The Gershwin Songbook

this is great study music, very slow and melodic, can almost forget that you're listening to something.

Made me feel like I was at my grandmas house. But listened to it all…interesting change of pace.

Now this is music. Amazing album with high quality songwriting, arrangements and performance by one of the best. Loved it.

An epic collection of the First Lady of jazz. Beautiful stuff. Ella never misses!

personally don't like jazz, but some songs in here were close to changing my mind. incredible singing in every song. however it is unfair to compare this to many other albums in this list since it's a compilation album and it's over 3 hours long. the quality should earn this a 4, but this is way too long

Long but classic

This made me want to wear a velvet blazer and eat spaghetti.

Singing is fine, but I've never been one to groove to some 50's swing. Also way too long.

Expansive. Now maybe i csn pick gershwin out if songbook line ups. Gets a little samish and midtempo jailed. The lyricist brother was a rhyminal criminal ! So many puns and wild ast rhymes. Squawky gal from Milwaukee my fave. Succumba to the rhumba. S’exceptional ! Cheeky ast mfs

It was aight

I mean. Ella Fitzgerald. Rating this feels silly. It's like rating feelings or time. Am I really rating this against Red Hot Chili Peppers? 😂

She had a fantastic voice, but this is far too polished for my tastes. It sounds more like the soundtrack to a Disney film then a showcase for a generational vocal talent.

Kankerlang

She's wonderful.

4 out of 5. Nice but not my usual style.

This is a lot of music. Very much not my style, but it's nice background music. Next time I'm hosting gay men 'of a certain age' I know my soundtrack now.

Qualitativ schon toll, aber für mich weniger relevant

It's a great album. You could call it a Greatest Hits album right? No, these aren't supposed to be on this list. Oh, but they aren't her hits. She is singing Gershwin's hits.... three hours of it... On it's own I'd give it a 5/5. But no, not for this list. 3/5

A good, relaxing album. Ella Fitzgerald's voice is amazing.

Absolutely fabulous. The beautiful voice of Ella Fitzgerald and the timeless music of Gerswin. What a combo. Brilliant

Perfection, from the arrangements to Ella’s vocals.

If you like Gershwin you’ll like this. I don’t mind Gershwin but over 2 hours was a bit much for me.

Beautiful music, just not my taste. Could definitely see people going berserk over this in the 50s.

Beautiful album! Incredible voice 3.5

NOTE: You can listen to the Very Best of the Gershwin Songbook which is only 45 minutes! I do wish there were more 'very best of' albums on here, but I see why that's difficult for some artists v others. With that said, Ella is really a timeless voice, with such a sense of melody, rhythm, and jazz (her scat singing is really something else). Not much else to say asides from this being well deserving of a spot on this list.

Nr. 121/1001 I Got Rhythmus 4/5 Oh Lady Be Good 3/5 Nice Work If You Can Get It 4/5 The Man I Love 3/5 Love Is Here To Stay 3/5 But Not For Me 3/5 A Foggy Day 4/5 Someone To Watch Over Me 2/5 Fascinating Rhythm 3/5 Embraceable You 3/5 They Can't Take That Away From Me 3/5 'S Wonderful 3/5 Average: 2,17 I accidently listened to the "Very Best" Album by accident, which is only 30 minutes long. Only afterwards did I discover that the actual album is over 3 hours long. Since I already felt some diversity lacking, I'm going to deduct a point since I didn't listen to the whole album.

Velvet smooth voice, music is also in keeping with this. The spotify link is an abridged version, the version that is actually on the list is 3 hours long though. I'm not sure if it's a really an album at that point and I can't withstand 3 hours of the same kind of music, although it is easy to listen to so there is worse music to listen to for that long.

Loved the gentle, big band style of this- did remind me of Christmas music due to the arrangements and recording style, but that's no bad thing!

Again just struggled to get into it but neither bad nor great

Sounds like Christmas and a Disney soundtrack had a child! Delightful

So many slow songs. Lovely instrumentation throughout though.

Not much to say - this is Ella at her finest singing, and of course Gershwin at his finest songwriting. I don't think it carries a ton of emotion, but I'm also not convinced it needs to. I am confused at the inclusion of a compilation rather than a studio album from Ella. Very consistent as Ella always is, but without impact on an album level. 8/10. Favorite Songs: Nice Work If You Can Get It, But Not For Me, A Foggy Day, They Can't Take That Away From Me No least favorite songs

Ella Fitzgerald grabó en 1959 una colección de 59 canciones compuestas por George e Ira Gershwin. Aquí se recogen 12 temas en los que se puede apreciar la extraordinaria voz de la cantante de jazz. Incluye canciones imprescindibles como "Oh, Lady Be Good", "'S Wonderful" y "The Man I Love".

Absolutely beautiful

She's a great singer, but the voice I know and love is slightly wasted on these slow, crooning ballads.

