The Gershwin Songbook

No es mi estilo

over 3 hours of listening! I enjoyed most of this, but I'd be lying if I wrote that I actively listened to every track. The music was playing in the background whilst I was plugging away at my work. I think I enjoyed most of it. Way too long!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I agree with Ian - great background music, but too long! A few good sing-a-long tracks, I love her voice and much prefer this album where its just her singing and not Louis Armstrong!

Learning about Fitzgerald's Song Books is going to be one of my big takeaways from this musical project. What a treasure. Over 900 minutes of one of the great voices of the 20th century singing dozens and dozens of great 20th century composers' songs...the scope of the project boggles the mind. She's singing a musical encyclopedia and sounds amazing the entire time! As far as listening experience, it felt like I was sitting with my grandfather while he talked about this musical or that movie or retold old stories, and the listening stretched on into a golden dream where my loved ones live on as long as the voices keep going. Sure, it's going to have a certain repetitiveness after (checks notes) 55 tracks of the same singer singing the same composers' songs. Wow. Yeah. But it also captures certain musical geniuses as completely as possible, and even brought a loved one to life for a little while. If the album had been longer, I would have happily kept listening.

muszę posłuchać jeszcze raz, niektóre utwory mega fajne, ale trochę monotonny, szczególnie w tematyce

Too long is an overstatement. I will not downplay the importance of both George and Ira Gershwin and of Ella Fitzgerald, but if this was a double album, this would've been a 4-5/5. Like this, this was a chore. The songs are great, the playing is great, the singing is great, but for the last hour (of over 3 hours in total) I couldn't wait for it to end. 3/5

Lesemusikk

Ella är alltid mysig att lyssna på. Som vanligt är inte alla låtar jätteintressanta. Denna skiva är bäst som bakgrundsmusik.

50s jazzy big band/ballads. Double bass with strings and trumpet, woodwind etc. Seems kinda dated for 59! Rock n roll existed and the 60s were imminent. Doing nothing at all for me. And there's 3hrs of this... Can't decide if Let's Call the Whole Thing Off is sweet or just annoying. Just Another Rhumba - did she rhyme September with Rhumba?? Other rhymes are equally tortuous. The Real American Folk Song breaks out into ragtime. Kinda fun, but have to wait half the song for it. I'm flip-flopping between annoyance at the twee-ness and awful rhymes to respect for the classy vocal performance and sentiment in some songs. Vocals on Treat Me Rough do get a bit modern, with something approaching rock n roll. And scatting on I Got Rhythm. Best track - (I've Got) Beginner's Luck, Stiff Upper Lip, Of Thee I Sing 3 stars - which is high praise for a 3hr album!

thx

Very long. I especially like "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off", "(I've Got) Beginner's Luck", and "The Real American Folk Song." The rest kind of blend together, good but not individually memorable. If I could do 3.5 stars I probably would

Not my favorite songbook record but great overall

Good.

this album is taking me so long to finish that I have to rate it earlier to avoid having the list get inactive. I really like Ella Fitzgerald, but a 6-disc album, 3:14h is a bit too much, so I won't add it to the replay list. It's really 4 stars, but I won't add it to the replay list :)

this is like an endurance challenge

A gorgeous voice singing a beautiful collection of songs. The biggest compliment I can pay this 3hr 14min compilation is that it was perfect background music. Inoffensive and a very easy listen. Just lovely.

Great songs sung incredibly well... and they all kind of sound the same.

Hard to say… All-time talent plus Gershwin. Yeah, the Gershwin’s I don’t know.

Has the music industry amassed so many lawyers and drum machines that a massive project like this would never be possible again? Maybe. Or maybe there is a new horizon where big unthinkable multi-disc 90-song windfalls are more achievable? Listening to Ella F's voice through clear headphones in a quiet room is a wonderful musical feeling.

Excellent album, great songs, great singing, great arrangements

7/10

Just more of the same old jazz—I'm sick of it; it sounds just like any other jazz from back then

There was too much similarity between each sign in tone and quality.

Unmistakable, and unforgettable is how I would describe Ella Fitzgeralds singing voice. Wonderful early morning coffee album

para tenerlo de fondo y estar tranquilo es bueno, claramente no lo terminé pero para ser mi primera vez escuchando jazz está bien

This is the wrong way to listen to the Gershwins and Ella. More than three hours of continuous listening makes it all blur together. It would be better enjoyed mixed with other pieces to break up the monotony.

I might have liked this on a Saturday night, smoking a cigar and drinking a large glass of whiskey... Not now though. It's a gloomy Thursday :( 2/5

Ella Fitzgerald is amazing. But I'd prefer to have a normal album of hers added to this list.

This was thoroughly enjoyable listening but the length makes it tricky to rate as a whole album. Made for a delightful evening tho! Disc 6 not my fave, nelson i dont really know what you were doing here bud.

It’s Ella doing the Songbook - what more could you want?? And yet - it’s not my fave Ella album but I’m giving it 5🌟 just in case it doesn’t come up!!

I’m sorry but there were a lot of exciting current albums being released today that I really wanted to listen to and I didn’t have 3 spare hours so let’s assume from my short sampling it’s a 2

So I don’t think it’s very controversial to assume that Ella Fitzgerald is just the best singer of all time and also these Gershwin fellas really seem to know what they’re doing and it combines into a really nice time!

Hasta ahora, lo que voy escuchando del disco, me sorprendió grata mente

Muy bueno, nunca antes había escuchado jazz y me gustó!

Compilation albums are too long

i liked „lets call the whole thing off” and even though i dont usually listen to this genre this album was really nice for my study session :) but i didnt listen to the whole thing (only disc 1 and half of disc 2)

Classic from the great American Songbook done by one of the best!

Great voice but 4 hours of basically the same stuff over and over and over again is not my bag.

Pitkä setti, kaunista laulua ja sopii huolelliseen kuunteluun mutta menee myös työpäivän rauhallisena taustamusiikkina kirjoitushommissa.

Marvelous songs. Very old school with great and instrumentation in a big band style.

I’m not sure what I could write about such an impressive endeavour. Its historical significance cannot be denied ; Ella Fitzgerald might be the greatest jazz singer in the history of the genre - no one can realistically dispute her talent, and she’s clearly at her best here. It’s hard to find anything bad to say about this record. Overall I like it very much - highly enjoyable and sophisticated songs, carried by a perfect voice. As much as I like Ella, however, I’ve never been able to fully appreciate the Gershwins. Their approach to jazz is often too close to a Broadway musical for my taste, in the sense that it’s clearly music made to be enjoyed in a theatre or a club rather than at home. It’s also a bit too restrained and light-hearted – which is not a bad thing in itself, but I do like my jazz with a touch of fire and delirium. Instead, Gershwin treats jazz like classical music : with clinical precision but little to no place for improvisation. In addition, I’m not entirely sure this should be here. This record far exceeds the album format, not only in length, but also conceptually. Although it was recorded for a single release, it’s still a compilation of compositions, which I thought was not allowed on the list. Just like classical music, it’s also characterized by the meeting of a composer (or two, in this case), a singer and an orchestra. If this can be on the list, why not also include classical operas ? This is really a borderline case ; but I guess the border has to be somewhere. It’s a gorgeous record, but I cannot honestly give a 5*, mostly because it doesn’t really work as an album. I’ll listen again, but certainly not in full so as to avoid overdose. 8/10

Perfect voice, perfect arrangements… and kind of boring.

