The Gershwin Songbook

A warm and elegant collection. Ella’s voice is clear, controlled and full of quiet confidence as she moves through the Gershwin catalogue. She never over-sings anything. The phrasing feels natural and the emotional tone stays light but sincere. The arrangements are classic and well balanced. Nelson Riddle’s charts give the songs space and colour without crowding the voice. Nothing feels rushed or overly dramatic. It is the kind of record that sits comfortably in the background yet still rewards close listening when you pay attention. It may not hit with the same personal intensity as some of her more intimate albums, but the quality of the singing and the material is consistently high. A refined, enjoyable set that still sounds fresh.

I only listened to the first album. I always thought I didn't like vocal jazz beyond Frank Sinatra but I enjoyed this. However I am recognizing that some albums are just not going to connect with me just for their genre. This has a little bit of that.

I listened before I died. We good?

Listening to this in its entirety reminded me you can have too much ice cream.

Tufft med 6 album men en hel lyssning på jobbet gick ju finfint och Ella är Ella

Hon är ju grym bra, och det är många snygga arrangemang! Jag njöt i början, sen tappade jag intresset i mitten, men mot slutet kom många bra låtar så då fick jag upp intresset ingen. Väääldigt långt, men häftigt projekt!

Mycket fint men i stunder olidligt tråkigt, svag trea

Hann ändå till skiva 6, det får betraktas som godkänt med vad jag verkligen hoppas är listans längsta skiva. Går ju knappt att bedöma 59 låtar, men Ella fitzgeralds feeling och frasering får minst en 4a i alla sammanhang

Mastodont. Lyckades ta mig igenom hela men det går ju inte riktigt att bedöma. Till slut flyter allt ihop. Hon är dock legend och det man kan sen tidigare är guld

Har absolut inte lyssnat på hela men att lyckas att inte göra det här mastodontprojektet till en snoozefest är ruggigt imponerande. Varje låt är ju känsligt arrangerad och sången felfri.

I remembered that George Gershwin was a sort of brilliant link between "learned" and "popular" music. Well, that's not really apparent here: I blame the sugary arrangements: they should have burnt down those fucking strings... His brother Ira's lyrics do not help either ("Tell me, where is the shepherd for this lost lamb?", WTF???). Only Ella's voice and perfect technique along with the wind sections of the more upbeat tracks save the day...

Did not finish. She can sing though

This is over-long, beyond tedious to listen straight through: unlike 69 Love Songs, which achieves pleasing diversity of styles, this is very same-y. There's fine singing by Fitzgerald (but very similar across the songs), lots of songs by the Gershwins, which don't impress me much (particularly heard en masse), and the predominant influence on my listening experience is the commercial big-band-and-strings arranging by Nelson Riddle. Riddle is clearly a skilled professional, but his jazz inflection is not just smooth, it’s ‘safe’ and saccharine. Individual songs I might appreciate, but hearing them all together is too much. Normally my interest in jazz songbook is backward looking, ie when I enjoy a more exploratory jazz re-arrangement and wonder where it came from - I don’t hear much exploration here, it just seems smooth, comfortable, unthreatening? Which is not 100% bad, but is disappointing, not thrilling. The sheer length makes okay songs end up as a bad experience. I'll call this album Mix of Good and Bad, 5/10.

Beauty

I listened to “the very best” of this bc i was not listening to 5 discs worth.

Absolutely the best.

dont know why exactly but i loved this

It’s finally over. I had to split this up into different sessions but it all just blends together. It’s nice but I won’t listen to this in full again, never no

It's 3 hours of Ella Fitzgerald singing many iconic songs. Flawless in execution, quality varies depending on quality of the standard. As an album experience, gets a little tiring after a while.

Some of the greatest music ever recorded. Ella can make me feel good even when everything is bad. A goddamn treasure here.

Dit is echt kneiters goed. Moet ik opslaan en vaker beluisteren, want holy kneiters. Dit is waar ik het allemaal voor doe. Nait normoal.

Made it to the sixth track. Of course she can sing. Not for me though.