Respect the voice but the album was alright. Rating: 2.4

another great vocal performance. The big band vibe and slowness meant all the tracks sounded a bit samey to me

Ya like jazz?

Her voice is what people hear in heaven

Great music and great voice, but then it went on and on for 3 hours...

This was a lovely album to listen to on a Monday morning... But then I ran out of morning.

Made it! Yay for Ella. Nay for 3 hour albums.

Clearly a beautiful and influential singer. Enjoyed this combination of her tracks

Mellow, calming, chill. Ella Fitzgerald has an amazing voice & the big band instrumentation is nice.

Good vocal Jazz! Listened to the first two CDs only though.

What a voice! Beautiful 4/5

A voice as comforting and graceful as a warm autumn afternoon.

Not a fan of musicals...

Liked it better than I thought I would.

Loved her soothing voice!

Muitooo bom de verdade, que voz boa que ritmo que som em. Amei.

I’m not gonna be a pleb like everyone else and complain about the length because it’s senseless, this is music from a far different time and a completely different consumer strategy. The fact that it existed in this form, and that so many sides was the intended format is pretty monumental in and of itself. Ella’s voice is outstanding here, as always, there’s a couple absolute classics as well as a number of intriguing curiosities present here. “Someone to Watch Over Me” is incredibly beautiful. This is a perfect album to tune in and out of cause you’re pretty much always liable to land on some interesting musical or vocal moment. My main issue, and admittedly I’m probably wrong for thinking this, but the Gershwin sound here just skews too close to show tunes or like musical theater to my ear to really genuinely please me. That’s not the case for everything, there’s a lot of classic standards, but again to my ear’s much of this skews less jazz classics and more broadway. That’s my own personal hindrance, otherwise this is really pleasant.

3.5

Not quite my style of Jazz, but probably one of the most "timeless" vocal performances I've ever heard. This is the type of "timeless" where it makes you feel nostalgic for an era you didn't even experience because it was decades before you were even alive; Ella's voice is *that* poignant

Classic beautiful voice. Great songs.

Was very much expecting it to be fairly decent background music, and last night with a glass of wine it was. But damn it has really clicked today during work and I just keep stopping to admire her voice and phrasing. Ended up spending the day with Ella. Enjoyed her bebop especially

Нет, конечно, тут куча всякого знакомого, но при этом я не испытываю кайфа. Захотелось включить чего-нибудь... другого. Захотелось даже двойку поставить.

Showtunes aren't generally my thing, but you can't deny this woman's beautiful voice, and the arrangements are great for the most part. But you gotta also really love Gershwin tunes to love listening to three plus hours of this. I don't get why the instrumental stuff was here. "My Cousin in Milwaukee" was one of the tracks that stood out to me. I liked the wordplay.

Yes

I’m surprised how much I enjoyed.

George and Ira’s lyrics and compositions combined with Ella’s beautifully controlled voice (no scatting here) was perfect.

Beautiful!

3 hours 14 minutes??? Good gravy. This is all lovely but that's A LOT of anyone to listen to.

Ella Fitzgerald's voice can make any song a delight. This was no exception.

I've never been a huge Ella fan (prefer Sarah Vaughan / Nina Simone for this style), but I enjoyed this far more than other stuff I've heard from her. It's buttery smooth from track to track. There's a few unusual renditions of standards that I've not heard before; I've never heard I've Got Rhythm with that intro and Someone to Watch Over Me too. Honestly I think the new intro to Someone to Watch Over Me kinda ruins how pretty of a song it is . Overall, I think there's better renditions of these standards. For that reason I'm gonna give it a 2.5 / 5.

Perfectly fine. Not my favourite renditions in the genre.

Makes me wish I was sitting in a cocktail bar dancing with strangers and just having a great time. She has an incredible voice, The album has that old hiss underlying all the songs which is quite magic tbh. Very of an era, and maybe not something I'd listen to when driving or anything, but it's a beautiful, slow, Sunday afternoon album

Classic. I like

Listen. I love George Gershwin. (Ira Gershwin is hit or miss with lyrics.) Ella Fitzgerald has a beautiful voice. But there’s no reason why this should be on the list. It’s a box set. It’s way too long. And many of the songs use a tempo that’s far too slow for my taste. Only a handful are what I’d considered great. 2.5/5

I Got Rhythm - 8/10 Oh, Lady Be Good - 8/10 Nice Work If You Can Get It - 7.5/10 The Man I Love - 8/10 Love Is Here To Stay - 7.5/10 But Not For Me - 7.5/10 A Foggy Day - 7.5/10 Someone To Watch Over Me - 7/10 Fascinating Rhythm - 6/10 Embraceable You - 7/10 They Can’t Take That Away From Me - 8/10 ‘S Wonderful - 7/10 TOTAL - 73/120

Ridiculously good voice, perfect songs to have on in a classy lounge

I’m obviously going to love this, but I don’t know that I have 3 1/2 hours to dedicate to it. Agree with others that a best of should not be eligible.