Pleasent but sooo long 3 stars

I knew I enjoyed Ella and most of the classic vocal jazz somewhat, but I was naturally worried if I'll have what it takes to sit through this 3 hour behemoth of the album. Surprisingly, there was nothing to worry about - I loved every minute of it, and also tidied up my room and finished knitting a cowl, all while gently smiling. Wow!

There are really three different things going on in this record: Gershwins, big-band jazz, and Ella Fitzgerald. The Gershwins are of course famous for writing a huge amount of the memorable "pop" music from the 20s and 30s. The big band on this record is stellar and the recording is amazing. And Ella is simply wonderful. Even though this is a lot of music in one place, you could start anywhere in any of the three non-outtake discs and be into it. Catchy and impeccably arranged songs and beautiful instrumental and vocal performances make it hard to dislike anything here really, as long as you like light jazz and show tunes and sometimes even if you don't. A time machine trip back to the early/mid 20th century.

Sorry this is too much for me

Love some showtunes, great start to the day

The answer to that one repeating crossword clue. This is very lovely.

That’s a big ole album. I worked from home today and had it playing in the background. Felt good. See you again soon Ella, Ira and Georgey boy.

Really, that was a crazy amount of Gershwin. Ella did her best, which is the best.

This was just...too fucking long. I'm sure it's a masterpiece, but did we really need to hear the entire songbook?

You can hear her smile, somehow

Day 22 — Ella Fitzgerald — Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Song Book (1959) Listened: Mar 20–22, 2026 Genre: Vocal Jazz / Great American Songbook / Traditional Pop Vibe: Jazzy vocals and a lush orchestral big band make for a beautifully epic catalog of timeless American songs Highlights: • Sam and Delilah • Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off • Things Are Looking Up • That Certain Feeling • Someone to Watch Over Me • Clap Yo’ Hands • Stiff Upper Lip • Strike Up the Band • He Loves and She Loves • Treat Me Rough • Slap That Bass • I Got Rhythm • They Can’t Take That Away From Me Impression: Really grew on me the more I listened. Ella’s voice is so perfect and pristine, complemented by an epic orchestra throughout. Rating: 3.2/5 Keep songs? Yes Revisit album? Yes

Well, today is day 900 of the album project and I've gotten the longest album of the entire list. It's a good thing I already listened to this over a year ago so I don't have to do this all in one sitting. Here's my review from September 2024. I did it. It took 3 days, but I did it. Of course, I listened to this on my own time before it was given to me by the generator, but I still listened to all 3 hours and 14 minutes of Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Song Book. If you somehow have stumbled upon this review before getting this album from the generator, please listen to my advice and do what I did. Take some vacation time. Ideally you should have three days of time. Or perhaps, if you have the opportunity to, do this during a three day weekend. Anyways, let’s move on from the absolute size of this thing and talk about the quality. It’s some good stuff. I like Ella Fitzgerald’s voice. It’s nice and nostalgic. The instrumental sound is pretty good. It’s pleasant to listen to. The writing is solid. The Gershwins were definitely talented music writers. Of course, this album is not without faults. I know I said I would move on from the length, but I have to make the point of this album being long and somewhat repetitive. It definitely serves better as background noise than something you focus on for three whole hours, even if you do it in sections like I did. Overall, this is a huge collection of music right here that actually happens to be part of an even bigger collection of music including other song books that Ella Fitzgerald sang too. The contents of this album could be more varied, but still serves as a respectable piece of music that deserves to be listened to for a long time. Light 4/5.

amazing voice well worth the listen

She has a great voice, but it was so long. I powered thru the entire thing in one day

Надо переслушать потом

Not my jams

It's Ella singing with a big band some of America's best songs of the time.

A little too sweet and cutesy for me. Love her more scaled down stuff with more improv though.

Personally did not enjoy, it was ok tho. Very jazzy, mom or dad would probably enjoy.

Molto Tom e Jerryy. Non è male, niente di incredibile però; è musica da sottofondo. Poi è infinito.

Beautiful journey, but I can't lie, it was a little too long

Longer and not always my jam but this was amazing

Honestly, I'm kind of embarrassed giving this a rather low score, as Fitzgerald is top-notch here, and the music is so lovely. Clearly, Gershwin wrote so many amazing songs, and he himself hadn't realized how good his stuff was until Fitzgerald sang them as she did here. But what's it doing here? It was never an album—it was a box set on day one—and yet this one gets the free pass on "no comps," but nothing does from, say, Billie Holiday, James Brown, Thelonious Monk, Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, Bill Evans, and countless other greats from this time period? This is where I don't understand what really goes into the list. I'm sorry, but I can't listen to over 3 hours of Fitzgerald singing Gershwin in one sitting and feel satisfied. Imagine waiting for your dental appointment, but instead of 3 minutes, it takes 3 HOURS. This is existential dread that I could not fathom experiencing before this album. Only Dimery knows what's going on here. Maybe there's a secret message regarding the Illuminati or the answer to the question of life, the universe, and everything if you play a number of these songs backwards. In any case, we demand answers.

great voice, mellow

Too long

I never heard Ella Fitzgerald conciously before. I liked it.

This wasn't for me but I understand why it's on the list. Ella Fitzgerald is a legend. Unfortunately it was my very first album and I almost don't want to continue on because 3 hours? Lol

Very long.

Whew, I kind of wish we got the 3 hour one for the weekend. Six discs is a lot, but I like Ella Fitzgerald and it made for perfect background music while I was replaying Fallout 3.

So this one started with some frustrations. Firstly, 197 minutes - WTF?! Box sets shouldn't be included in the list. Then I couldn't find it on my streaming service. A reprieve perhaps? No, it's ok - the Extended Edition is available! Then no vocals for what seemed like ages; you can't name an album (box set, whatever) "Ella Fitzgerald sings..." then tease the listener like that! But then she does sing, and all the frustrations in the world melt away. I do have to call BS on many of the 5 star reviews. I don't believe you listened to the whole thing or would listen to it again.

is nice, have heard most of the songs but i don't have 3h to listen to all of it at once today thanks

#886. This is over 3 hours long. I'm going to tell you right now I'm not doing that. 2/5: maybe it's great, maybe I don't care

ella fitzgerald is a legend, album long af

The songs can be very silly and there are inevitably some duds in a 3+hour album, but this is one of the great compilations representing Ella’s revitalization of the American songbook. She’s just too good to give any less than 5 stars.

Very smooth, calm vocal jazz album. It is very long though, and all of the songs are performed in similar ways.

I mean... this is classic for sure. But to call a 5-disc suite an "album" is going a bit far.