Not my cup of tea but I can appreciate the talent. 3.0

OK, 4 hours of music is really overkill. I thought there would be much more singing on an album called "Ella Fitzgerald Sings...", but I'm clearly incorrect. This is already a complete waste of time and I'm only one song in. Whoa only ten minutes in and... actual vocals. Gotta say she can certainly sing. She's hypnotically excellent. Glad I suffered through the early garbage, because Ella is amazing. OK after about an hour I have enough to rate this album. 4 Hours is definitely a triatholon I'm not entering.

2.5/5 just not my style. only made it through disc two so a 3.5 hour album was not in the cards for me. fitzgerald has a phenomenal voice but it was hard for me to get into. fav song: let's call the whole thing off

I enjoyed this. I felt like it was a bit of a quintessential 50s album, with the sort of obvious lyrics and 50s soul sound but I enjoyed it. I think a bit like other albums on this list, you can't always enjoy the album as being so fresh when it came out because its been so replicated, which I think may be the case here. I liked the artwork too - a bit of German expressionism

very long but beautiful and relaxing

Beautiful stuff

What a voice. Makes me think of slow dancing in the kitchen during a February storm. It’s snowing outside but the heat of the oven warms bare feet and frozen toes. There’s something delicious and rich cooking in there... But this is a very long time to slow dance. A bitch is going to burn her cookies. Me. I am that bitch.

I wrote up a review that got deleted and I’m feeling lazy. Too much ice cream. Long album, maybe I’ll get around to finishing it later and change my rating

There are some amazing, classic songs here, and Ella's vocals are wonderful. But it's a LOT. After over three hours of this, the songs start to blur together quite a bit. Plus, they are classics, but not exactly songs I want to listen to on my own much. Still, I'm glad to have heard this.

Good

1. 4 2. 3 3. 4 4. 4.5 5. 4.5 6. 3.5 7. 4 8. 3 9. 4.5 10. 3.5 1. 3.5 2. 3 3. 3.5 4. 3.5 5. 3 6. 4 7. 3.5 8. 3 9. 3.5 10. 3.5 11. 4 1. 3.5 2. 4 3. 3.5 4. 4 5. 3.5 6. 3.5 7. 3 8. 4 9. 3.5 10. 4 11. 4.5 1. 4 2. 4 3. 3.5 4. 3 5. 3.5 6. 3 7. 3.5 8. 3 9. 3 10. 3 11. 4.5 1. 3 2. 3 3. 3 4. 3 5. 4 6. 3.5 7. 3 8. 3.5 9. 3 10. 4 1. 3.5 2. 3.5 3. 4 4. 3.5 5. 3 6. 3

The fact this album fell on a rainy painting day was perfect. 3.15 of any other artist would’ve been a bit intense, but as it was our Fitzy I’ll let her off. Very chill.

Very reminiscent of sinatra in terms of sparse production. The quality in fitzgeralds voice pores out of each song and even the most throwaway tune has its moments. Sort of overstay its welcome towards the end but this is a collection to treasure

At least a 10

Holy freaking a this was long. Ella is amazing, but I don't understand why this is one collection!

First things first: Technical Foul. This is a 5-disc compilation. So I listened to Sam and Delilah, Lets Call the Whole Thing Off, Oh, Lady Be Good, Nice Work if You Can Get It, How Long has this been Goin' On, Slap that Bass, Someone to Watch Over Me, Clap Yo' Hands, They Can't Take that Away from Me, Embraceable You, Fascinating Rhythm, and I Got Rhythm--certainly one disc's worth. Ella, Ira and George. C'mon!! The record speaks for itself. I've listened to a lot of Ella, but not this one. Truly elegant stuff.

Very sweet! But with 6 disks I couldn’t get through it all in one day.

Would be higher if it wasn’t so longggggg

Giving this a one on principle. No shade on Ella Fitzgerald, she is a fantastic singer and this music was actually pretty fantastic, but telling me I have to listen to a 3 and 1/4 hour compilation before I die is a fucking joke. Listen to the first disc, it’s great, then move on with your life.

I love Ella Firzgerald, but my ADHD mind cannot put together cohesive thoughts on an album this long. I’m glad this album exists and genuinely enjoyed it, although I prefer her jazz records. I know that I’ve now listened to the album in its entirety at least twice, but there have been enough fits and starts that it has been impossible for me to get an overall impression of the album.