Voice holds pure crystal Notes, silence breathes, piano Dances beneath sound

I listened to the abridged version. I dont think I could handle 3 hours of any album, no matter how good. That said, beautiful voice, great songs with some of them a bit too slow at times. Loved it, though.

Hard to rate as it's so (too) long and tbh i listened to the best of on Spotify. The voice is magical but its all a bit nice.

Clear singing, very jazzy, grandparent music but Ella can sing quite a boppin' tune for sure

Now THIS is music! Songs by one of America's greatest composers, rendered by one of America's greatest singers with strength and subtlety.

What a voice

Still have some work to do to complete this 4 album box set, but going to move on anyway. Classic voice. Classic songs. Going to change up my rating scale slightly. While I wouldn’t choose to put this one on again on my own, I respect it all too much to give less than a 3. It’s really good for what it is.

Don't listen to the extended album. YouTube Music and Pandora sends you to 59 and 73 song extended versions. Spotify will too at first so be sure to only listen to exactly Ella Fitzgerald The Gershwin Songbook with 12 songs. Beautiful voice, no question. A few songs got me dancing across the floor. 12 songs is just about right for this style though.

Rating: 5/10 Meh.

I listened to the Very Best of the Gershwin Song Book (2007), there's also a four CD set (!) that I haven't heard all of. Ella's voice is great and the songs have a nostalgic quality but this just isn't making me want to revisit it straight away. Can't go higher than ***

Вау!

Good I guess, at least compared to the other albums so far

She has a very beautiful voice, and imagine the music was very impressive for its time, but it’s just not my thing I get very bored with music like this

So far so good. This album had a nostalgic feel and took me back to my disney watching days. I feel like this would be a great album to feature in a film (don’t know if it does). Need to finish tomorrow. 3/5

One of the best albums I have ever listened to

some songs were corny but those were the ones I liked haha

Its a classic!

Ella is fantastic. Gershwin is fantastic. Ella doing the Gershwin songbook - double fantastic. I get that there’s a 3 hour version, if that’s not your thing listen to the best of the best album that the site links you to. It’s 40 minutes of great music.

Listened to the best of because the full one is way to long. 2.5 per track, the comments here are overhyped.

Its hard to overstate how classic this is.

Hat mich jetzt nicht vom Hocker gehauen. Und das, wo ich Jazz und Swing mag.

Masterpiece!

Good Ella, you're so wonderful once and a while, but not a whole album long

Gotta love Ella

very good, but not for me

Ella Fitzgerald’s voice is incredible! Likely heard some of her music as a kid but certainly didn’t appreciate what a gift she was at that time. Throughly enjoyed this album, her clearly beautiful vocals are so soothing and totally on key with every note.

Great for relaxing!!

Wonderful Wonderful Wonderful!! Ella Fitzgerald could sing the phone book and it would be Epic!! A voice of the Ages!! George Gershwin was an Incredible song writing Genius!! Hearing Ella sing his works was A Breath of Fresh Air…. I would give it 10 or 20 stars!!⭐️ Musical 🎶 Theater at its Finest!!

EXCELLENT!! Ella could sing the phone book and it would be Epic! ADD to That George Gershwin's music and it's a marriage made in heaven for my ears....I would give it 10 stars or More!! I LOVE Music Theater and this is the very Best of the Best!!

What can I say? Ella. Gershwin. Brings out what little old soul I possess.

4.5 4.1 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.8 4.5

I’d play this one again. Good vibe for yesterday too.

Hit me at the wrong time/mood I think.

No había escuchado música de este tipo pero me gustó mucho.

Nice jazz, with a killer voice

just some good groovy swing with the great ella fitzgerald over the top :) Nice work if you can get it and Love is here to stay had some great melodies

Liked it alot Great for dinner parties and a glass of wine

Great arrangements. Have heard Frank’s versions of these songs. What a voice. Hate auto tune, glad it wasn’t around back then.

Immaculate songwriting paired with divine singing.

Sehr schön

chill, the greatest hits version is the way to go

Ella had a beautiful voice but this is a snooze-fest. It has Walt Disney orchestration and doesn't allow Ella to swing. It should come with a paper strip like they used to wrap around motel toilet seats once upon a time. "Sanitized for your protection."

Very enjoyable. Her voice was perfect.

Love Ella.

wunderbare Stimme, love songs. Gershwin for hours ist Geschmacksache. Irgendwann irgendwo zwischen genial und nicht mehr zu ertragen. Technische Qualität unbeschreiblich gut.

Eh ganz nett aber halt old people Musik

I like Fascinating Rhythm and Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off

Ooooo too smooth like butter

One of the greatest female vocalists of all time for any genre

This was good. Everything about it was just a little too clean for my tastes. I would enjoy listening to it again - but won’t seek it out.

This was great. You have to love Ella.

Beautiful voice!