I was a little taken aback when this was my first album given since it’s a compilation album. Ella Fitzgerald has a beautiful voice with a lot of emotion to it. Made me feel nostalgic for a time I didn’t live in.

Such an incredible voice. I hadn't heard a lot of these tunes.

Jetzt sind wir schon bei Boxsets angekommen. Toller Gesang natürlich, aber würde ich jetzt nicht gezielt komplett hören.

Very good buy very loooooooonnnnmgggg

I have never run through the jazz standards front to back like this and while it wasn’t perfect, I’m glad I did. This is the stuff that modern music is built on and it goes without saying that Ella Fitzgerald is a once in a lifetime voice. Now that we’ve gotten the high points out, there’s good here, there’s bad here, and there’s tired here. I really like how the music is arranged, but some of the lyricism from a modern perspective can be seen as exceptionally good and exceptionally tacky. It’s a little unfair that I was (mostly) exposed to this style of music through the lens of Family Guy- and that’s definitely coloring some of my opinion, but that’s being a tween in the early aughts. I’m proud of this music from a cultural perspective I but I will probably not be revisiting this album as whole again. There’s just too much to make it a regular listen.

Wow, what a marathon. Ella's voice is beautiful and timeless. Many classics to choose from, but the challenge comes in trying to rate this as an album on the whole. The quality of the music is outstanding, but the quantity is a challenge. While I could definitely see myself listening to 45 minutes to an hour of the highlights, I can't see listening to the whole album front to back again as it gets to be a lot of the same sound.

Gershwin? Ella? 5.

Her voice is like a butterfly; it moves effortlessly through the air with purposeful motion and oh-so-much charm. Light, delicate, powerful. It's pure joy.

I have been waiting for this one. And now it's here...and it's still here. Just kind of over there really. In the background. That's probably where it works best. Just off screen, in the background. Sets a nice vibe. Sticks with that vibe. It can transport you. But you're back in a flash. I had a meeting. And when I came back - it was still there. And maybe that's the best way to understand this. It's just there. In the background. It is from a time so long ago it might as well be from another planet. Except it's not. This album is most certainly human. Very human. And while it was created just as must was changing forever you can feel the connection. The voice. That expressive voice. Singing these songs. Singing them in a way that makes they feel alive. A celebration of voice as much as song. 4.5 stars.

Compilations are not albums, So I'm reluctant to rate this. However, Ella shines through all 3 hours...

Dear god. Needlessly longer than it needs to be, to the point where it could have been a quarter of its current length and it would have been just as good. The lyrics are cute and Ella Fitzgerald sounds fantastic as expected, but damn... it's just too long.

Great music, very relaxing. Not my genre, but I enjoyed listening.

Super album, 4/5

The QUEEN

Musically excellent but not my thing.

I couldn’t get in to it but beautiful voice and instruments

I only listened to the shorter version, with 12 tracks, which was a really nice experience. Fitzgerald's voice is warm and comforting. Rating: 4.

Ella Fitzgerald is a fantastic artist with a beautiful voice. She was highly influential and shaped the jazz movement. I can appreciate this choice, and I understand why it was included. It’s an important album. That said, just like with Ellington, I can’t make myself listen to any more than about an hour and a half of this. I liked what I heard, but I’ve heard enough.

Peaceful

What a beautiful album from start to finish. Full of emotion and passion and a surreal voice. Was never a hugh fan of ella just like her music overall bit now that Im older I understand better

Three hours gang holy crap me and Ella got to spend a lot of time together and I am taking away an hour and 15. It’s gonna take me a while to get back to this album. I’m don’t know how much listening power or staying power. It’s going to have a lot of love songs on this album or I need to find a man so you know perfect for the 1959’s so I think it’s gonna get a three but it’s a very three gotta give love to this website. Would it never listened to this album without it but also it’s gonna take me a while to get back to Ella. Maybe next February could’ve been a one and done listen and now when I wanna listen to my liked songs she will pop up again.

Jazzy and old timey, I love it!! I only listened to disc 1 but I think I got the gist of it! Solid album that I’d like to go back to! 3.5 if I could!

No one has a voice like Ella. It's a rich, beautiful instrument. She could sing anything (the dictionary, the phone book, a menu) and I would happily listen to it. I discovered her when I was a teen and continue to love her music. What a lovely set of songs. The band is impeccable and the songs/stories by the Gershwin Bros. are captivating. Time well spent to me. This is a weird one to rate because it's a box set and not an album. It's kind of breaking the rules being here, but seriously, how could you choose just one Ella album? The people complaining about the length...do they watch movies, listen to audio books, watch a whole TV series, read a novel? All these activities could take 3+ hours (over time) and I'm sure they don't complain as much about doing these things. Of course listening to this box set all at once is a bit much (took me two days) and it wasn't intended for that. And if you don't like jazz that's fine, it's not everyone's cup of tea. But to be like "it's an one because it's too lOoOoOnNg"...I feel kind of bad for those people because they are missing out on truly amazing music. This is the first time 160 or so albums in where I agree that it was definitely worth listening to before I die. I'm going to start listening to the other "Songbook" collections Ella made.

Ella Fitzgerald has a great voice, and the music is soothing, but 4 hours of it is way too much! It would take me a week to listen to it all!

Me genero muchismos sentimientos. Literalmente lloreeee. Solo sueño con estar bailando con mi pareja escuchando begginers luck en el tocadiscos no lo escuché entero todavía, pero ya me generó tanto que son cinco estrellas para mí la voz que tiene esta mujer te dan ganas de escucharla toda la vida

yeah I ain't listening to allat

Ethereal tone, talent of a century. Favourite track: S'wonderful

it's very well sung, i feel like im in an olive garden but with extra bread sticks

Feel like I'm going to download this before I even listen to the whole thing. I did, this is great cooking music. 5 albums in one, best of Ella <3

Didn't blow me away. 3 stars

Would be a 5, but it's so longggg

I have to admit I only listened to an hour or so - but that felt sufficient to get the measure of it. Beautifully sung and played but very much of its era. A pleasant diversion but not something I would want to spend 3 hrs with.

I did it! I listened to the whole lot! Not my cup of tea, but actually a whole lot better than I was expecting. Disc 4 a bit slow and stringy; Disc 6 sounded like a '30s Christmas comedy movie soundtrack, but most of the Fitzgerald singing songs were alright. Did we need the 3 hour version, though? 'Best of' might have been better.

Perfect

No notes. Pure nostalgia that makes you yearn for the good ole days. Ella Fitzgerald and a big band is all you need to take you back to your 1960's parlor room with your glass of scotch.

Hard to find anything bad to say about this. One of America's greatest singers putting her spin on one of America's greatest composers.

Took me a long time to listen to this because a three hour compilation sounded like a rigorous undertaking. And it was but if you space it out by disc, and this is a compilation not a bespoke album so it's kosher to do so, you're not interrupting "the art object", it's incredibly pleasant and well constructed. She's got a few other Ella Fitzgerald Plays... comps and I'd check them all out because there just isn't a bad track on this one. Gershwins were masters, Ella's got a great voice and every single person in the band was a consummate professional.

