The Gershwin Songbook

This is a difficult one to rate. As a comprehensive series of Gershwin recordings, it’s exceptional - incredibly detailed with fantastic arrangements, and Fitzgerald sounds so good on every single track. However as an album it doesn’t really work - it’s far too long and has no flow, and does feel tiring by disc three even though each individual song is expertly done. Not a problem with the work, just a problem with the categorisation.

Ella had an amazing voice ... but the style of music shows its age. Dull. Dull. Dull.

But not for me...

3.5

Was alright but maybe not entirely my bag

Ella er smooth. Gott stöff sem flæðir mjög fallega. Hentar vel í dimma rándýra veitingastaði, búbblubaðið og kósítime. Setti þetta á í bílnum til að svæfa Bjarma, en hann var svo imponeraður að hann bara gapti og svaf ekki neitt. Ég aftur á móti svaf værum svefni og nú erum við bíllausir. Takk Ella. Þrjár og hálf stjarna. Þessi verk ná Ellu ekki upp úr 2. gír.

Ósköp þægileg skammdegistónlist, svo lítið jólaleg. Ella er frábær söngkona, en þessi lög reyna ekki nóg á hana. Tónlistarflutningurinn óaðfinnanlegur.

3.6 - That this album would be impeccably produced and performed seems like a foregone conclusion. Naturally when you take the most fêted jazz vocalist of all time, and back her with the most accomplished studio musicians of the day, it’s bound to be a slam dunk. Having said all this, the question I keep thinking about is, would I ever actually choose to listen to this album? Like, voluntarily? I mean…maybe? Maybe if I were to host a holiday brunch with my in-laws and wanted some bright and cheerful alternative to Christmas music playing in the background? Or if I needed something calm to play in the car when I pick up the kids from a particularly raucous birthday party? Side note: Good Lord, Ella absolutely slays “Embraceable You.”

Couple good songs

She has a beautiful voice but I didn’t find myself loving any of this album.

ella's voice is like velvet. it's hard to separate the voice from the compositions because her vocal cords carry the ones that i'm less inclined to like, but proper band jazz covers of gershwin are nice to listen to anyway even if i'm not a great fan of the pieces themselves. its quite easy to let jazz music (whether instrumental or vocal) fade into the background of whatever you're doing but to focus on this is a delightful and very calming thing to do. some of the songs are a bit less memorable than the others, some much less memorable. some are great (i got rhythm) (the man i love). felt very autumnal. i love ella fitzgerald's voice so much.

An undeniably beautiful voice. I felt like I was in the land of snow white

Ella Fitzgerald was wonderful, but I just don't think I like Gershwin all that much. Not a whole album's worth, at any rate.

C+ Sam and Delilah 3 But Not for Me 4 My One and Only 3 Let's Call the Whole Thing Off 3 (I've Got) Beginner's Luck 3 Oh, Lady Be Good! 3 Nice Work If You Can Get It 3 Things Are Looking Up 3 Just Another Rhumba 3 How Long Has This Been Going On? 2 S Wonderful 3 The Man I Love 4 That Certain Feeling 3 By Strauss 3 Someone to Watch Over Me 4 The Real American Folk Song (is a Rag) 2 Who Cares? 3 Looking for a Boy 3 They All Laughed 2 My Cousin in Milwaukee 2 Somebody from Somewhere 3 A Foggy Day 3 Clap Yo' Hands 2 For You, For Me, For Evermore 3 Stiff Upper Lip 2 Boy Wanted 3 Strike Up the Band 3 Soon 3 I've Got a Crush on You 3 Bidin' My Time 3 Aren't You Kind of Glad We Did? 3 Of Thee I Sing (Baby) 4 The Half of It, Dearie' Blues 3 I Was Doing All Right 2 He Loves and She Loves 4 Love Is Sweeping the Country 4 Treat Me Rough 3 Our Love Is Here to Stay 3 Slap That Bass 3 Isn't It a Pity? 4 Shall We Dance? 3 Love Walked In 3 You've Got What Gets Me 3 They Can't Take That Away from Me 3 Embraceable You 3 I Can't Be Bothered Now 3 Boy! What Love Has Done to Me! 3 Fascinating Rhythm 3 Funny Face 3 The Lorelei 3 Oh, So Nice! 3 Let's Kiss and Make Up 3 I Got Rhythm 3 Promenade (Walking the Dog) 3 March of the Swiss Soldiers 3 Fidgety Feet 2 Prelude I 3 Prelude II 3 Prelude III* 3 It took nearly 12 hours, but I thoroughly listened to this bad boy. There are some pretty ones in this. Her voice combined with Gershwin's music was always going to be good.

Three hours 6 discs too much

Okay, so three hours of Ella Fitzgerald is meant to be a great use of time, her voice is majestic and oozes personality and swagger and delicateness and everything else, and it works with so many styles and settings. There's just far too much content here, the distilled version is fine, if you're evaluating it off just that then you get a 4, but the fact the original and main item on the list is the full 3 hour slog means it gets docked a mark, because that's just too much of anything, however good she is.

A little slow for me at times, but her voice truly is one of a kind. Would work well in certain scenarios. 3/5 Might listen again.

Pas pire. Transporté dans une autre époque, excellente atmosphere. Catégorie musique de background.

If someone’s gonna sing me show tunes let it be Ella. Just wish I was a fan of show tunes out of the context of shows.

Created a nice mood. Good for setting, but I didn't love it specifically.

Aivan hirvittän pitkä kokonaisuus, eihän tätä oikeasti jaksa päivässä kuunnella. Ihan mukavia ja meneviä biisejä välissä, osa taas tylsiä. Ellan ääni kyllä on miellyttävä kuunnella.

Quality of course, but it doesn't really touch me

Pretty decent background music

Really good elevator or dinner music. Incredible vocals and instruments, old timey gold

How many song should an album have? all of them is apparently the answer to this question, my fucking god. might be the music of the songbook being from the 20's-30's that I didn't really connect with 90% of them but they weren't horrible and her voice is nice.

