The Gershwin Songbook

If I could only listen to one artist for the rest of my life Ella Fitzgerald would be way up in the running. I discovered her music as a teenager & she’s seen me through the good & the bad for 40+ years. The combination of Fitzgerald’s voice & the music of Gershwin is what Sunday afternoons were made for. Just stunning.

honestly i was falling asleep while listening to this. it was just really calming but boring. i understand she is very influential but just not my style!

Exactly the kind of album I would not have listened to for much of my life and is the benefit of this exercise. Big band / jazz singing was something I really didn't appreciate (like) growing up so this is a relatively new genre for me... ...but who hasn't heard of Ella Fitzgerald? I think the thing I appreciate most right way is how good this sounds - 1959?? Getting a full orchestra sounding this good and clear while blending with Ella's perfect voice had to be a crazy challenge. I'm usually more turned off than on by singing but her voice is truly perfect - there's a clarity and casual vibe to the way she sang that could probably never be taught - how do you learn to lay back on the beat like this and yet nail it so perfectly? It would be an insult to call her singing effortless but therein lies the genius talent I suppose, that she sounds like she could have been told "Ella! quick, sing this song" and she would have cut it on a first take then been on her way. And perhaps that casual-yet-perfect delivery is the reason that millions of people thought/think they could sing like her. (where's my mother-in-law...? ha) Now... the entire album is 3 hours long. Hello. Wayy too much. Then again, where am I gonna go - I'm listening on work time and this is actually perfect working music. I'm not focused on lyrics so it's more the entire sound that washes over me in a much more enjoyable way than I'd have thought... as a negative, on the rare occasion that I do end up hearing the lyrics they're a bit...goofy? I don't like it much at all - but it's the era, I get that, so I'll not knock Gershwin - just grading on Ella and the band here. Not really a genre I love but this is one of the most famous and celebrated singers in American history; for those like me it's a necessary education/addition to the list and has been an excellent listen. I feel like I'm giving this a bit of a legacy rating - even though I'm unlikely to listen to the album again, I enjoyed it more than I expected (again not grading the lyrics so much which for me are best-ignored) and to get by the mammoth running time of this I could see making a (much) shorter "best of" this best of for a personal compilation. 7/10 4 stars

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

Great voice. Great music.

One of the greatest voices of the 20th century singing songs by one of the greatest songwriters of the 20th century. There's really nothing to dislike here. Not a damn thing.

Really nice classic vocal jazz and super easy to listen to. Calming in a way. 7/10.

Oozes with class

Absolutely beautiful in every way. Immediately blended into the background. Floated around the room and harmonized with the hum of a small in-wall heater, struggling against the cold morning air. C

Buttery smooth, cozy. I thought it was going to be repetitive big band, but surprisingly there was a lot of variety. Nice listen on a fall afternoon. Did fade into the background, but it’s nearly perfect.

It's nice. I mean, it's great. It's Ella Fitzgerald. It's lovely. It's proficient, adept, and sets the mood. It's fantastic background music. Maybe that's the point, you take your mistress to a lounge, eat some steak, and grab her thigh while the music tries to be as unobtrusive as possible. Not sure what to rate it.

Vandaag een "greatest hits" album. Heel goede jazz zangeres. Doet me denken aan films uit de jaren '60 of zo. Helaas is de muziek veel te langdradig en slaapverwekkend. Ik kan hier op een vrijdagochtend echt niet naar luisteren. **

Nice album. Showcases the voice of Ella

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

Her voice is superb and I'm not able to do any criticism over it. It could be a crime. The album itself is cool, but a little bit repetitive. It's, at least for me, a real document that deserves appreciation and studies over it, for many reasons. However, for an "innocent" session of good music, I believe that we have many other good albums, including some Ella Fitzgerald works.

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?

oold slow but still nice

Smooooooooth. And what a voice! Felt very calm listening to it :)

Gorgeous album, like whipped cream.

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.