I listened to a decent chunk of this. Some of the songs are really good, others are a little depressing. It's excessively long, they should have picked the ten or twenty best songs, made one or two albums and binned the rest.

yawn

Love me some Ella but I’m not doing a 3 hour album. Just not doing it. I’ll pick 10 songs and listen. Is this really the best Ella has to offer some 6 disc compilation album? I refuse to believe it. I’m somewhat annoyed by this whole exercise. Track 4 ‘Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off’ I agree.

I made it thought two and a half of the albums before reaching saturation. That’s a good review.

I took the advice of another review and listened to "The Very Best of the Gershwin Song Book" (2007) instead of the full-fat 3-hour 4-disc original release. Instrumentation and singing are just superb. This is classic American music at its best. Fallout-core, if you will. It floats by as a classic background and would be just as at home in a smoky club as on a sunny road trip. This is a snapshot of American music at a time and place where it was in its heyday and it quite literally cannot ever exist again. I think on cultural merit alone I must give it a 5 - this is the soundtrack for all of my grandparents and great-grandparents and reflects a time never before seen in the history of the world. A time fraught with injustices and its fair share of problems, to be sure. But it also produced this very specific sort of optimistic and soothing music that is quintessentially American. It's comforting nostalgia for the idea of a country and society that never really existed, but pervades every aspect of American culture. And Ella Fitzgerald sounds fantastic!

I really like Ella but three hours is a bit much, hence the ding for one star.

3 hours is a big problem. I didn’t listen to all of it because it lasts 12% of the day

Look I get that Ella Fitzgerald is a legend and she sounds great on this album and all but my word 3 hours and 15 minutes? Guys that’s egregious. I don’t want to listen to anyone for that long unless it’s a concert. Also the instrumental stuff at the end? What’s that about? If you loved this good for you I guess but holy moly that was a slog.

I really enjoy Ella Fitzgerald, but this album choice completely frustrated me. No reflection at all on her as a singer-she is incredibly talented. Such control, range, and emotion with her voice. My frustration is why, why, why-with ALL the many Ella albums to choose from (and there are a lot) is this 6 disc album chosen??? So many who are not familiar with Ella and her talent will see the over 3 hour run time and either stop listening, or come away annoyed they had to listen to a very long album

To begin with, this really isn't an album - it's 3h15 of Ella singing the Gershwin songbook. Her singing is just wonderful, but I get the sense the sheer amount of music recorded here will have made honing each song impossible. There are some good songs and moments here, but there's also a lot I don't love - schmaltzy lyrics and uninspiring songs. It's also very hard to get to know an album that comprises 6 disks of similar material. All of which makes scoring tricky. I may well return to some of the songs, but I don't intend to play this from cover to cover again. But she is sooo good...

lubie ten klimat, lubie te instrumenty no i album bez 30 powtórzeń a długi jak mało który

This album is exquisite and immaculate. Ella Fitzgerald is such a great singer, and the songs are all (or most of them) fantastic. It's a very long album (well, it's a box set, actually, I don't know whether to consider this project an album or a collection of some records), but it flows so quickly and, in the end, it's about three hours of pure joy, excitement and delight. I must admit it's not easy to listen to it in one go, I had to pause it at some point and return to it some hours after. Mainly because it's hard to ensure three hours of just listening to music. But it's a pretty great project and, as a box set, it allows you to make stops and return, enjoy little parts or the whole in a row. But, for sure, it's Ella Fitzgerald, and a great jazz record, so, what can go wrong? This album's like a sweet, you can never get bored, and there are always great things to discover and to be pleased with.

This shouldn't be eligible as it's a box set, therefore I listened to disc 1 only (plus the start of disc 2 as it contained a song I already know) and have marked down accordingly I actually own 4 of her albums but I generally prefer her live stuff. She has an incredible voice but I find this to be a bit overly orchestrated compared to something like _Ella in Berlin_, and their more stripped back, quartet arrangements. That album also contains a Gershwin song that isn't on here that everyone will know. Perhaps more famously sung by Billie Holiday but Ella also does a great version, which is _Summertime_.

Ella is an all time voice of the 20th century

This is stunningly beautiful.

ziek lang album what da helly. mooie stem en leuk rustig jazzy album.

Ella Fitzgerald’s voice is omg it’s so angelic. this is more so a background music type thing but it makes you feel like you’re in an old movie. I was listening to it in the car, on a walk, while doing work, etc. and it just uuugh i can’t put it into words. it’s like surreal in a way i can’t explain. her vocals and the jazz ooooh it’s so good. i’ll admit, i wasn’t planning on listening to the whole thing, but i have not regrets. 10/10

grandma slop

First album I got here. Would've given a 2.5 but since half stars don't exist here I'll round it up to a 3. Only listened until Track 12/59 ("The Man I Love"). Album way too long with not enough variety to justify the 3h15m runtime. Not bad by any means, just not interesting enough for me to stick around for.

She could sing the phonebook

Pure joy

3 hours and 15 minutes of easy listening vocal jazz from one of the greats of the genre. Listening to this in one setting treats it like an endurance test, although it doesn't feel like a slog to have on in the background due to how non-offensive the music is. This is a songbook, not a traditional album after all. There is a 45 minute compilation of this songbook that I'd suggest checking out if you don't want to hear the entire collection. I don't think you would miss much by doing that as there is not much in the way of variety here. Whilst I'd argue at its inclusion in a project like this due to this format, it is expertly crafted music. Fitzgerald's voice is buttery smooth and her backing band are fantastic at playing the Gerswin songbook. Although the attention is on Fitzgerald, they do get some time to show during the instrumental breaks. The final disc consists entirely of instrumental overtures, almost like a special feature to make use of the remaining space of the vinyl. This made for pleasant background music. It evokes nostalgia in me, despite having no prior connection to this music. Whilst it is not my cup of tea, I can see why Fitzgerald is so reverred.

This album has such a great combination of a legendary voice, impeccable songwring (lyrics too!) and musical arrangement. I've heard lots of Gershwin, but not like this. Liked Songs Added: Let's Call The Whole Thing Off 'S Wonderful Slap That Bass

First listen

Sweet

mi Ella Fitz

Exceptional voice of Ella combined with exceptional songs and fantastic recordings. #johnsvinyl

Let's start with the basics. Ella Fitzgerald is the greatest American singer of the recorded music era. Her project to record the “great American songbook” covers the greatest American composers of the first half of the 20th Century. In my estimation, any other versions of the songs presented in her songbook series are superfluous. Ella is the standard. For me personally, my favorite is her Cole Porter set, as he is imo the greatest American song writer. But the Gershwins are the popular choice, and the 50 or so songs presented here are well representative of the best of American music for that period. I'd have personally chosen someone other than Nelson Riddle for the arrangements but this isn't among his schmaltziest work to be fair, and to paraphrase a song, you can take anything anyway from Ella, she is impeccable, always capturing the right mood and tone. The truly remarkable thing is that this is Ella in respectable mode, which isn't even her best mode. Check out Ella In Berlin for her in Jazz club mode

it is incredible

Not a Gershwin fan so this isn’t for me.