Really not my type of music but I can appreciate the quality of the work. Lovely to listen on a Sunday afternoon.

classic soul. all kinda starts sounding the same. obviously any given track is pretty, but I'd be hard pressed to pick a "favorite" off this one.

great songs, great voice, but Nelson Riddle takes a huge dump over almost every song

2.5/5. Relaxing but not my thing.

Ella had a legendary voice, and the songs I listened to sound great, but sorry, a 3-hour album I cannot do. So, 3 stars for 3 hours.

Fine. A bit boring.

Best Song: Let's Call the Whole Thing Off. It just feels very playful, especially the part about "calling the calling off off". Worst Song: Just Another Rhumba. Overly long, and the schtick of tossing an "-a" on the end of every word to fit the rhyme is annoying from the onset. Overall: Real odd inclusion into this list. 3 hours of music feels impossible to compare against the other conventional-length albums. It kind of feels like the author knew they needed to give flowers to Fitzgerald, but didn't know enough of her catalogue to narrow it down and therefore picked the largest project she had. Nevertheless, the music is fine to listen to. Obviously Fitzgerald has a great voice, and many of the songs are quite fun (but, due to sheer volume, many are also quite dull). I can't imagine that even Ella herself intended these 3 hours to be listened to at once or viewed as a single, immutable album.

She had a fantastic voice, I'm just not into jazz with vocals.

Oof, I like Ella, but 3 hours long...not going to listen to the whole thing, so I listened to the 44 minute "very best of" version. Classic sound. 3.5/5

Great voice and presence

3 hours lol

There was no way I was ever going to listen to the full 3 hours of this, but the best of seemed a sufficient exposure. Not my thing, but I'm going with 3 stars as it's quality stuff I don't like, which is better than poorly done stuff I don't like I guess.

Great singing, decent songs. Nothing really stuck with me.

not super into this era of big band jazz but she has a great voice

Love Ella but there are better albums

Kinda meh, some nice songs.

Not really the type of music I'd go out of my way to listen to but good. Made me think of Fallout.

Classic

not too bad to be honest

One of the most beautiful voices of all time but Gershwin is just boring unfortunately

Long, but then there’s a lot to include! Not a jazz fan but she is phenomenal.

Het is prima!

I like this era, and love Ella Fitzgerald’s voice, but these songs were too slow for me to get super into.

wonderful voice, but mostly showtunes

It's a bit of a disservice to Ella Fitzgerald that a compilation of otherwise well-known songs is among her featured work here, because some people will inevitably compare her versions to that of others. That's not to say that these songs aren't lovely - because they are. And she sounds beautiful. But for some of these songs there are stronger, or at the very least more memorable versions floating around. 'S Wonderful is better when it's Gene Kelly and Georges Guétary performing it in An American in Paris for example, while Someone to Watch Over Me sounds suprerior when coming from Frank Sinatra. Maybe this is an observation that better fits the entire jazz and soul landscape of pre-1970 though, so I digress. Like I said, Ella Fitzgerald sounds lovely and her tender, buttery voice puts a warm blanket over these songs like no other vocalist can. I would love to listen to this again during a rainy afternoon, after digging up some of my grandparents' old photo albums. I also imagine myself sitting in a 1950's jazz bar, in the scene of a classic film. The record is great. It's evocative of all these memories and emotions, and it's a show of the amazing talent and body of work by both Fitzgerald and the Gershwin brothers. Just those unavoidable comparisons are getting to me - but I guess that's more of a me problem.

I love Ella Fitzgerald's voice, but 4 hrs 13 mins is insane for an album

Pretty and sad. Jazzy. A sleepy album, 3 stars. Just a little too slow for a workday.

Noh, kuuntelin sitten koko 3h15min setin. Vikat 6 kappalettakin vaikka ne ei varmaan tähän settiin kuuluiskaan. Eipä tässä hulluks ainakaan tullut, kai se kertoo jotain. Mutta vähänhän nuo kappaleet muussaantuu yhteen ja kuullosta suht samalta. Olisi sit voinut kuiteskin huonompaakin musiikkia 3h kuunnella. Meni kuiteskin aika letkeästi aika. Tämmöstä perinteistä elokuva Las Vegas/New Vegas vokaalijazzia. Sanoitukset ajoittain aika meh Treat Me Rough kappaleessa oikeesti sanotaan "Keep on beatin' me". Ok Davie hyväksyy Slap That Bass kappaleen

I'm not really into the 50's music, but I think Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra are on the same level of talent, passion and commitment.

Maybe I just wasn’t in the mood for this today … found it quite boring

I'm not going to listen to a whole box set of songs. It's over 3 hours long so I listened to "The Very Best Of The Gershwin Songbook" instead. The album is good but it got tiresome after a while. I don't think I could handle the whole Gershwin Songbook in one sitting so the abridged "best of" was a good choice.

"I never knew how good our songs were until I heard Ella Fitzgerald sing them". - Ira Gershwin. With a grace and elegance that only a rarefied few could have, Ella Fitzgerald put her stamp on some of the most important song catalogs in music and not only defined them but turned them into the American staples they were meant to be. There should be neither a doubt nor a question as to how and why they are considered The Great American Songbook; have a listen to Love is Here to Stay and But Not for Me back to back and you'll be completely convinced. Arguably the peak of Ella's career. Favorites: I Got Rhythm, Nice Work If You Can Get It, The Man I Love, Love is Here to Stay, But Not for Me, A Foggy Day, Fascinating Rhythm, Embraceable You.

Her voice is unreal, but 3+ hours is a LONG time to listen to very similar songs. 3/5

This album is long af, pretty decent though. Fitzgerald's voice is soothing and lovely.

Really solid. She has an absolutely angelic voice, and Gershwin is obviously a legendary songwriter. She does all of his works justice (I listened to the truncated best of version, rather than the complete 3 hour edition). I’m sure there’s stinkers on the larger compilation, but the best of was all killer no filler. What brings it down is that they’re incredible performances of the songs, but lack a bit of the emotionality that’s resonant in other renditions such as Chet Baker’s that I am more drawn to. However, for those that enjoy straight vocal jazz, it doesn’t get much better than this. Just not particularly my taste most of the time.