“The Very Best of the Gershwin Songbook” by Ella Fitzgerald (1959) The great Ella Fitzgerald sings 12 great songs written by the great songwriting duo (the great George Gershwin and the great Ira Gershwin), arranged by the great Nelson Riddle performed with the backing of his great orchestra released in the great year 1959 delivering great sound produced by the great Norman Granz for his great record label Verve. Do you get an idea of where this is headed? But, it must be noted, the album is a collection of the ‘top’ 12 tracks from the 59 songs included on the original five-LP “Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Songbook”, and thus is sort of a “greatest hits” compilation. It stretches the standard selection criteria of the 1001 Albums project. Now, to the main point of assessing a product like this: Ella Fitzgerald’s voice has everything—resonance, control, range, diction, power, soul, dynamic scope, and metaphysical transcendence (well, perhaps that’s overdoing it a bit). Her delivery can be characterized as sultry, but still capable of expressing laughter through the words and tones. She hits every curveball that tag team relievers Gershwin, Gershwin, and Riddle throw at her. George Gershwin composes melodies with intervals that are challenging for any singer. And while Barbra Streisand and Ella Fitzgerald can both master these intervals in the studio (e.g., “Someone to Watch Over Me”) only Fitzgerald can do it live (not heard on this album, but well worth exploring). In sum, Ella Fitzgerald’s voice is simply amazing. Riddle’s quasi-humorous inclusion of strains of Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” in the outro to “The Man I Love” probably elicited an eye-rolling giggle from Fitzgerald. But Riddle’s arrangements are, in fact, superb. He is likely, for instance, surpassed only by Glenn Miller in his effective use of solo bass trombone. Some of his humorous countermelodies are a referential stretch, but entertaining every time. Ira Gershwin mastered the art of stretching to reach a rhyme, and he rarely enters the realm of the profound. But he’s a dutiful slave to meter, if that’s a good thing. Listen to the first ten seconds of “Embraceable You” if that’s all the time you have (and if that’s truly all the time you have, I feel sorry). The only flaw I spotted in this album was that the song “They Can’t Take That Away from Me” should have been arranged in a key that is one whole step higher. Fitzgerald can’t quite descend to the tonic with confidence. But even for a quasi-“greatest hits” collection, this recording is still top notch. 5/5

I'm not super well versed in jazz, but I enjoyed this a lot! I don't know how often I'll revisit it, but I'm certainly very glad that I listened to it. Also, I was getting conflicting info on what to listen to, so I listened to "The Very Best of the Gershwin Songbook", just for the record.

I cannot say that I "feel" and "understand" jazz at this moment in my life. But Ella is a genius who brought me a little closer to this understanding. Most liked compositions: Just another rhumba, Sam and Delilah, But not for me, My One and Only, The Man I love, Clap Yo Hands, The Half of it, He loves and She loves

Ella's voice soothes me in the same way as Karen Carpenter's, and with superb joyful jazz standards "who could ask for anything more"! There is also a shorter "very best of the Gershwin songbook" available too.

I can appreciate her talent and flawless delivery. Solid 4.4

Nice pads and vocal, but i do not like this type of music. It's cool listen something different but I don't play it again

sounds sweet, really tender stuff, but not very expressy

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

4/5 Wonderful voice

too long bro

OMG, Ella Fitzgerald singing Gershwin is an easy 5 stars. I hadn't heard this album before, but wasn't even finished with the first track before I realized this album was going to be great. Would listen again. Frequently.

Super solid. Instrumentation and vocals. Lyrics are rock solid too.

Awesome voice. Don't love song content.

was not expecting to be so intrigued by this. the lyrics function really well with the tones.

Jazz del de antes.

compilation smh

Overall this album was solid. Ella's voice is great, she was really talented. I just feel like I was getting a little bit bored with the songs by the end of the album. It would be great background / study music though. 4/5 stars.

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

Coming straight after a 2 hour album that I could not finish (that country one) comes this 3 hour long gem. Sadly I could not find the time to listen to it in one sit so I had to do it across three days but damn this is listenable, how great and full of amazing moments this is. At many points I found myself thinking "damn I need this on vinyl". It's all about the production, it’s all about the treatment and respect for the performer, Ella is outstanding and the producers let her flourish. Remember that Tina Turner record that with the hideous production? Well, they could have use listening to this to learn how to extol the performer. No need to say I really loved this one.