The longest songbook in history. Took me well over a year to listen to all of it. Still good.

That's not the album's correct title...

Long but really pleasant listening. I did not expect to listen to it in sitting

Such a fun time... Could imagine myself listening to this while doing some chores. #relisten

I love Ella Fitzgerald's voice and I really like vocal jazz. The songs I have listened to were very good, however the album/box set is too long. I will gladly come back to listen new songs whenever I'm in mood for more moody love songs.

Ella's the Greatest!

If you were to break this apart into multiple different albums, each with a length of 10 tracks or so, each album would get a 5/5 from me. But keeping it how it is, 59 tracks is simply too goddamn much for one sitting. I'm stuck between giving it a 3 or a 4. I guess it's a very low 4. Giving it a 3 just because of length seems mean when the music is top notch otherwise.

Good album I just dont like older music or that genre

Wasn't bad a solid 6/10 I kinda liked it

7/10 While not an album that's going on my main playlist, I still had a great time with it. The vibes fill me with nostalgia for things I grew up with that may have shared a similar sound like Tom & Jerry and even Fallout: New Vegas. Will most likely revisit.

Pretty iconic songs but kinda long hits every classi

Jesus Christ

I find myself somewhat divided on this album. Ella Fitzgerald sings with her usual clarity and effortless control — she is such a technically assured vocalist that she could probably make almost any material sound convincing. At times, however, it’s the orchestral work of Nelson Riddle and his orchestra that leaves the deeper impression. Instrumental passages like 𝗔𝗺𝗯𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗦𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗲 and 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲𝘀 reveal just how rich and carefully crafted the arrangements are. The scale of the project is both impressive and a little overwhelming. With so many songs gathered together, the album can feel more like a grand showcase of the Gershwin catalogue than a cohesive listening experience. Dividing it into two separate volumes might have made it easier to digest. Ultimately, my mixed reaction probably comes down to personal taste as well: vocal jazz has never been my preferred corner of the genre. Still, as a large, meticulously arranged tribute to the music of the Gershwins, the album remains an undeniably ambitious undertaking.

I love her voice. While I’m not a fan of the musical style, I do appreciate the songcraft and think hearing these songs is importantly illuminating of mid-20th century American culture with all its jingoism and brutal misogyny. “Keep on beating me.” Jfc. Some of the lyrics I’m surprised many people understood even then “My nights were sour, spent with Schopenhauer.” I’m not sure why the instrumental tracks were all relegated to their own disc. It was weird hearing a series of preludes to nothing.

Hieno ja kovin pitkä levytys. En ihan vielä kaikkia ole kuunnellut, mutta on kovaa laatia, kappaleet hienoja, sovitukset erittäin hyviä ja tulkinta aivan erinomaista. Lajissaan aivan huippu.

#285(-290)/1001. Omg this project should now be named 1006 Albums? Come to think of it, if all albums here were 6LP sets, we only would have 167 or so to go through. I don’t know how many other of her songbooks make it here, perhaps the Cole Porter or the Rodgers & Hart or the Duke Ellington (there are more)… but ok, what do I think about this? Of course it is fucking brilliant. Perhaps the weirdest fact I can lay here is that I have seen her live, somewhere between '90 and '91 (I heard she quit in '91, so it must have been some of her last shows) at the Hollywood Bowl. As a young punk / hippie I was totally not into this kind of easy listening / jazz thing, but as a 17-year old exchange student it was an opportunity for me to find out about my musical boundaries. And I do remember that on the second part of the show she scatted the hell out of the whole audience. I remember she had to be escorted to the stage and that she sat down the whole gig. But hey, if you are about 75, and have a career of about 60 years behind you, wouldn't you as well? As for this album goes, of course there are well known classics and not so well known songs and some of them are even bangers. But also a lot of them just come and go, no matter how good the production and the interpretation is, at least if you try to swallow everything down in one or two zips. But would it be as good with perhaps a selection of 10-12 songs? Not even a fair question. But reviewing this is reviewing musical history, not music. Funny that I just trashed Ray Charles' take on country and western songs as too cheesy and sugary versions of the american dream, but I don't get it here at all. i guess it is because she doesn't need a harmony-singing backup choir consisting of fake cowgirls and -boys.

Great if you like Gershwin. Ella’s voice and styling is wonderful.

Not my thing.

Wonderful and wonderfully too long. I listened until I needed to change

It sounds like fine background music, but I don't ever want to listen to 3 hours of jazz

3 hours would normally be way too long, but man… what a voice. What I wouldn’t give to be sitting in a smoky jazz club watching this live.

Easy listen

Mdrr c’est quoi ce traquenard, un album de 6 disques qui dure 3h15 ?

To put it simply, this album is extremely long. Even from a great vocalist like Ella there is some limit of how much I can listen to her. I don't think this is an album that is meant to be listened to in one sitting. The start is pretty strong, some moments that stood out to me are the super cute Beginner's Luck, the epic brass sections on Things Are Looking Up and the little latin flavor on Just Another Rumba. But around the C-side the album gets a bit repetitive and generic for Ella. I do however like the orchestral section at the very end - nice change of pace.

So so

Great songs, but I would love to hear live recordings vs. studio. Production was a little too high for me on this one.

This is cheating, there's four albums in this one. I like what I've heard **so far**, but DNF due to time. Edit: The more I think about it, the more this listing feels like bullshit. 1 star.

Yes, this is a collection of the Gershwin song book. No, this is not a time spanning compilation of Ella. This was a work of love over an eight month period. This album came out in the vinyl era and was not intended to be heard in it's entirety in one listen. This aspect does not fare well for this endeavor of an album a day. Gorgeous singing, beautiful arrangements, classic album.

a beautiful tale I adore it it feels like much more accurate representation of the period at the turn of 50's and 60's in comparison to Frank Sinatra album probably I won't listen to it very often but I'm glad i have experienced it

While all the songs were brilliantly performed, the length of the album was nearly too long

Nice! Didn't choose a top 3 this time because of the length. I preferred to just lay down and listen for this one.

Didn't listen to it because it's 3 hours long, so I'll just give it average.

Such a timeless voice but 3hrs of it a bit too much

Beautiful

Perfect album for weekend in with the girls, cleaning and cooking together

1.6 Okay so I lasted about 45 minutes by my reckoning. Firstly, this should not be included on this list. It's a 5-album compilation box set. I'm 992 albums in, and this is the first time this has appeared on this list. Why Ella Fitzgerald and no one else? Why at all more importantly. Give me an album, not 5 albums. It's not 1,005 albums to hear before you must die. Such an odd choice. Secondly, the music is pretty shite.

What a voice!!!!!! Sounds so effortless and beyond smooth. Great stuff. The album length however, is too much for this list.

Liked it

Very smooth relaxing album - kind of gave Christmas vibes. Liked it but didn't love it.

Its old, isnt it. Just background music. Does vibe as that though. Good voice.