Beautiful singing, nice relaxing album.

Ella has a great voice and the songs are great but not for me.

Pleasant enough. Amazing voice, great tunes - the album lives up to the billing. What else can I say?

Ella doing what she does best. Really the Janis of her time, or Janis was the Ella of her time.

Very calming album which was great to listen to while working. Ella is a great singer and the lyrics were pretty good. I laughed at the words in Let's Call the Whole Thing Off

Let's Call The Whole Thing Off is great. Love that she uses the Baltimore accent for oysters (errsters) in it. This was a very calming album to listen to in the morning while getting some work done. I admittedly didn't listen to all 3 hours (wtf???) but I will at some point.

Ella has a beautiful, gorgeous voice with a ton of richness to it. It was worth listening to the entire album for that alone. Some of the big band numbers were good, but a little repetitive. The more moody, softer songs were the highlights for me.

Sounds decent, very 50s easy listening, moderately enjoyable if it's outside your wheelhouse

smooooooooooo00000000000000000000000000oooooooooooooooth

Definitely would not be able to make it through the full version, but I think that has more to do with my lack of interest and not the quality. It's fine and cool to have gotten a glimpse into, but happy to see what else is to come.

I probably wouldn't listen again. This is an album that probably best represents this era of music and is included so the 50's are represented.

Je l’écouterais plus tard, pas dans le mood

Some are classics. Amazing voice. Too many songs.

Very nice.

Ella Fitzgerald's voice is a magic spell that makes you believe in love again.

Pleasant voice and a few songs I enjoyed. But overall found myself a bit bored

ella is great big band, jazzy, beautiful, dark. still not my vibes, too symphonic, too morose. but its good, and through no fault of her own it just doesnt do it for me.

Ella is an all-timer. She has a marvelous and soulful voice that can carry so very much emotion. I don't think that was highlighted with this album. I like the Gershwin songs and I think she did a technically fantastic job of singing them, but technical excellence isn't why I listen to Ella. Give me some of the Louis or Duke collabs any day. Someone to Watch Over Me was a highlight for sure.

I enjoyed it but wouldn't seek it out.

It’s great on occasion but descent anytime

This is perfect music for a dinner party. Ella is a great singer but this is too much. I don’t think box sets should be on this list.

i liked this album. brought me back in time. pre internet era

Meh, not my style

Again, the Jazz thing isn't for me. Probably a great album.

So every song here just reminds me of different movies that have used these songs. Gershwin songs are standards and so memorable, but there's no doubt they can be elevated by the right voice. I mean - she's got a voice that can't be mistaken, and it is on full display here with these songs that take a back seat in a way to her skill at vocalizing. All that being said, this is a sleepy album, one that is comforting, jazzy, and sweet, but a glorified cover album in a way. I'm not bothered by this at all, and at times, it is heartbreaking and beautiful. However, these songs feel like they are missing an element of performance that the songs and the singer are known for.

Amazing voice!

Syyt jotka pitää näitä 50-luvun laulu juttuja maassa.. kun lauletaan.. miksen anna albumille enemmän tähtösiä.. 50 luvun jazzeille ja mussiikkille.. ENSIMMÄINEN SYY: paska laatu. Noh se ei täyty tässä, on oikein hyvä fideliteetti heh.. Toinen syy: Jokin asia jää vaivaamaan/ärsyttävältä kuullostaapi.. RASITTAVA.. noh ei tässä rasita 50-luvun metkailut.... on easy listening.. Kolmas syy: tunnetta ei kaiveta esille albumin avulla vaan biisien.. paha virhe... tässä hieman omgelmana.. Tämä on myös kokoelma, eli periaatteessa kappaleiden järjestyksellä ja valinnoilla voidaan luoda tunnelmaa. Noh.. ei tässä ole kappaleiden välillä hirveästi koheesioita.. Kappaleet kuitenkin luovat hyvän tunnelman. Tähän tunnelmaan voi uppoutua varsinkin albumin keskiosassa. Ensimmäinen ja viimeinen biisi ollaan valittu hyvin, se on tärkeää mutta ei kyllä nyt siinäkään erityistä kiittelyä.. niinkuin sanoin kokoelma kyseessä...

It was fine but I've heard better from Ella

Mooie stem, mooie muziek. Nog een keer wel beter de kans geven

Yeah… I was bored with the shortened “best of” version, I get that Ella Fitzgerald and George/Ira Gershwin are both really important from a historical perspective and I don’t think the songs are bad but it’s just not really the type of thing that I went in for. It does deserve a place on the book though and it’s alright so 3/5?

pre-motown female singer sounds like she made Christmas songs

Ella zingt bijzonder zuiver en muzikaal correct. Knap, maar dat brave geluid prikkelt mij niet. Het is vooral prima voor op de achtergrond. Kom ik nog goed weg. Via de Spotify-link kreeg ik de compilatie. Ik begreep dat anderen de volledige 3-uur+ versie voor hun plaat kregen. Dat lijkt mij toch wel veel superzoete, ouderwetse zang. Drie kwartier is een prima lengte.

Ella's voice is fantastic, the sound quality on the recording is seriously impressive considering the time period, and the songs are well composed and varied. To be honest, it's a lot to take in at once, especially for a modern listener, but for someone approaching this project from an academic/historic perspective, this record is a must. "Slap That Bass" was my favorite here. Three potatoes, or is it potatohs out of 5. 🥔🥔🥔

I only listened to "The Very Best of The Gershwin Song Book" and that's all I needed to hear.

First of all, this isn’t an album, it’s a “best of.” Second of all, this isn’t the best of either Ella or Gershwin.

Bellino, rilassante. Non lo riascolterei però..

Easy-listening. Relaxing. Sounds like something that could have influenced Norah Jones. But I'd rather listen to her. Or Otis Redding. Her pronunciation of some words slightly irked me. But for sure feels like the "sound of an era". Something quite defining. Just not for me.

A fine album, to be sure, but there's way more to Ella Fitzgerald than this album seems to showcase.

