C.m. Gleason

Not only was he one of the finest comedians America has ever produced, Jackie Gleason applied his prodigious talents to music as well. With a strong jazz roots background (leaning to mesmerized idolatry when dealing with good trumpet players), Gleason developed a chart-topping series of mood music albums in the '50s, citing his reason for their existence: "Every time I ever watched Clark Gable do a love scene in the movies, I'd hear this really pretty music, real romantic, come up behind him and help set the mood. So I'm figuring that if Clark Gable needs that kinda help, then a guy in Canarsie has gotta be dyin' for somethin' like this!"…

"Jackie Gleason presents 'Riff Jazz' / 'Lazy Lively Love', two "mood music" albums taking their stand-alone place on CD in carefully-remastered, full dimensional sound and with original cover art. As bonus tracks, a rare 1955 single, Capri in May (Je Me Sens Si Bien), which has never been reissued until now, plus two of Gleason's famous themes, You're My Greatest Love (from "The Honeymooners") and Melancholy Serenade (from "The Jackie Gleason Show"), are included. The 12-page booklet includes archival photos and images, a newly-written essay about Gleason's music, and a chronological sessionography with primary releases for these recordings."

Probably the most popular, iconic mood music album ever made, Jackie Gleason s Music for Lovers Only set the stage for untold imitators to come with its evocative album artwork and lush, sweeping soundscapes. Released as a 10" LP in 1952, it set the record which still stands! for most weeks in the Top Ten Album charts at 153, and hit the charts yet again in 1955 when it was released as a 12" LP. But here is where the history of Music for Lovers Only becomes, like most romances, complicated. The original 10" included only eight tracks, but Capitol's first 12" issue of the album added eight more for a total of 16; subsequently, however, the album was reissued on LP with 12 tracks…

This is a fine compilation of Jackie Gleason's output for Columbia. Gleason's objective was to make "musical wallpaper" that should never be intrusive, but rather conducive. He was not musically literate, but never had a problem articulating what he wanted to hear from his orchestra. The music here is quiet, melancholy, and often somber, played at mostly moderate to slow tempos. Each selection seems to flow into the next, achieving Gleason's goal of unobtrusiveness. Collectors may be more interested in seeking out the original LPs that comprise the material here, but for those looking for two CDs worth of some of the most relaxing music ever recorded, this is the place to start.

Music for Lovers Only was first released in 1952 as a 10" LP with only eight songs. In 1953 it was released as an expanded 12" with eight more tracks. The Collectors Choice's Music for Lovers Only/Music to Make You Misty CD does not include the final eight songs, which are "Little Girl," "I Cover the Waterfront," "Some Day," "If I Had You," "When a Woman Loves a Man," "A Stranger in Town," "A Moonlight Saving Time," and "My Love for Carmen." Music for Lovers Only was Gleason's most popular LP and sold over 500,000 copies.

If you only know Jackie Gleason from The Honeymooners, you may be surprised to learn of his renown as a bandleader and forefather of what has come to be called lounge music. Gleason's easy-on-the-ears music is redolent of swank parties and conviviality–concepts that are as timeless as his renditions of such smooth favorites as "I'll Be Home for Christmas" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas."

"Although Nascimento speaks little English," Ralph Gleason writes in the liner notes to this release, "he sings it with assurance and with articulation." In truth, the heavy production hand of Creed Taylor is felt at every point on this project, and the decision to have Nascimento sing in English on this US debut was just one more sign of how this artist was being groomed for crossover success on the pop charts. Taylor had been a behind-the-scenes player in the bossa nova fad, and no doubt saw Nascimento as Brazil's next great musical export.

"Although Nascimento speaks little English," Ralph Gleason writes in the liner notes to this release, "he sings it with assurance and with articulation." In truth, the heavy production hand of Creed Taylor is felt at every point on this project, and the decision to have Nascimento sing in English on this US debut was just one more sign of how this artist was being groomed for crossover success on the pop charts. Taylor had been a behind-the-scenes player in the bossa nova fad, and no doubt saw Nascimento as Brazil's next great musical export.