Ok I can tell yo right now that I am going to love this but also I am absolutely not going to finish the whole thing. My Poppa always played Ella Fitzgerald at the cottage and over the holidays. And I played Gershwin all the time in band when I was in high school (nerd alert). I got through to the middle of disk two before I tapped out because it is too long but I definitely think that there is a time and a place for me to play this and enjoy it

longgggggggggggggggggggg but I enjoyed the sound overall. made it through disk 2, then just listened to the remaining songs with high play counts. standouts include: let's call the whole thing off

Classics.

She didn’t sing them because they’re classics. They’re classics because she sang them. Not a fan of jazz, but this albums influence is undeniable

Legendary performances by Ella Fitzgerald, but I cannot rate this a 5. If this had been a shorter, well-curated compilation of Gershwin songs sung by Fitzgerald, I could easily slap a 5 on it. But as it is, this contains too much filler just by nature of its being a more comprehensive compilation.

Kaufen

Not my type of music and won’t be after this challenge but I’m still glad I listened to the whole thing!! Though I haven’t listened to any other releases from her Complete American Songbook series yet I suspect this was probably not the best choice for this list, if only for its inaccessible form - there are EIGHT albums in that collection and every one bar this is single LP length, why would the editors choose this as essential listening?? I also don’t personally care for most of the Gershwin compositions here and my 21st century British ears were quite tired after 3+ hours (albeit I listened in about three chunks which helped a bit w/ the burnout :]). still I v much appreciate this was before the album era and I am probably listening to this under very different circumstances to its original audience. Ella does a fantastic job with the material though. 2.5/5

Listened to the shorter version "the best of", because there ain't no way that I am listening more than 3 hours to Ella Fitzgerald, even her being the icon she is

Definitely has some Frank Sinatra flair to it. The lyrics are pretty dopey at times, but that all just adds to the vibe. Dropping this a star because it's just so unreasonably long and arguably not an album.

the premise of listening to an album a day makes this big jumbo set out to be really obnoxious. not rushing through it and just taking it a few songs at a time, it wasn't as much of a chore as i thought it'd be. still a chore though. overall it's just a whole lot of lovely tunes about love on top of a jazz orchestra. i left with a lot of great songs--could probably cut it down to a strong 3 star twelve track album--but that's still only like 20% of the collection. but yeah important piece of american canon or whatever. i was having the most fun when they were picking up the pace a little bit, or sampling other genres, like Just Another Rhumba or The Real American Folk Song. favorite song is probably He Loves And She Loves

Rating: ?/10 I don't even know what score to truly give this collection of music at the moment, which is over 3 hours of this legendary vocalist singing to part of her career long project of playing the entire canon of 'The Complete American Songbook'. It was best group background music which gave me the chance to listen to it in full in the background but not enough of a chance to really take it in and give a firm opinion on. Looking at some of her other released albums of her singing to standards, I definitely think they could have just added any of the other ones that are much, much shorter instead.

Comparable to Frank Sinatra but missing the voice and clout. Simple and pleasant and some of the rhymes really hit you over the head with how easy they are, but again guys it's like the 50s, we're still figuring out this whole "music" thing. It really is hard to find anything "bad" about it, but it also didn't exactly stimuate my neurons 5.0/10

As my fellow 1001 peers have noted, the length of this box set makes it stand out in a daily listen format. Unfortunately the length does not translate to a plethora of smash jazz hits. Twas a different time twith different standards for music. Favorite lyric: Banana banana, Havana Havana. 4 Havana Lizards out of 10 Wizard Lizards

Repeat

I recognise how technically crafted this is but it’s not for me. Most songs really drag. He’d to fault but also hard to love.

She’s a queen for a reason.

I like the love vibes. The whimsical vibes reminds me of the old Snow White.

No…not the 3 hour album… For real though, this album really fucks up the entire established rules for this list? At this rate why not have a collection of every legacy act performed later. Where’s my Scott Joplin cover album, what is ragtime not worth listening to? Is there a Stephen Foster album somewhere on here? But obviously it’s the performance that makes that, and I can agree there, Ella has a great voice, which is why she did this for so many other composers. Why aren’t those in the list? Are the Gershwins better than Cole Porter? I don’t think I can make that claim. Duke Ellington? Uhhhhh probably not? So suddenly if you’re including this why the hell can’t you include EVERY album of that project? You included the first 4 Led Zeppelin albums why not the 900 minutes of her Great American Song Book? Anyway. There’s nothing wrong with this project. It’s totally fine and her voice is incredible. The problem is I just don’t care about the songs at all. A lot of them lack context in a collection like this and the instrumentation is just…so dated. I just get so bored.

Boring after a few songs. Nice background music at a steakhouse. Great voice, nice songs, but just not for me.

1: But Not For Me 2: How Long Has This Been Going On? 3: Maybe

I don't know why the critics decided this behemoth of an album was The One for this list, and I can get why people wouldn't enjoy getting assigned a 3 hour long album. That being said, I loved it. Everysing is so romanticized sounding and Ella Fitzgerald is SUCH a phenomenal singer. No complaints from me!

beautiful

I didn’t listen to the whole album but I think that’s excusable because hello 4 hours long. But I do know and love Ella Fitzgerald and what an incredible voice so 4 stars

Great album for ambiance

This is fine to listen to. Sounds and is old-timey. Pretty voice, clever songs. None of this is really my bag, but good enough. A box set, however, is overkill for an exercise like this.

Mysigt men för långt

Very long album.

Oddio ti prego, ascoltarlo tutto la morte

At its best, this is sublime. An edited highlights album would be any easy five stars. But about a third of the way through, I was ready for a break - I'm essentially listening to it in instalments.

While the start of the compilation has a few good songs I found it became very repetitive to the point where I somewhat disassociated myself from listening intently. However, it was not bad to the point of being unbearable and I did quite enjoy the first disc or two. But lacked substance at least after disc 1.

god this thing is massive, but it’s great. lots of love songs, several goofy songs, and a bunch of big band. i was a little surprised there wasn’t more jazz to showcase Ella’s scat singing, but i guess this is more about the Gershwins. what a little treat as the last tune. i think Ira Gershwin said it best: “I never knew how good our songs were until I heard Ella Fitzgerald sing them”

For some reason I dig it. The art work on the album cover is great too.

This album was beautiful to listen to. I loved the lush strings, bright horns, and, of course, Fitzgerald's voice. It's incredibly composed, produced, and mixed too. But it is extremely long, and after a while the tracks stop standing out from one another, and many of them feel unmemorable (I don't blame it, it's a songbook). Definitely something I'd come back to for certain songs, but I probably won't revisit this project as a whole for a long, long time (is it even meant to be approached like this?). Favorites: The Man I Love, I've Got A Crush On You, Love Is Sweeping The Country, Slap That Bass, Love Walked In, Prelude II

Impossible to rate, and borderline unethical to reduce to such a thing as a "star rating". As a historical record and document of music history, the "American Songbook" records by Ella are indelible, iconic, monumental. Listening to this all at once though is overwhelming and near impossible to digest. Some of the songs, obviously, are better than others, but I wouldn't lose a thing. As for Ella herself, I love her, of course, but I do prefer my jazz singers to have a bit more grit in their voices. She's almost TOO perfect. This (and the rest of her American Songbook records) are all but required listening for anyone interested in the history of American song. Fuck it, five stars, not because it's a perfect "album" per se but because is, without reservation, an album you need to listen to before you die.