New to me. First impression: is this really supposed to be a 3+ hour album? *checks* Yep - the original album was indeed a 5LP + 1EP box set. It's not a compilation either - a legit album. Ambitions be applauded. In the end the three hour runtime wasn't as much of a slog as I had worried it would be. The performances and arrangements aren't unengaging, even if I don't necessarily have an appreciation for vocal jazz. Generally I'm enjoying the songs with the more playful and bombastic sounding backing arrangements and I probably would have enjoyed this more had it been a more concise collection of those songs. I feel like "But Not for Me" as a title describes how I feel about this album. It's good, and I can see why this is a significant album and I'm glad to have listened, but it's something I feel like I'll have any need to go back to. One thing that does surprise me: the sound quality. I can't say I listen to many albums from this period, and I'm so used to early 60's pop albums (the beatles, pf, etc) having wild stereo effects that hearing a natural sounding stereo field on a record from 1959 was a pleasant surprise. Standout tracks: Let's Call The Whole Thing Off, Just Another Rhumba, He Loves and She Loves, You've Got What Gets Me, Clap Yo' Hands tentative rank: 2.5/5 (probably worth noting that I'm ranking these based on my personal level of enjoyment. I feel like every album on this list has to be notable enough to be a five star album on some metric, so a low score is not necessarily a negative judgement).

While excellent, not what I was expecting. Album was extremely long and requires more attention than I had time to really put into it.

Disclaimer: I didn't finish the album. It's so long... I listened to a good amount of it though, and I feel confident rating it. It's good. I like this kind of music, even if it doesn't always grab me. My favourite songs were That Certain Feeling and The Great American Folk Song.

Noen fine klassikere, en del kjedelige sanger. Jeg er ikke en av de som har forstått Gershwins geni

It’s great. It’s too much. It isn’t really an album.

Yani kötü değil, ama benim için aşırı notable da değil. Bıraksan bütün albüm tek şarkıymış gibi dinlenir. Tarzının en iyilerinden mi evet, benim tarzım mı pek değil. Verdiği nostaljik his çok comforting aslında ama nostaljinin önüne geçemiyor hani döneminde kitlenmiş şarkılar bi tık

6.5/10 It felt like a soundtrack of an old Disney cartoon, where they kinda showed the emotions of characters via music... Overall, I enjoyed her voice and the tracks but they all fel tlike the same, like the melodies, the lyrics feel the same and since there is nothing really unique about those times' music it was a little bit boring. As for background music while cooking or doing something like that, these songs would be great.

It’s generally very pretty but over 3 hours is an insane length for this list and there was a lot of crackling noises throughout that threw me off. 6/10

So, it's pretty hard to say anything at all bad about Ella. Or Ira, for that matter.

Really rather good, its Ella, whats not to like?

Solid Album

Love the mood, Love the voice. Great vibes.

I love Ella - she has a classic, generational voice. Gershwin was a great composer. But - I don’t have 3+ hours to listen to this. I assume it’s awesome.

Tyylikäs big band-kokonaisuus. Tasainen laatu varmisti pari tuntia nautinnollisia hetkiä

Ella Fitzgerald is recognized the world over as "The First Lady of Song". She is a jazz vocalist with a phenomenal and powerful voice. Her scatting ability is awesome! This is a monolithic album (the longest on this 1001 album generator, I believe) coming in at 3 hours, 14 minutes, and consisting of 59 songs. The Spotify link in the album generator links to the "Best of the Gershwin Song Book", which is a slimmed down 12 song, 45 minute listen. I, however, opted to listen to the full album, because that is what the 1001 albums book is referring to. Even though this is a huge undertaking of a listen, I enjoyed it all the same. I listened in sections throughout the day, instead of cover to cover, all at once. I think this made it better, because 3 hrs straight of jazz is a lot to digest. This is perfect coffee house jazz, and reminds me a lot of "Fallout" music, which is the best part of that game series. The last 6 songs are just instrumental numbers by Nelson Riddle, and they aren't as good as the music that contains Ella's voice. Not bad, they sound a lot like Disney movie or Looney Tunes instrumental numbers, just not as powerful as the rest or the album. Bernard Buffet created the artwork for the 5 original LP's that made up the original release. Based on the piece of artwork I saw, Bernard did poor Ella dirty. What a homely painting. Overall, a great listen. I suggest giving the full record a try, and breaking it up like I did. There are a lot of gems contained on the full record, that didn't make it to the "best of" compilation. Favourite songs: The Real American Folk Song, Things Are Looking Up, Nice Work if You Can Get It, Let's Call The Whole Thing Off, 'S Wonderful, My Cousin in Milwaukee, The Half of It Dearie Blues, Boy What Love Has Done to Me, Lorelei, I Got Rhythm Least favourite songs: A Foggy Day, Somebody from Somewhere, Just Another Rhumba, Sam and Delilah, Embraceable You 3/5

Apparently there are multiple versions of this album with some being 3 hours long. I instead listened to the 1hour version and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this. She's got a lovely voice and I found the whole thing quite pleasant. Highlights: Sam and Delilah Lets Call The Whole Thing Off Nice Work If You Can Get It

Her voice is silky smooth. I don’t like big band style music, I won’t be ver return to this but I will say I didn’t dislike it as much as I thought I would. I’ll give a 3 to this, she has a 5 star voice but this music ain’t it. 3 stars

Nice enjoyable Jazz

she sings nice and the music reminds me of a movie with snow outside and and the cozy warmth of inside but its not in my taste for regular listening

Good Christmas Jolly without being explicit

Smoooooth voice.

they all laughed when chirsopherf columbus said the world was round.. hyvä lyric.. kaksi kolmasosaa albumista ollaan tosiaan kullin perässä, lyriikat tosiaan aivan vitun päätä TURRUTTAVA you like bananas i like bananas? mitä vittua muija selittää... sentää osaa laulaa kultakurkku... ja tausta bändi tekee parhaansa... ja kehtas loppuun tehä gamecrash KERNEL POWER kombinaatio HAISTA ELLA PASKA!! ps ilmeisesti versio minkä kuuntelin on 40min ja oikea album 3 tuntia no se on voi voi they all laughed..