Longer than my dick. In all seriousness, it's fine. If you can manage to get through three hours of vocal jazz, this is that. You will find some great songs if you dig in, but then you will eventually want to finish it. When I started, I got on a bus to the grocery store, bought what I needed, came back home, chilled for 20 minutes, went out for dinner and as I finished my plate - it ended. From 5 to like 8:40pm. See you soon, 69 Love Songs (7/10, 3/5 on this scale)

I only listened to a good portion because it’s so long, but very good!

Amazing!!!!!

Love love love

I enjoyed it, but felt that the box set was a little much for a casual listener. Probably would've given a higher rating if it were the length of most of these other albums.

Iconic songs by an iconic voice

Da oldies can still be da goodies

Great voice. Great composition.

7.5/10

wow! a standing ovation. i could have this on loop for almost any mood or occasion, her voice is incredible

3h 15m album had me shook but ella’s vocals + the instrumentals are so heavenly 🥹

Shortest 3+ hours of music. So good.

Understand it's importance in history. The sound of the recordings and her voice is excellent. Album is not for me

A box-set isn't an album. Should be removed. Sidenote: Not a fan of live albums being included either. Live albums are just slightly worse greatest hits albums.

Too long

This was simply too many songs. Some were good but overall I just lost interest.

Some of the greatest songwriters music sung by one of the greatest vocalists of all time. I especially like the quote, and I am paraphrasing here, that the Gershwins did not know good their music could sound before Ella put it down.

That was a long album. I can’t think of a better inclusion if the list’s intention is to curate a historical record of recorded music. But in terms of raw enjoyment, I did not finish the full three hours. Maybe half? At some point, as happens with all too-long projects, everything blended together.

So exhausting to listen to the full album (and I did it, from waking up until lunchtime). The first side of the album is magnificent, a worthy 4 stars (it could be a 4.2/3 grade), but the last 2.5 hours are too much (repetitive, boring, grueling, and too long). Ella is a one-of-a-kind artist with a unique voice, and her other work (for example, her songs with Louis Armstrong) is distinctive and special, but this could be 1, maybe 2 sides album, and it would be one of the best in history. If it were possible, I would give it a 2.5 rating, but I will round it up out of respect for the artist.

Its bloody long but an easy and relaxing listen!

I listened to all the songs >500k listens. 3hrs? Nah. Timeless voice, she could sing the phone book and it would sound great. Makes me want it to be Xmas and watch 50s movies. 4/5.

old lady too many songs

even older style music than the other old-timey stuff appreciate that these are good renditions 3h15m is a lot tho also again, not really what I would listen to without a specific vibe/goal/etc rating not represenative, DNF, too many songs 💀

more for my dad than me.

Ella Fitzgerald is good... but a 3 hour album was a choice. And not a great one.

Nothing against Ella Fitzgerald, this gets a 1 for including a 3 hr compilation album of the same old music.

Extremely long for a sit down session, but lovely work music.

Ella had an amazing voice. One of the best I've ever heard, but this style just isn't for me. Also, 3+ hours is overkill for this list. I'm already trying to make it through 1089 albums. It doesn't make it any easier when one of them is basically 5-6 normal albums long.

I listened vaguely to some of the songs but it's all pretty same old style American crap and there's nothing impressive musically or vocally. I don't think Ella has anything outstanding about her vocal quality to carry these boring songs.

I tried to finish this I really did but there is only so much time in the day, which is a shame because the music is fantastic, beautifuly sung and played, but this isn't the album by her that should be on the list. It's a collection if songs that last three hours, that's too long 4 for the music 2 for the actual album listening experience

(10/10) It's arguably one of the best vocalists of all time singing old-timey feel good music! Just throw it on shuffle and let your cares melt away

Obviously her voice is beautiful, but I couldn’t make it past potato potahto

Objectively it’s not bad. I liked it way more than I thought I would, as I despise show tunes. Only listened to the first 35 minutes or so because that run time is insane. 2.5⭐️ rounding down because no way I’m gonna spend 3 hours on this.