Very good music. Not a style I would listen too much at all, but it is undoubtably great.

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

I think this is brilliant, i know many of the songs from differnet versions and artists but ella fitzgerald's phrasing and modulation is unique. I would never have thought that i would ever prefer an artist version over frank sinatra but you cant take that away from me seems to be more natural from ella. Awesome some

this gives me femme fatale smoking a cigarette and sippin' on some bourbon vibes.

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

Such an important album to listen to. Now I need to go listen to sinatra

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

Good

ella good

Come on. It's one of the most recognizable voices in history doing some of the most catchy, melodic, enjoyable music ever written. How can you realistically do better?

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.

Beautiful Record. Listened to it back to back five or six times.

Good listen, lens into another era.

Billie Holiday is a little too glissando for me, generally, but Ella… Ella… Ms. Fitzgerald always gets it right for me. Stunning. 5 stars every single day and twice on Sundays. Thank you ma’am. Soulful and warm, or playful and coquettish, Ella nails it. Not to mention a natural gift for rhythm and scat-singing (she basically invented it. That’s reductive perhaps, but it may as well be true)

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

What a voice! Not a fan of big band, but beautiful nonetheless.

Lovely compilation.

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

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

Easy listening, background music. Inoffensive

Rating: 7/10 Best songs: I got rhythm, The man I love, Love is here to stay

Ella is een baas. Goede arrangementen en repertoire. Beetje low energy, maar super goed. Beste tracks: Nice work if you can get it, fascinating rhythm, embraceable you. 4/5

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.

Dinner party, quite morning stirring music. Fan of the slower movements as I’ve never enjoyed the energy of big band arrangements. Was glad to see that the first track was not an indicator for the rest of the album. Lovely, natural reverb on Ella’s voice, especially noticed it on Someone To Watch Over Me. Ok, now the reverb is all I can hear in this album, and I love it. This morning I've gone down a rabbit hole of looking at where this was recorded, Capitol Studio A. Need to listen more closely to the countless albums recorded there.

One of the best voices ever. Lovely tunes.

I listened to the whole (3+hrs) thing, farrout. Production is amazing and arrangements are great but the star of the show is definitely Ella Fitzgerald’s voice. There’s so much here to unpack but it’s a lovely big band suite. Fab tracks: Let’s call the whole thing off, love is here to stay and fascinating rhythm

If you had to give one best example of 20th century American song writing, this would probably be it.

Ella Fitzgerald- Ella Fitzgerald Sings The George and Ira Gershwin Song Book (1958): Something about Ellas’ voice and the delicate instrumentation and fantastic production of this record really brings to life what I’d think the fifty’s sounded like.

good

just not my type of music but obviously a great voice

Im not sure if you have to be a fan of Ella Fitzgerald or George Gershwin, I’m guessing it’s the latter. I now know that I am not.

Beautiful.

Love it.

great singing, just some corny songs.

There are some gems in here songwriting-wise, but the true marvel is the vocal work. Ella is undoubtedly one of the greats.

It's really good. I never thought I'd like a jazz album that much, I mean, I like jazz and soul, but I had never listened a album full of them and it's really nice

-Very aged Jazz, Mellow -Horns and groovy mellow hihats -Old Timey Theatrical, Slow -Nothing memorable for me

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.