Pretty long album, but I’ll revisit

I liked it all the way through but this is needlessly long tbh, really took out some of the enjoyment when it's 3h20 or so. A decent record

very pretty

Kinda like an old school movie soundtrack. I'm a fan of vintage things, this was nice.

An incredible voice, some pretty great compositions - but I wasn't feeling very Gershwin when I listened.

This was a good album. I was familar with several of the songs. She can definitely sing. I don't have a desire to listen to the full album again though. It is better than a 3 but not really a 4. I will round down.

Great voice, cheesy music

Generally delightful, but difficult to rate.

Love her voice but songs are too sweat for me

She has a great voice, and the songs are pleasant. 3 hours is a lot though

Beautiful voice but I'm simply not interested in this style of music.

Loved this , not what I usually would listen to but really enjoyed it ♥️

Have always been well aware of who Ella Fitzgerald is, but never really listens to her music. It’s quite chilled and relaxed, but still up-tempo and relatable, from an era when life appeared to be a lot simpler. Enjoyable, but maybe not something that I would seek out to listen to again.

nothing amazing, but vibes

This is very long. Like really long. The Spotify link on this website goes to "The Very Best of the Gershwin Songbook" but the real album is a box set with 59 songs spanning more than 3 hours. So, it's a lot. But on to the music. Ella Fitzgerald obviously was an amazingly talented singer. Her voice on these songs is silky smooth and on point. But the songs are anachronistic and dated. Ira Gershwin's lyrics make me cringe. But this was recorded over 60 years ago, so hard to expect anything else. Just not something I enjoy for 3+ hours. 3 stars.

Good singer. Not really my thing though

Not my jam but beautiful music, nonetheless

Great voice, boring songs. It all blends together in a kinf of unpleasant way in the end.

Great voice, but boring generic jazz that get you exhausted pretty fast. "Who could ask for anything more?"

Ella enhnace the quality of this album. Great voice but other than that nothing much to say..

Ella Fitzgerald's voice and singing is soulful and certainly legendary, I enjoyed it very much. However, her backing music/band is very common and generic easy listening jazz, which made the overall record a little boring. Without Ella, it would have been an album I don't care about.

Jazz vocal de primer nivell, amb una de les veus femenines més increïbles que ha donat la història de la música i el repertori de dos dels grans compositors de la primera meitat de segle. Més de 3 hores de temes que ens porten a un temps i espais pretèrits, i a la vegada tan atemporals com els seus protagonistes

I had a very busy workday today, no time for 6 discs / 3.15 hours of listening. I only listened to 2.5 songs before I started up a day of onerous meetings and tasks. I could feel the old world classy vibes; Ella obviously has one of the most legendary and iconic voices ever recorded. The Gershwin songs vacillate between corny show tune earnestness and delightful unforgettable standards from a bygone era. It’s a perfect meeting of undeniable talent between singer and songwriters. But it’s too bloody long by a mile. I don’t know who could sit through an entire unbroken listen of these records. Not I, certainly not I.

Good voice, I enjoyed Fascinating Rhythm. Overall this album keeps reminding me of her far-to-often-replayed christmas albums though. Not quite what I wanted in September.

I LOVE the Gershwins and I LOVE Ella and her amazing voice...but dang! Three plus hours is a long album ask even for music I enjoy, especially with the same singer and same song type

This was good and Ella Fitzgerald has a great voice but a little more variety would have made this album better. Still a good listen.

Ella is a legend. But this album is very fairly dimensional which makes it less exciting.

Amazing vocals and great easy going music, lots of covers, but those are the best ones.

What a trip. A delight to listen to .. so many songs though! Most memorable: Jsut Another Rhumba

I don’t like this kind of music

A well-done if somewhat blandly uniform vocal-driven LP. Would’ve liked to see more variation from Fitzgerald on this one, as she mainly stays in the lower registers instead of really using her set of pipes.

good singer, kind of old school though

Fine! Probably won’t be repeat listening any time soon.

High 3, pleasant but nothing hype going on lyrically. Fun sounds, makes for good background music and worth repeating there

Buena música pero no me la pondría para escucharla. Suena como a música antigua de dibujitos tipo Tom y Jerry.

Very nice voice, not engaging enough to be blown away by it 70 years later but to still be enjoyable in that sense is a hell of an achievement

Ella's voice is so incredibly warm, so incredibly smooth, and so incredibly timeless. There is something incredibly comforting, nostalgic, and transportive about this album. Ella takes these songbook classics and exudes nothing if not pure elegance. In my opinion, she is among the best of the best of what vocal jazz has to offer. On one hand, I can't believe this is the only songbook collection by Ella on this project (that I know of), but on the other, I can't imagine it getting much better than this, anyway. While I continue not to be a big jazz fan, I must say that if I am going to hear jazz and come even close to appreciating it, this album and the voice of Ella Fitzgerald sets the bar.

🌹

Such a beautiful voice and arrangements. Very nice background music. Just not something I would gravitate to if I want to listen to something.

I think if you choose to listen to the "best-of" version you're really not missing much. 59 songs is just too much, and not necessary to convey the feeling of the album which ends up all blending together with the length that it takes. Ella has a great voice, there's no question there, but these old-time music standby's that you've heard plenty of times just aren't that interesting to me musically. It was on the background, it was pleasant enough, but didn't strike up any strong feelings or enjoyment it was just sort of there.

I haven't heard most of these songs before, but it's hard for classic jazz fare to be bad. However, some of the songs feel musical-y, which isn't always for me. The alternate version (to me) of "But Not For Me" is very nice.

De va lit… e för långt

Ganz coole Stimme

Pretty cool show tunes. The singing really didn’t stand out but I guess I haven’t heard the originals. Good background cafe music.

Good but about 2.5hrs too long!