I will copy my review for Bjork's album "Vulnicura"... Okay....we get it. I understand this is important, essential, even.....but after the first couple of songs, you're pretty much know what you're in for, for the next 3 hours. I would be remiss to give this a 2...and it's definitely not a 1.

This album is massive, over three hours. But it turns out 195 minutes are simply not enough!

Only her talent and charm make this three-hour dirge of homogeneous traditional pop slightly bearable. There HAS to be a better Fitzgerald album from this period than this.

Great, but as others have said it's just too damn long. Compilations shouldn't be in clouded in this list

Seth - will not listen Logan - 2.5/5

no me escuche todo pero me gusta

very chill study music

She sings very well. Very swingy and big band. I couldn't listen to over 3 hours of it. Made it 25/59 songs. 2.5/5

If a great album is a complete meal, this is a gigantic bowl of whipped cream. It's the best whipped cream - like cream straight from a cow that grazes in the sunshine on organic sweet grass. But as sweet and easy as it is, it leaves you feeling unsatisfied, and maybe, even, a bit queezy. Such a voice. Such a waste that she used it to make such watered-down, inoffensive, unchallenging, uninteresting music. I don't blame Ella for her choices. She was, like Nat King Cole, a really important bridge for the black-curious masses (read: white suburbanites) of the day; and I can't imagine the challenges and indignations she faced. But I think, historically, we can and should, now, focus more attention on those of her contemporaries who leaned into their art more than towards popular interest. Give me Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, or Sarah Vaughan (who made her own share of whipped cream pies, but also did some amazing small group sessions) over this any day.

6 disks!!!!!

Sure, it's a long album, but it's hard to argue with the pure singing ability of Ella Fitzgerald. And giving her a raft full of Gershwin songs to perform is just piling quality on quality. Will I listen to this whole album straight through again? Probably not. But is it five stars? Yeah, it is.

I think this is what magnetic fields 69 love songs is aspiring to. Too long to listen to the entire thing, but great timeless songs, perfectly executed

Diabolical 3 hour, 6 disk album. Look Ella Fitzgerald is a fantastic singer, but 3 hours is too much. Fave track: 'S Wonderful

It's a beautiful compilation with beautiful arrangements. And of course, Ella Fitzgerald is rightfully recognised as having one of the most beautiful voices of all time. Obviously, it's a lot to get through - but I don't think should detract when it comes to score. Did I listen to this in its entirety? No, no I did not. 4/5

5: I will happily play this album anytime 4: I may occasionally play this album of my own free will 3: I will happily listen to this if someone plays it in the background 2: I will tolerate this if it is playing in the background 1: I will leave the room if someone plays this in the background Yeah, I'm not listening to this 3x like I have for all of the other albums in this collection. Enjoyable. Didn't love it, Didn't hate it. Not likely to just spin this up on my own later. Glad it is preserved.

gran álbum

Wasn't ready for a six album box set so I skipped around. Many of these I know just because Gershwin has so many "standards". I do like this music and she was huge for the period. Will I put this on for a road trip? no. Dinner party? maybe. Giving it 4 stars for respect

The album was a bit lengthy and repetitive, but it was a good album. It sounds like the type of Jazz that I would listen to. I think it is an important album in music history, however

Feels weird to qualify my review and rating, but this is the legend, Ella Fitzgerald. This is a tremendous achievement for her and the Gershwins. It’s also 3+ hours of beautiful if slight songs that don’t do much for me. This isn’t an album I’d choose to listen to on my own, but if it played, I’d appreciate her greatness. If not for this project I’d never have attempted this album. It is objectively great. Subjectively it’s not for me.

Her voice is beautiful, but the songs are so boring. Maybe it's just that I'm not a jazz fan. Also why is it so long?

Braba d+ gênia pqp

A six disc, three hour entry on the list. Ok. It doesn't get old or run long though. It's a testament to the range of song Gershwin could write, though I suspect if I wrote some mediocre songs Ella would elevate them. Such a voice.

love ella fitzgerald but holy exhausting who thought a 3 hour runtime was a good idea

Just no. I drowned in the sea of strings and was unable to finish this snoozer.

Ridiculously long anything over an hour is too much for an album. What I heard I did like some classic songs on here and her voice is great but may word too long to listen to in its entirity