As expected, Ella was fantastic on this album! Classic songs from top to bottom that were all amazing! (Listened to the highlights version, not whole three hours)

Man, how do you begin to appraise this. It's 3 hours long, for starters. It also represents multiple huge bodies of work (i.e. Ella Fitzgerald's, but the Gershwin bros' too). I've got the 1990 Verve edition, which crams it onto 3 CDs... but even then, this is not a regular triple-album. It's a monolith. Maybe I'm an idiot, because I always vaguely thought this was an anthology collecting some previous Gershwin records by Fitzgerald. But in this case, the collection is the original. It was a 5 LP boxset release. The deluxe version originally cost $100, which is something like $900 in today's money. I'm now even more impressed, at the ambition of the project, and the fact that there was no compromise on quality at this scale. When you consider that Fitzgerald had multiple other albums released in 1959 and 1960, the whole thing is fucking insane. Unlike some of those other albums, I don't think the idea here was "here is Ella's rendition of some famous songs", but rather "here are the definitive versions of a modern canon". And it achieves that aim completely. Anyhow, the songs are gorgeous, and they suit Fitzgerald's voice amazingly. This is Ella at her best, showcasing the Gershwins in their best light. To me, the quality of the music is beyond reproach. On the other hand, there's no getting away from the fact that it's not an album in the contemporary sense, and it makes for a weird listening experience. It would be more enjoyable to just listen to the 15 best tracks, but that's not really the point, since this is deliberately a monolithic document. Do you listen to individual tracks, or sit through 3 hours straight? Or do you recreate the original 5 LPs, and do one at a time? It doesn't ultimately matter, because it's perfection however you play it. So, not really an album... but rated as an album? 5/5. And as a seminal document of American music, and an essential touchstone of twentieth-century culture? 5/5. It's kinda stupid to say a celebrated recording is underrated - but this is underrated... in that it's one of the most important set of recordings ever made, and the discussion it receives in most quarters isn't equal to its sheer skill, beauty, scale, ambition, and contribution to culture.

It just sounds so incredibly old. Still, the singing is good, the voice is great. Not something I'd listen to actively, but was a very pleasant background album for working.

Ella’s voice is absolutely dessert for the ears, the arrangements are top notch, and you can’t hate on classics from the American Songbook. I had an internal struggle with my desire to rate this a 5. Usually I like albums that are one complete experience; something meant as a one-sitting treat. But this is like a full gallon of premium ice cream. Should I fault it for being larger than it’s pint-sized cousins simply because it won’t fit into one bowl? For this album, I don’t think so. “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off” is still a trash song though and I stand by that lol.

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

Nice. But not really my thing..

Rich classics full of style and quality

Good stuff

Bij dit album precies constant het gevoel dat ik naar een disneyfilm uit de jaren 40 aan het kijken ben. Jammer genoeg is er geen beeld en sorry maar twaalf keer na elkaar bambi bekijken is ook niet meer tof.

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

I love her voice! It’s so calming. Completely enjoyed every song

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

Deze kon mij net iets minder bekoren

Relaxing!

Long.

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. 

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Enjoyable, but very long. 3.5 / 5

Thank you Ella this was beautiful

Very beautiful

Super! So comforting and easy to relax to.

Don’t mind a bit of Ella. Usually around Christmas time when I’m feeling nostalgic for a time I never actually knew (like some sort of festive Brexiteer). Don’t love Gershwin so much though so this only gets two stars from me.

M'ha agradat descbrir-lo!

I’m biased, I love playing Gershwin on piano and having Ella Fitzgerald sing to all of these songs I already knew makes the music even better

Awesome album. I love a bit of Gershwin so to have Ella sing on top is lovely.

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

Esta bien, tranquilo, buena música y una voz genial.

Pros: Ella, Diverse Array, Great Instrumentalists Cons: Long, Mind-Numbing = Good tunes to listen to on individual or short burst basis

☆☆☆☆☆

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

Love Ella. Not a huge Gershwin fan. But her voice with the music was certainly lovely.

Wonderful

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.

Snooze fest

Benjamin

Ella is great, and I love the big band and crooner oldies, but this Gershwin covers album didn't do much for me. Tried 3x. Pretty boring record.

A great collection of massive songs from that era, brought to life by this amazing vocalist.

Ella is always A+

I don't event know if I listened to the right album, but I listened to 3h of Ella Fitzgerald. So good... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzNbt6Ufcv4

Très relax, lounge-style

That was a much younger Ella than I had heard before

I absolutely loved her voice, however the album is literally 3 hours long, I'd only use it for background music.

Beautiful voice but the tunes didn’t interest me.