Comme le disait Stevie : « And with a voice like Ella's ringing out There's no way the band could lose ». C’est vrai que c’est solide et les arrangement sont superbes. Pas de révolution ici, juste un bn album

Il faut effectivement avoir écouté au moins un album d’Ella. Pas sûr que j’aurais mis celui-ci par contre, même s’il combine une grande voix à un grand compositeur. Pour moi, l’album Ella wishes you a swinging Christmas est plus incontournable. Sinon l’album Ella and Louis est un album que je préfère à ce Songbook. Il y a aussi Porgy and Bess qui contient probablement la pièce la plus connue d’Ella qui est Summertime. Donc ce Songbook s’écoute bien, mais ce n’est pas son meilleur album.

Classically beautiful but not the sort of thing I'd listen to regularly.

Hard to lift the slow ballad style songs like this out of background music. Incredible performance, consistent and emotional, but can’t say I’ll listen to it much more.

She is the voice, good singer and good quiet songs.

Purely because lush strings and jazz vocals are not my thing, but I can appreciate how brilliantly it is done here.

Cet album d'une durée de plus de trois heures est apparemment synthétisé sur Spotify puisque la version de la plateforme ne fait qu'une quarantaine de minutes. J'ai donc appelé Daniel Ek sur son portable. Le Suédois a tenté de me calmer et m'a assuré que Robert avait de toute façon validé mon écoute. Voilà qui est réglé.

Je suis venu à bout des 3h d'album à l'inverse de mon camarade d'écoute robplumière qui a lui lâchement fui le défi imposé par Robert. Une preuve de plus de son infériorité la plus totale, Robert saura j'en suis sûr me recompenser.

Overdose de sucre Prefs: Sam and Delilah, Let's Call the Whole Thing Off, Nice Work If You Can Get It, Just Another Rhumba, By Strauss, The Real American Folk Song (is a Rag), Who Cares?, They All Laughed, Strike Up The Band, Aren't You Kind of Glad We Did?, He Loves and She Loves, Slap That Bass, Fascinating Rhythm, I Got Rhythm Moins pref: ????

Ok so I started listening to the full 3 hour shebang rather than the best of that this site suggests. That's not a great start when you have a lot of catching up to do... I LOVE Ella and I listen to her music often. I mean what a babe what a voice, so much fun word play in these tunes. I love Nice work if you can get it lol it's such a funny song. Then on the other hand I hate Oh, Lady be Good. It's just too pathetic and out-dated and it pisses me off. Basically Ella Fitzgerald is a babe and a legend but this ain't my fave album.

Nice songs, but none that I saved.

Undoubtedly a good piece of work. It is very long and extensive. It is hard to listen to so many songs all at once. 3/5.

good singer

Only listened to the greatest hits from the Gershwin Song book as per the Spotify link, Great voice and great songs can see me revisiting this.

Technically lovely. Wouldnt listen again.

actually rather liked it

One the most iconic mood-setting voices. I feel like I’m in a black and white Hollywood movie right now

I'm not sure about this album, is this the George and Ira Gershwin? By the way, I don't like so much Gershwin, I think she has sung much better songs.

It's pretty good, but not my cup of tea.

Fine, I guess. Great singer, but I don’t really like Gershwin

Best of only, I'm not spending 3 hours. I can appreciate it but it's not for me. 3

I've only heard individual tracks from Ella Fitzgerald before. I enjoyed listening to the album, but I didn't come away with any new favorite tracks. Perhaps if I was more into musicals, I might like the album more. With so many tracks, I don't imagine listening to the album again.

I'm not sure if I have the right album, since there seem to be about 9 "Gershwin Songbooks"... Assuming I've got the right one, there's a bit of scat, blues, jazz, and classically great sounds and technically sound (no pun intended) music being played. And let's be honest, even if I had gotten the album incorrect, it would sound good nonetheless. Would be good for a rainy day when you want something level, even, smooth to nestle your head on a pillow to.

It’s nice, but too long

Varsin nautinnollista. Vähän ehkä biisien aiheet toistaa itteään mutta se lienee Gershwinin syy.

Tykkään kyllä tästä bassoäänestä mut ei iske samalla tavalla ku muut jazz-standardien tulkinnat. 3/5

Jazz. Bueno aunque aburrido.

Op de juiste momenten kan ik dit dus echt prachtig vinden, maar ik denk nooit bewust: Ik zal Ella eens opzetten!

Heel rustgevend, maar ik merk dat ik niet eens bewust luister. Achtergrondmuziekje.

Deze muziek past goed bij de tijd van het jaar, vind ik.

Listen, the music here is objectively very good. But this collection asks you to listen to waaaaaaaay too much of it.

Nice Big Band with great vocals.

mixed bag because I enjoy Ella Fitzgerald but do not care for show tunes

Very pleasant. She definitely has a fantastic voice. The instrumentation plays a suitable compliment without taking away the focus from her voice.

Better than I was expecting. She had a lovely voice. 3*

Objectively good. Won't listen again.

Not bad, but pretty generic. I’ve said this before, but I feel like most albums from this time sounds the same.

Absolutely stunning voice, one of the best singers of all time, and she makes it sound effortless. Favorite Track: I Got Rhythm Relisten: Yes

A beautiful voice and a bunch of standards. However it lacks the raucousness and excitement of Ella at her best, and sticks in a nice easy jazz mode most of the way through. By no means bad, but too polite for my tastes, sadly.

Lovely stuff

Good listening.

Oh, what a beautiful jazz, perfect any day of the week.

I understand why it’s on the list.

Not sure if it’s the exact version as there were 3 on Apple Music. Love Ella and her phrasing, My One and Only is great.

3/5

не ну чот не готов я был к ней, хотя вроде и слуху причтно, но чот не слушаю я таких вот ребят

Don't really have a lot to say, Ella Fitzgerald is a legend, but back to back the songs blend together, especially for a novice like me. So nothing really stands out, but it's so nice to listen to. What to give to listen to her in a speakeasy

A really lovely chilled start to the day. Can imagine this album would be perfect to listen to with a cup of coffee on the patio on a Summer's morning. :-)

Buena voz. De cuando se apreciaba la voz de una buena cantante.