Beautiful voice, and you can't go wrong with the classic song selection!

Such a pretty voice. Gershwin must have loved hearing her sing his songs.

The best of her day! All other interpreters of Gershwin songbook that follow try to live up to Ella!

Ella's voice is so smooth and is such a pleasure to listen to. Solid 9/10, I wasn't the biggest fan of I got rhythm but the rest are amazing.

Her voice is wonderful, but it’s not enough to have me enjoy showtimes

very pleasant listening

She classic

Beautiful songs - and what a voice!

Foggy Day: yah S’wonderful and Fascinating Rhythm: nah Boy am I glad I didn’t embark on some 52 song YouTube vision quest like that other guy

Big band's enjoyable, Ella's an excellent singer, but not a fan of the lyrics for the most part. Showtunes aren't my jam.

lovely voice, very big sounds, classic in nature but so tonally similar from start to end, hard to pick out anything distinct. although "oh lady be good" kinda stands out for me. should revisit if ever there is time

Feels like tokenism - great singer and some amazing tunes, but feels out of place alongside Ice Cube and the Shamen - this isn't really on topic

Impressive speed and aggression. Not for me.

There were some fun familiar songs. I enjoyed most of it, but to sure I'd return to the whole album. I appreciated the 'different' music.

Beautiful music sung by a beautiful voice. What a pleasure to listen to!

Ella's voice is exemplary. I hope she had a well-lived life as free from racism as possible, given the time she lived

When people say that music lacks class or substance in the modern world they would probably be pointing back to this record as the touchstone of those things. The purity of her voice is unmatched in the world.

She has beautiful voice but at moments it was a bit too slow for me. -8/10

Absolute gas, 9.9/10 -.1 bc I don’t love the beedoodumdadee stuff in the first song but that’s literally the only thing I have to say

Amazing voice (as we all know I guess), sounds so effortless. 9/10

8/10 - Extremely good but in a 3 hour album obviously some of the songs will be better than others. We sang let's call the whole thing off in like 5th grade and it was interesting to see what it was supposed to sound like.

so very long, but it was ok. I did get very tired of it by the end 5/10

Didn’t listen to the full 3 hour thing but the best of was pretty great 8.5/10

I sadly have to admit that I am a sucker for 50’s doo-wop. This album is packed with that happy 50’s feel, and I enjoyed listening. Favorite song: I got rhythm Least favorite: The man I love

Not my cup of tea, but amazing in its own right.

yup!

Should you ever want to transport yourself into an old world cocktail jazz bar complete with timeless lyric and lush but personal vocal delivery, this is your pick. I dare you not to get lost in soulful nostalgia.

this is only a small sample of ella's entire collection of recordings done of the gershwin songbook, or the great american songbook, a collection of, you guessed it, american written tracks from a century ago. this "best of" album is more than enough to show me just how talented and vocally beautiful ella fitzgerald is, every track is so pleasant to the ears... ella could literally sing some of the vilest darkest heavy metal tracks and she'll sing it in such a way that'll make you curl up in bed and daydream.

Ella fitzgerald's voice, first rate material and sympathetic, tasteful arrangements. Hard to get better than that. 4.5 stars

Normally i listen to something different - not Jazz. But it was ok

Easy listen, though I found some of the songs to somewhat blend together. Wish the band took a larger role in her songs as she sounded great with them supporting her. Best song: Love Is Here To Stay Worst Song: N/A

It’s Ella’s pure, clear, yet delicate voice for me that makes her forever my top girlie.

I started out thinking this would be an easy four stars - clearly really good but I’d take a star off for not being my sort of thing or only wanting to play it occasionally. But as it went on I got bored. I think it’s the strings. I have this problem with a lot of the jazz I WANT to like. Wes Montgomery records are a good example. I’m excited to hear the guitar playing and the band but the whole thing is smothered in a schmutz of saccharine strings. I like it (or can bear it) for a song or two but a whole album of it is too much. It strikes me as the sort of thing where you could take a few songs and mix them up in a compilation of other music and I would appreciate each song on it’s own. But strings all the time is too many strings. I prefer having a bit space to hear the voice and the band. For example I recently bought a Wes Montgomery LIVE album so I could be reasonably sure there’s no strings on it. Anyway. I think I’ve made my point. Too many strings! Give us a song or few without strings as a break, or at least a less sickly sweet arrangement and I might have liked the album a lot more.

Incredible set of songs from an incredible artist. Too much to take in properly in one sitting so will be returning to this over time to experience more.

This is like the fine china figurines kept in glass cabinets in your Grandma's house - can admire the artistry but just don't want to touch and don't understand the attraction.

Lite mjäkigt faktiskt, bra men inte superintressant.

Quite a lot of tunes for an "album a day" list! But this was a fun listen. Great orchestration, and now I think I could pick out Ella in a blind listen.

Jazz A bit boring

What a vocalist!

