Ian Shapiro

This was a very logical matchup that came out as well on record as it looked on paper. Valve trombonist/arranger Rob McConnell has long led one of the top mainstream jazz big bands, while Mel Tormé blossomed into one of the truly great jazz singers in the 1980s. McConnell's charts suited Tormé perfectly, and the result is this consistently enjoyable and swinging album. The singer is quite enthusiastic and in top form on "Just Friends," a touching "September Song," "Don't 'Cha Go 'Way Mad," "A House Is Not a Home," "The Song Is You," a whimsical "Cow Cow Boogie," a "Stars" medley, and an exciting six-song Duke Ellington medley. Highly recommended.

Disc 1 covers the first twenty years with Manzanera providing the musical context for the words of other co-writers, such as Bryan Ferry and Brian Eno, as well as writing varied instrumental music. The most recent 10 years are on Disc 2 with Manzanera writing and singing his own lyrics, including 10 minutes of weirdness created by Eno's 'treatments' of music by former Roxy colleagues, Manzanera, Mackay and Thompson.

Classic singles like Billy Fury's "Halfway To Paradise", Dusty Springfield's "I Only Want To Be With You" and The Walker Brothers' "Make It Easy On Yourself" would not have been hits without Ivor Raymonde. As their arranger, and in the case of "I Only Want To Be With You" songwriter too, he shaped the final recordings. He decided on the orchestration and backing vocals, chose the instruments and determined what was heard on the radio - and what record buyers bought. Paradise: The Sound Of Ivor Raymonde is a long-overdue celebration of Ivor Raymonde, collecting his work as an arranger, musical director, producer, singer and songwriter. The story of a British musical great is told for the first time. Billy Fury, Dusty Springfield and The Walker Brothers are heard. So is the only vocal performance for which Ivor Raymonde received a credit on a record label. He worked with the pre-fame David Bowie and Tom Jones. He spotted the potential of Los Bravos, steering them into the charts with "Black Is Black". Near-misses and obscurities made with Brit-girls Cindy Cole and Helen Shapiro, the soulful Sonny Childe and confrontational proto-psychedelic London band The Flies are as fantastic as the hits. With these and more, Paradise: The Sound Of Ivor Raymonde distils the essence of the magic of Ivor Raymonde.