Oozes with class

but not for me is a banger bambi spring scene type beat

Don't know how I'm going to listen to 3 hours of this. Amazing voice. These songs are everywhere and these feel like superior versions. V.good It's very nice indeed.

My first day at this, and quite an intimidating entry. The music was perfectly fine, but surely this is not meant to be enjoyed as an album per se, but rather sampled occasionally?

Reminds me of my Grandpa John and Grandma Helen along with Linda Ronstadt partnering with the Nelson Riddle Orchestra. That's really just a sentimental way of saying the album made me want to start smoking cigarettes. If I'm being honest, there are other singers and interpreters from her era who have a greater impact on me. This isn't to discount Lady Ella's legendary status, and it could be a way of showing my Gen X colors, but I prefer Ronstadt's voice to Ella Fitzgerald's. And that lucky bastard Nelson Riddle worked with both of them. I didn't listen to the 3+ hour box set version of the album, but I don't think that would have affected my rating.

She is not my styl but she sings like a angel. The best: i got rhythm.

Schön, aber halt n komplettes kompendium…

Ich weiß dass das ein ungerechter Vorwurf ist und es großartige Musik ist herausragend gesungen. Aber es ist einfach zu viel Bigband

Lovely but not entirely my cup of tea. Gershwin and Ella are legends for a reason though!

Honestly just a beautiful voice songs of love and hope always down

Smooth …. great songs … great voice … they feel clever rather than moving

música de radio de fallout

It was a good album for what it is. I always love her voice and the way she carries the music she sings. Very lulling which might make it seem a little boring.

Fond memories of dinner with my grandparents. I think every song on this has probably been done better but no one matches her consistency.

Lovely compilation.

Easy listening…pleasant. First time listening to Ella for an extended period.

Pre 60's Disney music, very soothing voice 7/10

Ella Fitzgerald has a great voice and I appreciate the jazzy swings on Gershwin Songbook. It's just a record I would not consider listening to again, as I do not think I will ever be in a mood to like it as much as I should. 3/5.

Love it.

great singing, just some corny songs.

Some are great, others, not so. As an album, too long for me!

This retro soul album was a delight to explore. I enjoyed listening to it but I would probably never play it again.

Fine. Hard to truly remember any individual songs, but a nice, relaxed vibe.

Lovely, but too much at 44 minutes. Trim off ten minutes and it would have been a ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Het doet me af en toe denken aan de klassieke Dinseyfilms. Niet slecht.

Deze kon mij net iets minder bekoren

Ella is an amazing singer and this is shown throughout (OK I didn't make it through all 73 songs but it's safe to assume this didn't change). Great music and orchestra. A strange thought is there were too many good things and fewer instruments would be less distraction from the main event. Of course I never think this when listening to Pavarotti so my POV is likely due to my being used to her having smaller bands. 

.

Thank you Ella this was beautiful

This is great isn't it? Floats along effortlessly driven by one of the voices of any generation. Jazzier than I was expecting which is a good thing. Great morning listening. maybe gets a little samey in the second half, would prefer a few more etta jamesy upbeat songs. 3/5

It's good to hear Ella in her prime. And how can you not like those Gershwin Bros. lyrics> Why did I have to succumb-bah To that rhumba? Can you imagine anything dumb-bah?

Good, relaxing music, quite calm!! Same sound like Mauritus Island!

Was nice

Just One Of Those ThingsElla Fitzgerald 3:32 2 SummertimeLouis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald 4:58 3 Night And DayElla Fitzgerald 3:06 4 The Way You Look TonightElla Fitzgerald

I'm not a Gershwin fan nor this era of big band sound, but I must say that no one has a voice as silky smooth as Ella.

Très relax, lounge-style

That was a much younger Ella than I had heard before

Beautiful voice but the tunes didn’t interest me.

Not my type

At first it didn’t resonate with me but the latter half of the album resonated more with me. The songs themselves were kind of awful in the beginning and her crooning wasn’t enough to save them but then there was some synergy once it got a bit more upbeat.

Lovely voice but the songs all start to sound the same

Ella is amazing but not liking all of the Gershwin catalogue

Very pleasant but not really my style. Has a relaxing by the fire kind of feel a lot of the time.

You can't beat Ella's voice, and paired with Gershwin.....classic. But as an album to listen to, I prefer her soul or blues stuff. For me that's where her voice comes into its own.

Not necessarily bad, but not so much my style, definitely not for 3 hours.

Not a big fan of jazz but I did enjoy some songs on the album. 3h 14m though is wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy too long...... what the hell. + I don't understand the last disc

Was interesting to listen to music from that era but at the end of the day, it didn't do much for me, decent

She’s got a great voice, super chill album

Amazing singer, has to be said. Nothing terrible here, happy to listen to it but very much of its time in terms of arrangements and orchestration, it can get repetitive to the ears, and the schmaltzy, overly sentimental style of the arrangements, starts to drain having to listen to this in its totality. If a song popped up on shuffle it would be a nice change of pace but hard to take this in one bout of active listening when you are familiar with recorded music since 1959… I'm not the target audience for this but can appreciate that this has an all time voice backed by top musicians. 4/10

It’s alright but just not something I would listen to since it just sounds a little too old fashioned for me but I did end up finding another song by this artist which wasn’t on the album that I liked.

It seems the dear old Project never wants to let me go, so it's given me an absolute monster for my final day. Three and a bit hours of quite pleasant but boring jazz standards, I mean it's hard to know what to make of it. She's got a great voice, there's nothing unpleasant, but I was delighted to get through it.

I love Ella Fitzgerald, but not 3 hours worth. Just complete overkill, recording an entire songbook and forcing the audience to come along on the journey. Could only manage a quarter, as it started to sound the same after a while. Who put this on here?

Like Call the Whole Thing Off. New to me, Rhumba and Real American Folk were fun. Not disagreeable, like the peppier ones better, but why so long?

Baustelle, Gerstetten, Deutschland. Stinklangweilig.

