The Gershwin Songbook

Definitely have this blasting whenever me and the boys want to imitate transatlantic accents, but man sometimes the lyrics just feel so damn lazy. No wonder rock musicians realized they can just write their own stuff, why bother with something like “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off?” Why bother past disc 3 anyways? I do very much appreciate “Looking for a Boy” for us short kings finally having an anthem, and “Boy! What Has Love Done to Me!” for us toxic kings finally having an anthem.

The Gershwin Songbook was one of the few very long albums on this list that i enjoyed. It really is some of the best jazz music i have ever heard with plenty of great parts from each and every musician and Fitzgerald's vocals also made this album come a long way. It is interesting that this is less of an album and more of a box set which explains it's length but i still think it went on for a while. 3 hours is a long time for any album and i feel that albums that go on for that long that don't massively change up their sound can easily get repetitive and hard to remember. This album would have been an easy 5 stars if it were just a bit shorter but it still gets a very respectable 4 stars. Best Song: The Real American Folk Song Worst Song: Soon

I agree with pretty much everything everyone said. It’s so long. It’s really good. A ton of solid songs with some gorgeous standouts.

Even if you don't like jazz, giving an album that is just a collection of jazz standards anything less than 5 stars is a certified CoD gamer move

Too long to listen to all 40 songs here but I really dug what I managed to listen to

I think I got the gist of this about 2.5 hours before it was over. Ella is great, but this is a slog.

I listened to it all! Nice background music when making Christmas cards

I love ella

The songs are beautiful and Fitzgerald has a wonderful voice. It’s two legends in the jazz world coming together, which results in nearly 60 songs that are all spectacular. Unfortunately having to listen to the entire collection at once made it much less enjoyable, as it is so long, which made the experience closer to a three, but I think the album itself is really a 4

I love lounge music!

I'm with the top reviewer here. I haven't even listened to this yet and - two things: 1: I already know I thoroughly enjoy Ella and own one or two of her records. 2: Compilations aren't fair for a greatest of all time type list except in the rare occasions where it's the only way to listen to an artist's output (I can't even think of any examples, but there may be some). So, with that in mind, this is (tops) a 3. Which fits my rubric anyway. A three is something I appreciate or even like, but I likely won't listen to again. Sorry Ella, it's not your fault.

Very good but so long it is hard to consider compared to other albums. A great voice and some classics in here but it just drags if you attempt to listen in one sitting

Love her voice but this way too long and the songs are pretty boring. Decent background music though. Not sure how to rate this or if I can finish it by tomorrow. If you condensed it down to a normal album length selecting the best tracks it would easily be a 4 star album.

Finally finished this. Long AF but it's pleasant enough in small doses.

Great voice. But after forth CD songs became too similar.

PERFECT ALBUM and perfect for fall

Classic voice

Good music

Eso era música de la mejor, la voz de Ella es un placer que no cansa. Perfecto

This is seriously incredible.

Nicht meine Musik, aber gut.

mellow

Ella does the Gershwin Brothers just got tougher as it progressed. Wasn’t sure what to expect, turned out to be corny show tunes from a by-gone era, more big band than jazz. List originator should have selected one of her concept albums over this lengthy three disk set. She does have a voice, and she sure sang a lot of songbooks. This took three 1hour and 5 minute sessions. New topper for the 1001 Too Long Album List! (0.9*s)

Ooof...that was a chore. Took me 6 drives to work to get thru this one. Ella got a nice, classic singing voice. Sounds like she could come out of any early Disney movie. I honestly thought she was a white woman though. She doesn't have the pipes like some of her black counterparts. Maybe it's just the genre, she could probably belt out some soul. Thinking this was selected from her works purely for the shear mass. 6 in one is overkill but you are getting a lot. 1.12 stars for Fitz.

I wasn't looking forward to running through 60 songs over 3 hours of outdated vocal jazz for good reason. I figured the best way to approach this was to throw this on during a daytime stroll through the park with the daughters. This was probably the best setting possible as it was a gorgeous sunny day with a light breeze with one cutie pie riding her bike and the other in the stroller observing the pedestrian and dog passerbys. For the first half hour or so it was a pretty pleasant experience. There were a couple of tunes that I recognized from random pop culture references (notably Let's Call The Whole Thing Off). The old-school whimsical show tunes actually made it feel like a slice of an outdated classic movie scene at times. Despite this, the effect could only last so long. Ella's singing is fine and the musical accompaniment isn't bad, but the whole collection is excessive for a list like this. You quickly understand what the Gershwin songbook has to offer and unfortunately have to suffer through another couple hours. For every good song there are 10 more that sound just like it. It's not that the music is bad, it just really only works in a certain place and it more than overstays its welcome. Even after an extended nearly 2-hour walk I still had quite a bit left to get through. I opted to finish it up during some morning busy work at the office which I guess wasn't the worst. The music isn't overly distracting and is light enough to keep the mood positive while churning out emails or whatever. This entry was a bit of a struggle to get through, mostly due to the playtime as opposed to the content. I understand that the Gershwin songbook is a heralded collection of jazz showtunes so I appreciate that it gave me a reason to intake a piece of musical history. The fact that any of these songs are relevant nearly 100 years later is an accomplishment in itself so I understand why it deserves recognition and how Ella's recordings fit into that. However, I really hope additional entries from Ella Fitzgerald's Great American Songbook aren't included in this. I got enough Ella in this 3+ hour collection that I plan to file her away for good. If you could slice this into a smaller format it would garner a couple more stars but due to the excessive length I have to give it low marks. .84 stars

