice of material, phrasing technique and superb vocal quality all contribute to making this collection of her Columbia recordings an exquisite event. Night in Manhattan is especially brilliant..an evocation of a lost city.