ELLAAAAA i got rhythm- smiley ball. i like the bass. and of course her voice is heavenly. 7. oh lady be good- the strings are cool ummm its a little slow for my taste to be real but like its nice and soulful and umm yeah a 6 nice work if you can get it- um some folks are saying this album is 3 hours long? sorry to them ig but not doing that im just doing the 44 minute one. i like this i like how i can just sway to it. the horns and strings are really nice. i dont know how to describe things i like but whatever. motherfucker is that a clarinet? 6 the man i love- i do like this i think its sweet im just not one for a ballad particularly. idk how to explain this but this song is like a leaf dancing in the wing and falling to the ground. 5 love is here to stay- i love these horns. i like those hits that happen after shes finished the first verse or so. 6. but not for me- i fink this whole album is these slow love songs and i like those too but i like the livelier ella stuff yknow what im saying. like sometimes when shes singing you can hear the smile in her voice and it makes my heart melt. its probably the composer that is making all these slow ballads and its whatever i still like them just not what i usually reach for. i think this song was pretty standard like a 5 a foggy day- ummm i dont have a lot to say on this other then when shes about to say "foggy" i keep thinking she'll say "fucking". thats about it. 5 someone to watch over me- yuh. 5 fascinating rhythm- i like that bass. this is what ive been missing. 7. excellent use of the word patter. embraceable you- maybe the slowest song. maybe a 4 im sorry i was just so bored i almost fell asleep they cant take that away from me- um yeah 5 the ending is nice but yeah s wonderful- i think ive played this before in band. is this the dick van dyke theme one. so it was in fact not that. its nice though you can sway to it. 6 yeah

I listened to the "best of" 44 min version on Tidal. Amazing 4,5. However the three hour version might be guilty of repetitivity (will listen a weekend with time). I guess it will be a 4 strar album.

Ella can sing incredibly well. But this album isn't something I'd listen to more than once.

Ella Fitzgerald is like the greatest jazz singer of all time; this was enjoyable overall with smooth, nostalgic vibes.

Fitzgerald’s voice is angelic, but that’s about the only thing going for this album. The instrumentals and the melodies are pretty shallow and get old very quickly. DNF.

This was great, but not for 3 hours.

I listened to the "Very Best" version instead of the box set, which is a good thing because I wasn't in the mood for 3 hours of Ella, no matter how good it was. I was happy to listen to this version with Ella at the height of her vocal powers and the songs felt like it was from an old soundtrack or stagey event, which is a good thing. Very easy-going listen from one of the true talents of her era. Sit back and enjoy!

I didn't listen to the entire 3 hour album and listened to what was on Spotify. I love Ella's voice and could listen to her sing anything.

Ella had a beautiful voice and this holds up well. A solid showcase of the talent found in the original recordings. For those interested the original release was around 3 hours long and is amazing in scope.

Superb. What a voice and sense of rhythm. Also very well produced for the era. 4 stars.

Classic big band sound with Ella’s beautiful vocals on top.

Similar vibes to Sarah Vaughn, bit more major big band sound though

Ella kina goated tbh

Peak 50’s crooning

Great voice

I'm quite fond of Ella Fitzgerald so I love to listen to her.

Очень приятная музыка, хоть и не запоминающаяся. Единственное -- тупая песня про бананас-бэнэнас, но в остальном неплохо.

Sam and Delilah- 7/10 But Not For Me- 7/10 My One and Only- 8/10 Let's Call the Whole Thing Off- 8/10 (I've Got) Beginner's Luck- 7/10 Oh, Lady Be Good- 7/10 Nice Work If You Can Get It- 7/10 Things are Looking Up- 7/10 Just Another Rhumba- 8/10 How Long has This been Going On- 8/10 'S Wonderful- 8/10 The Man I Love- 9/10 That Certain Feeling- 9/10 By Strauss- 7/10 Someone to Watch over Me- 7/10 The Real American Folk Song- 9/10 Who Cares?- 7/10 Looking for a Boy- 7/10 They All Laughed- 9/10 My Cousin in Milwaukee- 8/10 Somebody from Somewhere- 7/10 A Foggy Day- 7/10 Clap Yo' Hands- 4/10 For You for Me for Evermore- 7/10 Stiff Upper Lip- 9/10 Boy Wanted- 6/10 Strike Up the Band- 9/10 Soon- 7/10 I've Got a Crush on You- 7/10 Bidin' My Time- 7/10 Aren't You Kind of Glad We Did?- 6/10 Of Thee I Sing- 7/10 The Half of It Dearie Blues- 9/10 I Was Doing all Right- 7/10 He Loves and She Loves- 6/10 Love is Sweeping the Country- 8/10 Treat me Roughly- 7/10 Love is here to Stay- 7/10 Slap that Bass-8/10 Isn't It a Pity- 7/10 Shall We Dance- 7/10 Love Walked On- 8/10 You've Got What Gets Me- 7/10 They Can't Take That Away from Me- 7/10 Embraceable You- 7/10 I Can't Be Bothered Now- 7/10 Boy What Love Has Done to Me- 5/10 Fascinating Rhythm- 6/10 Funny Face- 7/10 Lorelei- 8/10 Oh So Nice- 7/10 Let's Kiss and Make Up- 9/10 I Got Rhythm- 8/10 389/530

Finally songs to my taste! Such an iconic voice.

