The Wildest! (1957) is the first album by Louis Prima and Keely Smith with Sam Butera and The Witnesses. Prima had found the right cast for his mad mixture of swing, Italian double talk and deadpan humor, and this album became an instant classic. Every track is a gem, infused by Prima's infectious vocal and trumpet work. Among the hits are Just A Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody" and Jump, Jive 'An Wail," both of which were revived (note for note) decades later by David Lee Roth and Brian Setzer respectively. The sound sparkles on this album, recorded in Capitol's legendary Studio A. For this reissue, we have gone back to the original tapes and remastered them in 24-bit. Four tunes from a singles session five months afterwards have been added to this CD issue. |
*bonus tracks |
JULIE LONDON - About The Blues (Capitol Jazz 38695)
Julie London was the ultimate supper club singer; the archetypal dame with the sultry voice and amazing body, ready to drink you under the table. Her 1957 album About The Blues is one of her finest because all the material is first class and so well suited to her voice and style. From the Harold Arlen classics I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues" and Blues In The Night" to the more recent Meaning Of The Blues" and Baby, Baby, All The Time" by husband Bobby Troup, she casts a spell with her breathy contralto. Russ Garcia did the arrangements on this mid fifties album. Four bonus tracks from the sessions, originally issued only as singles, have been added to this first CD issue of About The Blues. |
*bonus tracks |
NAT KING COLE - At The Sands (Capitol Jazz 38694)
At The Sands is the only official live recording by Nat Cole, recorded in Las Vegas in 1960 when he was at the peak of his popularity as a pop singer. Still, the live setting and swinging big band arranged by Dave Cavanaugh find Cole still very much in a jazz frame of mind. He even sits at the piano for an instrumental version of Where Or When". Added to the original album is Mr. Cole Won't Rock & Roll" from the show and a rare 1959 instrumental single of In A Mellow Tone" and Whatcha' Gonna Do". All of the music has been remixed from the original three-track masters and mastered in 24-bit. |
*bonus tracks |
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