Its Ella but its 3HRS!! Damn

When I saw that this compilation was over 3 hours long, I was dubious that I was going to listen to the entire thing. I started it with the expectation that I’d maybe listen to 2 to 3 discs and get a feel for the rest. Well, I listened to it all over a couple of days. The music is beautiful, Ella’s voice is wonderful, and I was enraptured. I’m taking one star off the rating because despite how glorious the music is, the length of the compilation could be trimmed.

long as fuuuuckkk

muito bom, elegante, suave

Ella Fitzgerald is perhaps the best singer of the recorded music era. this album comes once recording technology itself had reached more or less its full capacity, and puts her - and the band - on excellent display. the Gershwins are hit or miss for me, but it doesn't *matter* when you deliver them like this.

This is a hard one to rate. Because it's a compilation, it's not really an "album" per se. And the length is imposing. That being said, there's a lot of good music in here, and Ella's an incredible singer.

?/10 - скип, т.к. какие нахуй 3ч?

Compilations shouldn’t be on this list 3

Sorry Ella it was good but a 3 hour album is not necessary before you die.

I love Ella but a bit too much orchestration on this one for me.

Excellent recording and beautifully cleaned up. Ella was a world-class singer, and the nuances show with each version of the Gershwin song catalog. I grew up with this kind of music and really grew to hate weepy violins and big brass sections. I still hate that shit. Ella would have been better with a simpler, less bombastic arrangement.

Vocal Jazz. There's no doubt that Ella Fitzgerald has a great voice, the problem is that I just don't like this style of Jazz and find it boring.

LONG ALBUM. Kinda procrastinated on listening to it, obvz Ella Fitz can sing but the songs are all "of an era" and very specific to a jazz/movie setting. Great voice and vibes but not really my ongoing sorta ting

Really liked her singing!

(2.5) Adore her, but I really don't know a if 6-disc box set belongs in this list period- Especially when the whole basis of this project is that it includes literally everything from the Songbook, regardless of how good/known/influential it was? The feat itself is impressive, and certainly notable in a music history capacity, but the end product isn't much to write home about. Beautiful because it's Ella Fitzgerald, of course, but in practice not suitable for much more than background listening.

very extended but i enjoyed it. perfect for a restaurant night or to relax

Ella does not fuck with Delilah okay ella not every song is banger but when they are, they are amazing the strings are wonderful Ella likes shorts guys? lol her cousin her voice is also amazing, her tone and her story telling slap that bass is so true zoom zoom zoom felt more like a musical than an album tbh

Very easy to listen to. I love Ella’s voice. It was an extremely long album, but it was not hard to listen to at all. I knew Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off and Someone to Watch Over Me.

Završila sam sve. Sve i jednu pjesmu. Gdje mi je orden i novčana nagrada? Ne pretjerujem. Od početka radnog vremena do pauze me p(r)atila. A zaista ništa posebno ni vrijedno 200 minuta dosađivanja, Ali nije stravično loše pa eto neka jadna dvica se može udijeliti.

dreamy is the first word that comes to mind. The lyrics are absolutely beautiful and her voice brings the songs to life in a way thats unbelievably perfect.

(gets on high horse) I don't think compilations, best ofs, live albums, or box sets belong on the list. So regardless of how I feel about Ella Fitzgerald or the Gershwins, I have a bias against this. I love Ella's Christmas album, but three hours of big band jazz vocal is very much not my thing. I can appreciate her voice and the orchestra, but this is never something I would reach for even if it was proper album length.

Positivt överraskad

Vackert och behagligt men väldigt tomt. Ger betyg för vad det ger MIG.

Fantastic album great instruments and obv ella fitzgerald sounds good

Classy classic

Vraiment pas mon truc, j'ai toujours l'impression de regarder de vieux Disney...

Lovely, light-hearted lyrics and Lady Ella’s divine voice, can’t go wrong.

*Idea* Perhaps the generator needs some kind of mechanic to roll long albums on a day you pick, think road trip, flight etc. Right so this finally happened to me. I feel like this album is undervalued because of its length. I listened to it on a lazy sunday, on a walk and just lounging. If I got it on a busy workday I wouldn't have had the time. Even on my lazy sunday I didn't listen to the whole album in one sitting, but divided it between the CD's as labeled in Spotify. Does that really count as one album then? Not really sure. The music itself is amazing though and well worth the time! 4/5 Not 5/5 because it's not really one album.

Ella Fitzgerald has an amazing voice, crystal clear and iconic. As much as I like to listen to her this album was almost 3 hours long and was a little bit too much Ella Fitzgerald for me. Probably great for a dinner party but not for listening back to back.

Great voice, I liked this album as background bluesy music.

Fantastic- a great performer singing great songs by great composers. A treat!

I like Ella Fitzgerald and Gershwin and standards fine, if I’m in that kind of mood. But I refuse to listen to the entirety of a 3 hour, 5 disc compilation. 1 hour of Gershwin, prob 4-5 stars, 3 hours 1-2.

Ella Fitzgerald has a great voice. The Gershwins are great songwriters. There is nothing bad about listening to a few of these tracks in a row even if it's not a musical style I am interested in. That said, I do not need a box set of this. Yes, I listened to the entire thing. It was great background music to put on while I was doing something else, but it would annoy me to no end if I wasn't doing something else.

Ella is one of the greatest singers of all time. These songs are good to have on hand to create a certain mood, the dominant vibes being elegance, nostalgia, romance, and mischievousness.

As many others on this site, I must confess to not listening to the entire album. I didn't have the time and I was never going to be able to give it the attention it deserved. So I cherry picked songs that I either already knew, or thought I might enjoy. What I did listen to was very good. Her singing was fantastic and the musicianship was excellent. If this was a single, or even double album, I would have found a way to listen to the whole thing. And I have no doubt I'd have enjoyed it very much. I've actually seen Ella Fitzgerald live, way back in 1982 at a free summer festival concert in Pittsburgh where I was one of about 100,000 people present. I recall it being very special and I thoroughly enjoyed the show, even though hers was not at all the kind of music I was listening to at the time. I will give this a four star rating based on what I did listen to, and I am certain I'd have enjoyed it to the same level regardless.

Coraz bardziej poddaje w wątpliwość, czy ktoś na poważnie zawarł niektóre te płyty w tym zestawieniu. Nie będę katować tym przez 3h jak 10 minut trwało jak wieczność

Cant go wrong with my girl ella

Actual masterpiece

I haven't even started yet but I can tell you I'm not listening to all three hours. This is a perfectly fine box set for someone I'm sure, But Not For Me. Ella Fitzgerald is great, the music is nice, I don't need to listen to much of this to rate it. Certainly not all three hours.