Beautiful expressive voice on top of accompanying classical orchestra. She sings gently and assertively, accomplishing both sides. Many great renditions on here. I didn't find anything laughably bad, but there were parts where I felt her vocal performance was weak, as if both she and the band had enough and weren't giving it their all. Some tracks have the orchestra stick out, but most of it is just adapting to the mood that Fitzgerald conveys by filling the space, which I find boring and repetitive. I found joy in the novelty tracks that have character, but at the expense of messiness. I list the ones on each disc that stick out to me the most to make it easier for me on successive listens. Disc 1: Sam and Delilah, But Not For Me, My One and Only, Nice Work If You Can Get It, Just Another Rhumba Disc 2: 'S Wonderful, By Strauss, Someone to Watch Over Me, Real American Folk Song Disc 3: A Foggy Day, Stiff Upper Lip, Strike Up the Band Disc 4: The Half of It, Drearie Blues, He Loves and She Loves, Love is Here to Stay, Slap That Bass Disc 5: Embraceable You, Boy What Love Has Done to Me, Fascinating Rhythm

Jazz del de antes y vinilo para ahora.

jazz at its finest

Ok

Damn, she can really sing! very mellow album, it's "nice" but didn't blow me away

Not for me

It's Ella, so great stuff. Though I like her albums that have straight up jazz bands backing her. This particular album has arrangements and a backing band that were a little more pop. But still great stuff.

Kitchen Music

It's Ella Fitzgerald. She's amazing. Full stop. I'll be listening to more of this.

The symphonic instrumentals and the big band era sounds were very nice. Hard for me to personally rate it higher than a 3/5 but I could see it being a big hit with fans of the genre. Ella's voice is simply amazing as well!

Ella voice is wonderful of course. Smooth. Her phrasing is great. However many of the songs are boring and you really need to be in the mood to listen to this music. I wasn’t today.

It was a beautiful album to hear so many years later

Beautiful but boring. This sounded like Italian restaurant music.

Yeah, this is great! What a wonderful voice and beautiful music to set the scenery. Very mellow melancholic songs perfect for a fall/winter evening. 8 out of 10

Beautiful crooned melodies over iconic arrangements. Fitzgerald had one of the most recognizable and unforgettable voices of all time. Nothing to dig into too deep here. Maybe this is an album where it’s either your thing or it isn’t, but I’d wager that anyone who says they don’t like this is lying to themselves.

Life tastes a bit sweeter when soundtracked by the First Lady of Song’s renditions of these timeless jazz standards.

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.

Took me a few days to take it all in. Some great songs on this.

3.6/5 Best track: Oh, Lady Be Good

But not for me...

I find this music sleepy... unless it's background music during dinner where I can safely ignore.

Chilled vibes

3.5

classicos

Ik snap het niet helemaal, ik zie andere reviews praten over drie uur, maar blijkbaar is dit veranderd naar een Best Of van het album van 3 uur? Dat is gewoon raar. Verder natuurlijk super fantastisch mooi dit. Ik zou het direct 5 sterren geven, als het geen compilatie was. Zo kan ik het ook, alleen het goede plukken en de mindere dingen weglaten. Aftrek: 1 ster.

C'est un 5 clairement mais caline 3h ahah je le descend à 4.75 pour ça. Belle musique d'ambiance à écouter pour.une belle.soiree de Noël !

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

Obviously I love it

Ms. Fitzgerald has a very pleasant voice and I could see putting this one for some quiet background music, but would never play it for active listening.

She's great. It's a mood. Can't put this record on at any old time.

iconic classic everything

Disc 1 liked it. Wonderful Voice! slow Jams to dance and to listen during Winter Sundays. Would be a 4/5 Disc 2 Love the slower Songs more than the more energetic ones. Good Songs and lesser liked Songs so a 3/5 Disc 3 Got some certain Songs that feels more like Movie Scores. Its enjoyable but i mean it dont feel much new or different. would give it also an 3/5 Disc 4 Started with some bit noisey trumpets but we still goin in. Maybe i recognize it now more but i think i hear more instruments than before (more present than before) Disc 5 Now again more slower. Glad that im almost through it. Its still wonderful. 3.5/5 Disc 6 (Nelson Riddle) only instruments. Its wonderful played but after 3 hours its just draining... 2/5 Overall (3 Stars) Gonna give 1 cuz of Length and not really being an Album! Ellas Voice is timeless and its a good comp to just play during xmas or the winter. While cooking or danncing w/my significant other but as an Album its too long and not really an album to me. As a music listener i dont really like Compilationsbecause mostly they dont have any structure!