Cheesy

Not my type

But Not For Me - I’m getting lost in her voice and the instrumentation. simply beautiful to listen to tbh.

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

Perfect from start to finish

Nice background music, but won’t be featuring in my regular rotation

Ella is amazing but not liking all of the Gershwin catalogue

Classic 30-40s Jazz. Love it

not for me

her voice s’ one of the very bests and these songs make me so calm but happy very romantic <3

magical. old disney vibes

It was very, very nice I felt like it was Christmas

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

Not my style really but would listen again

Perfect kitchen music

its very long

Based on first hour because three dang hours: I was expecting a lot of fluff with a few iconic recordings but Ella Fitzgerald is a really great and charismatic singer and really makes it a fun listen all the way through. This Aussie gives it four smokos with your grandma out of five.

Amazing discography. This woman recorded sun up to sun down for a long time.

Great soundtrack to read to

Ella Fitzgerald has an amazing voice. I think I would have enjoyed another album of hers more as I didnt enjoy the Gerschwin songs.

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.

Really beautiful voice and great songs.

Amazing

Get's a bit fuckin tiresome this pretty quickly doesn't it?

You can never go wrong with Ella. Maybe it was a too much to have a really memorable moment, but overall it was a great soothing listen.

Ella Fitzgerald is simply the best. I didn't listen to the full 3-hour version, but the Best Of album gave me the highlights. I'm going to imagine myself in a classic film with this playing in the background now.

Crackerjack!

This album flowed SO WELL it did not feel like 3 hours of music. Classic, amazing lyrics, so atmospheric and nice. Impossible to choose a favorite song with such a plethora of great tracks. I wonder if all the songbooks are this hype? Only not giving it a 5 as it IS very long, so I was not able to give multiple listens and really delve into it as much as I hoped.

1.5

great chill music but not for me

I love Ella! All were great songs, but some more so than others.

I love her voice. I don't love the songs. They all sound very old timey/broadway type showtunes. Ella is much better than this album ever lets her be.

Didn't listen to all the songs but the songs I did here were really pretty. Lots of love.

Nice if you're in the mood.

Long but worth it🙏

Just so so beautiful. Will be buying this vinyl ASAP!

Classic vibes with soothing vocals

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

So many classic tunes. Ella Fitzgerald was a cultural icon. I love it so. 4 stars

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

Well I’m a huge fan of Ella now. Solid album from top to bottom.

There's just something transcendental about Ella Fitzgerald and her voice. It's music that captures a place, a feeling, an entirely different time period. So beautiful.

All the songs I play on piano, with lyrics included! Some of these songs seem like they were made for her to sing

Great talent, but not super stimulating on the day

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

Ella’s voice is timeless, and this was just a warmly voiced album to have on during winter.

Very good jazzy background music

“The First Lady of Song”, vild vokal, 40’-50’er vibe, jazz

She’s got a great voice, super chill album

Ella had a wonderful voice. The arrangements are sparse, probably to show her off. Nice snow day music. Favorite tracks: "Maybe", "Soon", "But Not for Me"

I was unsure about how good three hours of music by one composer and for one voice could be. Add to that my appreciation for this era of music but general distrust of magical language about artistic periods. Well, I was utterly wrong. There's something special here, some kind of everyday magic. And now I have a standard for comparing vocals to bells.

l. 12/26-28 Masterpiece. Standout Tracks... A lot. Best of? Let's Call The Whole Thing Off, (I've Got) Beginner's Luck, Just Another Rhumba, By Strauss It goes on. Truly great.

This music makes me feel like im about to tell the woman I love to get on a plane to help fight the nazis. The version in the book though is a 3 hour long boxset As much as I enjoyed this, 3 hours is way too much, so my rating is for whats linked to spotify rather than whats in the book

One of the best voices of all time, but this was a chore to get through. Some fantastic standards, and the session musicians are fantastic. 5/5 for Ella's voice, 4/5 for the studio musicians (real talent, but the music was "beneath" their talents), but this is an absolute never listen to again album just because of its length, so that's a 3/5. Averages out to a 4.