Beautiful. Reminds me so much of my dad singing a lot of these songs. I only made it through disk 3 but I would come back to hear more.

Love this. She's incredible & these songs are classic

I wish this wasn't so long, it really detracted from the experience for him. That being said, you cannot deny the talent that Ella has. She has a powerful presence and is so great at adjusting her voice to make the song an engaging experience/matching the mood of the song. Most songs felt tight in terms of the theme and story which I really appreciated.

You Like Tomato And I Like Tomahto 1001 Albums Generator 220 (2/4/2025) The Gershwin Songbook is part of a larger project that Ella Fitzgerald finished during her life, where she aimed to sing all (or most) of the Great American Songbook. That total compilation is just over 15 hours long, but even just this portion of it is a little over 3 hours long. I really try to listen to every album I get on this list twice, but that doesn't work for an album of this length as a daily album. Unfortunately, I also have no connection with this music, because I have no familiarity with 30's and 40's musicals. So there's a lot working against this album for me. I found the first couple discs to be kind of interesting. For example, the big band and almost oriental sounds on Just Another Rhumba are so cool. Let's Call The Whole Thing Off is really fun. I'm not a big fan of the slower songs, but Aren't You Kind Of Glad We Did? and Someone To Watch Over Me are quite pretty. The last disc, which is the shortest, features instrumental compositions by the Gershwin brothers, and is thus probably the weakest just by virtue of not having Ella's beautiful, powerful voice. Maybe if the instrumental pieces were spread throughout the album, they would stand out more. Yeah man, it's 3 hours long. 2/5 I guess?? I feel so bad about that but it's just not for me. Favs: Let's Call The Whole Thing Off Just Another Rhumba The Real American Folk Song Least Fav: IDK..... probably one of the instrumental ones on the last disc

9 Fun jazz album with cool timing and great vocals

My favorite till now

Fitzgerald is talented and classy, and I wouldn't argue against the sense of including one of her eight "Great American Songbook" albums on the 1,001 list, but personally I didn't get a lot out of the hours I spent with this album. As I listened, I noted down tracks that stood out... and out of nearly 60 tracks, I ended up with surprisingly few on my list: "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off," "The Real American Folk Song (is a Rag)," "I Got Rhythm," and "My Cousin in Milwaukee."

Feels like silk in your ears. Listening to Ella makes me want to go back and lower every other rating at least 1 star. Simply sublime.

Great voice and some interesting stuff here. I didn’t listen to all 4 albums but I enjoyed it.

Коли побачив, що це збірка, ще й класичних бігбенд естрадних творів, то попередньо думав, що буду хейтити. Проте Еллу дуже приємно слухати, видатна вокалістка, легенда. Музично це не те, що я люблю. Водночас мені за два заходи все це діло не набридало. Ще раз такий досвід найближчим часом точно не повторив. Можна включити під різдво/новий рік для фейкової ностальгії.

Я люблю Еллу Фітцджераль і музику Гершвіна теж люблю, але 3 години то занадто, вибачте.

The album is a classic, and I see traces of it in modern artist like Laufey. I love old jazz like Coltrane or Duke. This album was good, but a little too smooth and almost repetitive for the day I had. Still, it was a great listen even if I didn't finish all the way. Favorite song from the album was "He Loves and She Loves"

Now my type oft music but i understand why people listen to it

This is a long one, but a great one. Impeccable voice and classic American songs.

Very nice

So many good songs. But come on. SIX discs?!?!

Likes: Easy to listen to, very well produced for its time Dislikes: Too much… I get that it’s a valuable listen, but why is a three hour boxset on the list when there is surely a more concise way to hear these songs or this singer. It all blends together, and nothing stands out. Overall, not bad and a didn’t mind it at baseline, but it’s just too much. If it was three hours of compelling material, that would be one thing. But it’s just not, unless you’re already a big fan of Ella or the Gershwins.

This is a perfectly lovely album. I like the band music, the gentle strings, and of course her voice which is JUST sublime. It's properly old-timey, but not in a jarring way. It's very accessible. Just a thoroughly pleasant time really. I didn't listen to the whole thing of course, but I don't think that says much. It's kind of ridiculous to include a box set on here as opposed to a single album. 3.5 rounded up.

Suffers a little from over-orchestration on some tracks...too many violins...her voice,however, is pure gold

It's awesome

3+ HOURS?!?!?! Ella is not the problem at all on this but there’s no way I’m finding time to do that

Yeah man that sure was Ella Fitzgerald singing an entire jazz songbook

So long they gonna make someone do a Ella Fitzgerald Songbook of all the songbook albums she made and its gonna be 48 hours long.

Lepo peva gospodja svaka čast ali sve pesme su mi zvučale isto 3/5

Ella gospodjetina ali pesme nisu nikakav specijal, 3,5/5

Didn’t get through the whole album (6 discs in total) and although not my usual listen, I really liked it! Such a beautiful voice and so relaxing

Not sure how to rate this one. She has a beautiful voice, no surprise there. She is rightfully revered. Really pretty songs, but I tried listening twice and very literally fell asleep both times. Send me the best 35 minutes of this and we can talk about a 5 star classic. I feel like 3 stars for an "album" that I couldn't get through isn't bad.

Could deduct for the sheer length but music is 🤌🤌🤌

- ok i know Ella Fitzgerald is iconic and I love her powerful voice but im not listening to 3 hours of this - c’est un album que je mettrais en musique de fond en étudiant dans un coffee shop

It’s Ella, so it’s good, but it’s just too long.

Não terminei de ouvir

Was this 3 1/2 hours? Yes did I surprise myself by enjoying most of that experience yes. There’s a lot to be said about a song book like this with the definitive rhythm and voice while I don’t have to listen to this music I will definitely come back again when I need help studying

I’m trying not to hold the length against this because it was clearly not meant to be consumed in one day, but it’s hard because I felt like I was losing my mind by the end of disc 6. This is probably going to show up on my Spotify wrapped now. The music style is not for me. Everything was slow and downbeat and at one point I’m pretty sure I accidentally went back a few tracks and didn’t even notice. But of course she has one of the greatest voices there is. If I listened to any of these discs by themselves I would probably go light 4.

Very good versions of pop standards. Didn't need to be 3 hours long though.

The compilation was rudely long. Ella fitzgerald has a great voice but this just isn't my style and went on forever

Ella singing “someone to watch over me” is 5⭐️. However, the album being 3h14m long and the entire catalog is too much.

Admittedly I did not listen to every disc (I did not have 3-4 hours to spare to truly digest the album, I work a 9-5). However, every song I had listened to was excellent and I love Ella

Lovely.

Great voice singing some iconic show tunes. Not sure we needed 6 discs and over 3 hours of it though.

Peaceful classics. I like it a lot

A six disc box set... Are we being real right now? Isn't that cheating a little... Like, "I want to add Ella but can't pick, fuck it just add her entire catalog". Took me two days to finish, good but yeah, only for the fanatic.

mono