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

The music was inoffensive. But 3 hours worth?

The inclusion of something that was originally released as a 5xLP + 7” as an album seems a bit dubious to me. That being said this was an absolute delight to listen to, all of it. Ella Fitzgerald is obviously amazing and the Gershwin Songbook is ingrained in our culture at this point as standards. It’s a beautiful recording of beautiful versions of all of these. I still wouldn’t call this an “album” but it’s kind of hard to give it anything less than 5 stars.

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.

What a beautiful sound her voice is

Extraordinary voice extremely ordinary song writing

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

I really like it. Even though I’m not much into Jazz

She is so wonderful. It's a good album, but if I were making this list I'd include her singing tracks other than Gershwin.

Only could find "The Very Best of The Gershwin Songbook" which was 12 songs, not the entire 59-song set. But it is some of the very best of its genre.

Sets the mood very well, and Ella Fitzgerald's voice is beautiful.

Ella set the bar for jazz vocalists. Truly gorgeous stuff

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.

She is one of the goats of big band/jazz. This was a really great chill album. Really like the vibes and feel of this album. Was... cozy. Would be nice to experience what it was like back then, but like without all the downsides. Overall very enjoyable. A Solid 4/5

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.

Lovely for Sunday night listening. Would revisit this album to have in the background at family gatherings or when I’m next sorting the sock basket.

Ella Fitzgerald's voice is actually perfect. Very pretty collection of songs.

Was ok

The legendary Ella Fitzgerald recorded and released 8 massive albums comprising works by 8 different songwriters to make the Great American Songbook Collection. It's like the OG version of Sufjan Stevens' 50 states project. This album, and yes it was recorded and released as an album not a compilation, is 59 songs and over 3 hours of swoony, croony, and sometimes loony tunes that showcase the exuberant composition and wordplay of the Gershwin bros and the one of a kind pipes of Lady Ella. There is an abridged Best Of version available, if you're trying to put a time limit on your dinner party. Drop that needle, pour that glass of wine, tap them toes, and enjoy the dulcet tones with some stimulating conversation.

Awesome 50s style music. Very chill, very swanky. Great Sunday music

Very smooth and accomplished and certainly good value for money though (over 3 hours). Some good hits in there too although after a bit it sounds a bit samey (sorry).

Nice change of pace

Three hours 6 discs too much

“The Very Best of” on Amazon Music is only 12 songs and 44 minutes long. I’m not sure why so many of the reviews on here are talking about 3 hours of music. This is fine. I prefer jazzier versions of these songs from other releases, but these are nice. Not really my thing though.

Beautiful, Ella has the classic voice.

Classic standards. I love this type of music around the holidays. It's not exactly holiday music, but it's great for cooking and baking with family or playing overhead while shopping in a department store or mall. I'm not the biggest holiday music fan, so this big band, jazzy sound is a great substitute. And Ella's voice is just so smooth. What's not to love about this album?

This just isn't for me. Me rating it is silly.

Vin m beetje zeuren

Fine but just sounds like backing music or something. Not really my kind of thing

Only giving 4 stars because of the length. Perfect for my morning walk

Gonna be brutally honest, I love Ella Fitzgerald, but ain't nobody got 3 hours to listen to non stop Gershwin songs. She doesn't even song for the first 15 or so minutes. I understand the reasoning behind it and it's part of the larger overarching "Ella sings the whole ass complete American Songbook" that last for around 15 hours, but I'm not American and I have no connection to it and it's all very old and tedious...

1. i got rythym - 1 2. oh lady be good - 1 3. nice uuork - 1 4. the man i love - 1.5 5. love iz here to ztay - 2 6. but not for me - 1 7. a foggy day - 1 8. zomeone to uuatch over me - 1.5 9. fazcinating rythym - 10. embrecable you - 1.5 11. they cant take that auuay - 1.5 12. zuuonderful - 1

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.

The full version of this is 3 hours long, so grateful that Spotify only linked me to the 44 minute version. She's got a nice voice, but the music is just... really dull... isn't it? Feels like it's just beyond its sell by date now, some music may be timeless but this isn't (although it must have appealed to quite a few people for quite a long time). 2/5.

A gift

Very nice, relaxed

Goeie ouwe jazz waar je wel even zin in moet hebben maar als je er zin in hebt dan is het wel erg lekker

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.

hey look, you've got one of the greatest singers of all time singing some of the best songwriting of all time, arranged by one of the most iconic jazz arrangers of all time. this stuff hits. my only knock is that the entire album is... LONG. it is a COMMITMENT. but it's worth it. you're listening to the best of vocal jazz.