I absolutely don’t have a spare 4 hours to listen to this. I’ve listened to volume 1, I’m sure the rest is just as lovely

Bra stemme men litt kjedelig og 3 timer, hørte ikke hele

If we're including this, then I'd argue we should also be including variois other compilations, and by extension, instrumental albums both by classical artists and from movie/tv/game soundtracks. The inclusion is warranted because of the importance of both the Gershwins and Fitzgerald. But in reality, the Gerswhins weren't great songwriters, Fitzgerald was a fine singer who sang just like everyone else did at the time, and the arrangements are dull to unlistenable, what with dreary strings and brass which is precisely either warbling or sudden parps. Plus, every twat and their dog was singing these exact same songs throughout the 40s and 50s - you could listen to any of them and achieve the same impact. Until artists began writing their own shit and challenging each other, popular music was, for lack of a better term, balls. Take any 10 songs from this - there's no need to hear the whole thing.

Charming but every song sounds the same and it is way way way too long

This is too long....

Makes me want to drive around with a fedora and cigar taped to my driver's side window so everyone passing by can experience the Driving Crooner. THEY'RE TRYING TO MAKE IT LOOK FAKE!!!

not my kinda of album

loooooong!!!

A three and a half hour compilation album. I am not sure how this qualifies for a list that very purposely left off compilations. Ella obviously has a legendary voice, but 3 and a half hours? really? put it on at a cocktail party so people feel fancy but this is not an album everyone needs to hear.

I made it about 25% through this marathon of a selection, stopping when I realized I couldn't tell the difference between the last 3 songs. Beautiful voice, great performance, just not for me

Seemed okay. 6 disc's. 3 hours. I don't have time for that.

Me aburroooooo

Couple of stars for a great singer and the songwriters. Minus the rest of the stars for the length. Great for when you have a dinner party with the fancy dishes and don’t want to curate a whole playlist.

its fine but 60 songs is crazy

mmm not really into jazz …

Fabulous voice. Superbly written songs. It's just...a bit much, especially when you consider this was one of EIGHT albums dedicated to what were the great American songwriters of the time. Of the time, of its time.

listened to the first songs and decided it was a bit boring haha

Honestly a 6 disc compilation of songs my gran would have listened to is a bit much

A Beautiful Voice Trapped in a Three-Hour Slog Look, I see the value in this record. Ella Fitzgerald has an absolutely gorgeous voice and the arrangements are undeniably well-crafted. I get why people love this. But honestly? This type of music bores the ever-loving shit out of me. It's fantastic background music. Perfect for a fancy dinner or a cocktail house party. But as an album to actively sit down and listen to? It's a goddamn slog. Most of these songs sound the same and are about love. After about 10 tracks, you get the whole picture. The biggest issue is the length. Three and a half hours of old-timey jazz standards is a unique experience, but is it a good experience? Is it worthy of listening before death? For me, not really. I've got about 40 minutes of tolerance for most music recorded before 1965. This record had me checking the tracklist every few songs wondering how much time was left. To be fair, I wish I could like music like this. But I can't. It's just not my vibe. What I value in albums is a story and a point of view. I like openers and closers that act as strong bookends, variety in the tracklist, a cohesive sound, and experimental moments that make the record stand out. This is an anthology, not a carefully constructed album with personality. It would have been a 5 or 6 if it ended after a third of the runtime, but over three hours of the same vibe is just too much. Rating: 4.5/10

The vocals were good but this was too insanely long to be enjoyable. It was also a slower pace, quieter album, which made it hard to push through at work.

Fint dette. Men 3 timer med det!? Ble gammelt etter 30 min. Nei takk. Trekker et poeng for lengden.

It's too much. I don't have time to listen to the whole lot. She's great, but not all of these 6 discs at once.

Uffff, una infinita película de navidad donde el aburrimiento prima y la trama se trata sobre nada. No lo disfruté. Seré una inculta? Probablemente

Very theatrical and old timey sounding. She’s got a fantastic voice though. SUPER long tracklist. Not sure if I listened to a deluxe or original release, but wow… it’s long. 2.4/5.0

3 hours! I think, yes, there were a couple good songs in this, but a lot of the album was frankly unnecessary. I just found it boring after only a couple songs in. So as a whole, I give this album a 2/5

Who has time to listen to a 3+ hour album?

Going into this, I knew that three hours of Ella Fitzgerald was going to be a challenge, and I honestly thought this might be the first album in the 1001 challenge that I wouldn’t finish. By 9pm, I finally got there. That said, I do think this is slightly unfair to judge in the same way as a normal 30–40 minute, 10-track album. This is really more of a box set or collection than a traditional album, and I think that matters. You don’t really sit down and consume all of this in one go in the same way you would a standard studio album — it feels more like something to dip in and out of over time. In that sense, it was easier to get through because it works well in the background. I found myself dropping in and out of it throughout the day rather than actively listening to every second. The collection moves through so many styles — cabaret, jazz standards, Disney-style vocals, pop and more — that it can feel a bit all over the place. My biggest question is simply whether it needed to be this long. There were moments I found genuinely beautiful and interesting, but there were also large sections that drifted into the background or felt a little dull. A lot of it, if I’m honest, passed by without leaving much of an impression. One thing that absolutely has to be said, though, is that Ella’s voice is wonderful. Even when the material wasn’t connecting with me, her vocal talent was impossible to ignore. The warmth, clarity and effortless control in her singing are remarkable. This collection isn’t really my thing overall, but there are undeniably beautiful moments throughout. Favourite tracks: “But Not for Me” and “Nice Work If You Can Get It” were both enjoyable Least favourite tracks: So much of this went by without fully grabbing my attention Album artwork: Cool album cover

This is just too damn long. I can’t in good conscience give this a 1 because all the songs are good. Fitzgerald is likely a top 5 greatest singer of the 20th century. Nelson Riddle’s arrangements are excellent. But when you have them for over 3 continuous hours it just becomes a slog.

Too much jazz

Nice voice, pretty easy listen. But a 6-disc, 59-track, 3 hour and 15 minute album on this list?? Probably 3-star material if broken into segments, but any album longer than the “Titanic” movie gets at least a 1-star deduction

Og

How can I be civil when hearing this drivel?