Phil Carmen

Carmen McRae always had a nice voice (if not on the impossible level of an Ella Fitzgerald or Sarah Vaughan) but it was her behind-the-beat phrasing and ironic interpretations of lyrics that made her most memorable. She studied piano early on and had her first important job singing with Benny Carter's big band (1944), but it would be another decade before her career had really gained much momentum. McRae married and divorced Kenny Clarke in the '40s, worked with Count Basie (briefly) and Mercer Ellington (1946-1947), and became the intermission singer and pianist at several New York clubs. In 1954 she began to record as a leader' and by then she had absorbed the influences of Billie Holiday and bebop into her own style.

This is an unusual set that has been reissued on CD. During an era when many Broadway and movie scores were recorded in jazz settings (thanks in part to the success of Shelly Manne's best-selling My Fair Lady album), guitarist Barney Kessel chose to interpret nine melodies from Bizet's opera Carmen. The guitarist is heard in three different settings: joined by five woodwinds and a rhythm section; with five jazz horns (including altoist Herb Geller and trumpeter Ray Linn) and a trio; and with vibraphonist Victor Feldman in a quintet. Kessel also wrote the arrangements, which pay tribute to the melodies while not being shy of swinging the themes. An interesting if not essential project.

Eric Carmen - The Best Of Eric Carmen
Release: 1988 | Label: Arista | Number: 258 999
Genre: Pop/Rock | Mono/Stereo: 2 Channel
EAC Rip | Included: EAC Log + CUE + Flac + Full Covers
Size: 301 MB | RAR files | RS.com

Review By G. Sawaged
After his stint as leader of The Raspberries, Eric Carmen had a succesful solo career. "All by myself" is from Carmen's solo debut album from 1975. One of his most successful songs, it has since been covered by numerous artists. All of the songs on this album were written by Carmen except "Hungry Eyes" from the movie 'Dirty Dancing'. Eric Carmen has an unerring sense of melody and songcraft that has resulted in some of the best pop rock ever. Just try not to dance to "That's Rock 'n Roll"...impossible. "She Did It" is the greatest Beach Boy song that Brian Wilson never wrote, and "It hurts Too Much" has a Phil Spector-like power to it. This album is a must for music lovers. If you're a fan of Billy Joel and/or Barry Manilow, you will love this album.

–-Amazon

Twenty-selection of the best romantic songs from the record label "Arcade", (more than 300 songs that have long become a classic music). It is probably easier to list those artists and those styles, those countries and continents that are not in this collection. It is just necessary to listen.

Volume 1 & 2 Various Artist collection from German BMG Ariola. 39 different cover version of Bob Dylan Songs.