Today’s album is 3 hours long. I can’t exactly say I’m thrilled with that, especially since I listen to a different album every day so it’s not as if I’ll be spreading it over several days. I feel exhausted just looking at the track list, but I’ll try my best with this. Songs I already knew: Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off Favourites: Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off, The Real American Folk Song Honestly, this album was pretty delightful. Obviously, it is exceptionally long, but the variety between songs means it takes a long time to outstay its welcome. However, at around the 2 hour mark I was definitely getting bored, so it does get a bit much to listen as one full album. The music itself reminds me a lot of when I used to watch Family Guy and they would throw in occasional jazz songs. They definitely took a lot of inspiration from artists like Ella Fitzgerald.

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.

Amazing voice and great tunes to show it off

What a wonderful album to listen to. Top quality writing and production, with sublime vocals.

Sick!

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.

Sublime…

What a queen 👑

Match made in near heaven

sadly, the greatness of this music seems to be inaccessible to me

Favorite tracks: Nice Work if You Can Get It; A Foggy Day; Embraceable You

The music my gran listened to. Nice enough, she has a lovely voice. But.... It's bloody boring and repetitive

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

Pretty decent background music

Perfect!

Klik je door via deze site dan krijg je een Spotify compilatie-album van 44 minuten. Als je niet beter weet is dat een zegen. Na 44 minuten mag je wat anders gaan doen. Weet je echter dat de echte versie 3 uur en 17 minuten is dan voelt het toch nep om die uitgestrekte hand beet te pakken. Dus ik zet de lange versie aan tot ik niet meer verder wil, danwel met m'n leven danwel met mevrouw Ella. Sinds ome Miles' Bitches Brew is me duidelijk geworden dat ik nooit meer langer dan een uur ga luisteren naar iets wat me niet bevalt. Je krijgt extreem lang precies wat je verwacht. Na-oorlogse muziek die nog in zwart-wit is opgenomen. Blazertjes, strijkertjes, percussie optioneel, pianotje, harpje, een verdwaalde hobo (het instrument, niet de landloper) en Ella die het aan elkaar mag zingen. Melancholie, kerstmis en longemfyseem; Je voelt de sigarettenrook bijna in je ogen prikken. Want wat konden ze in die tijd roken. Oude Disneyfilms. Onzekere, zeer goed geklede heertjes die gaan dansen met onzekere, zeer goed geklede dametjes die eigenlijk nog net te vies-jong voor ze zijn (maar toen kon dat nog). Glaasje champagne geschonken in zo'n coupe ipv een fluitje. Begin jaren '60, Mad Men, Christina Hendricks, enorme joekels van jopen. Ik droom bij zo'n album toch een beetje weg. Ik krijg zin in sneeuw. En de borsten van Christina Hendricks. Ik zit nu op 22 minuten, wat bij veel albums ongeveer de helft is. Hier is het 1/10e. Slijtageslag. M'n conclusie na ruim een uur: Hier ga ik hem afkappen. Het zijn stuk voor stuk prima nummers. Niet helemaal mijn stijl maar ik neem er ook geen aanstoot aan. Ik haal er niet echt plezier uit, maar ik heb ook geen grote ergernissen. Als ik dit moet beoordelen als een album van ruim 3 uur dan is de score een 1 of 2, omdat het veel teveel van hetzelfde is. Als je het in kleinere brokken hakt zou het ook een 3 kunnen zijn wat mij betreft. Lastig om er een eindcijfer op te plakken.

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

Essential Tracks: I Got Rhythm (Playlist) Love Is Here To Stay Embraceable You They Can’t Take That Away From Me

Dat Blue Skies remix tho? Quality singing all the way through.

Warm and cozy. I should revisit it on a snuggly weekend.

1959. This album made me so happy! It was perfect, easy listening while I was working.

This was a favorite! It will go into regular rotation.

I was only presented with the Ella Fitzgerald "best of" album, but the full song book version. She's got such an amazing voice, and each track was just beautiful.

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.

I didn't listen to the 3-hour version, but the shorter 57 minute version. While not the kind of music I would ever choose, it was like listening to a warm hug on Christmas and I enjoyed my brief time with this album. The woman could sing!

Would have been 5 stars if it hadn't been over 3 hours long - so many terrific songs, but they all just run together at this length. Standouts I'd never heard before: A Foggy Day, Stiff Upper Lip, I've Got a Crush on You, Treat Me Rough, Slap that Bass

Super great voice, very unique but that type of music just isn't my cup of tea

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.

Very sweet.

Absolutely magical and relaxing. These songs and her vocal are iconic and evoke memories that we thought we never had.

Not my favourite Ella songs but still Ella.

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.

OK, the songs are classics, and the singer is legendary, but fuck my hat is this album boring. The nature of this beast (and beast it is - three-plus hours for the full recording) is that there is very little brand new, and for me this just dragged. And dragged. And dragged. And dragged - and I only listened to the best of version of this.

don’t like it

Sorry this is just too long. Ella Fitzgerald is an icon, I know, but this is just not her best work.

Ella's voice just makes you want to grab someone special and sway.

Fine. A bit boring.