This ain’t it

Day655 - she’s great, this is great, but my patience were tested and who can listen to this for over three hours

Started strong then ended up just kind of sounding spooky like the depeche mode I imagine. Pretty average.

About as classic as it gets.

It's as if I have been placed into the world of the princess and the frog. Not great. Songs are really slow.

This album could've been an email

Ok, aga on paremaid

Really nice easy listening. some lovely tracks, and a beautiful voice. Favourite track - beginner's luck

Blackness I like it

straight 50's fire what a VOICE some of the songs are so silly goofy in a good way :^)

The Wall Extra large blind Ah, so this is the 1001 albums they were talking about! Didn't think I would have to listen to them all at once, but here we are Whenever I tried to focus on what's playing I got so immensely bored I couldn't continue listening. In the end I just had it playing in the background while I played Against the Storm. I'm really sorry for all the people in 1959, as they didn't have this option

I dont like oldtimey music anymore

Musically pleasing but so, so very long.

Ella Fitzgerald has a truly phenomenal voice, and the Gershwins' work is fantastic. The album is disturbingly long, to be sure, and there aren't many standouts, but as a whole it was enjoyable to use as background music.

She has me at Delilah was a floozy…

Classic.

Took some time, but I made it through this one. I almost feel like I’m reviewing Ella’s entire career here. It’s undeniably good, but to my surprise, I grew tired of listening much sooner than I expected. That’s why I’m dropping this one to a 3.

That was too much Gershwin for one listen. Or even the 2 sessions it took to get through. But damn, there can never be enough Ella. She’s the absolute greatest.

She has a nice voice. Wasn't my favorite type of music and there was a lot of it.

Let’s be serious. This isn’t an album, it’s a box set. That said, her voice is great. It kept me entertained for the entire drive to a softball tournament. But it’s too long. Way way too long.

I just received this mission. 196 minutes, 48 seconds huh. Let's see how we fare. To be Frank, I will probably not listen to this in one sitting, but I think that's fine. I don't even think this was intended to be listened to in one sitting. It is an entire fucking box set, that is cleanly separated into discs. But I do intend to hear the whole thing. I suppose my "break glass in case of emergencies" is that the first 3 discs consist of the body of the material, but according to the wiki article, the rest is largely alt. takes and different mixes. So if I really need a break, I think I'll declare a success If I can at least make it through the first 3. See you on the other side. Alright, I did make it through everything. The first thing I noticed is that the Spotify upload has the discs with a tracklist in an order different than what is cited on the wiki article, so I kind of resolved to just go through the whole thing. Second, I'm more sure than ever that this isn't even really an album. Like the format of this website's challenge fails to accommodate a project like this. Something that was never, *ever* intended to be consumed in one sitting. I think this is the kind of thing you would have bought, then you would have slapped one disc on every once in a while. Although I will say, digesting 196 minutes of '50s pop/vocal jazz does put you in a really unique space as a listener. I have never felt more like an archivist than I did during this. This project really does feel like something you are forced to contend with, and it almost feels like it's challenging you to find a way to present the, admittedly strong content here in a more digestible way. I think there is a really cool exercise in curation here. Spoiler alert, I'm giving this a 3, I'll talk more about that later though. But I think that if you went through this, picked the right songs and sequenced it right that you could pull a really fantastic 45 minutes out of this. The music itself here is generally cool, even though it's hard not to get a little tired of '50s pop over the course of the whole thing, unless you are a very particular kind of person. However, the performances by Ella Fitzgerald are spirited and charismatic, and the compositions by The Gershwins have such a classic sound. They are dated, but they are ultimately well written, classy tunes that aren't afraid to have some fun. And I'd be willing to bet that these performances are the defining interpretations of these songs. As for how to rate this, I'm a little torn. On one hand, this is an unceasing obelisk of pop music: an absolutely unmanageable volume of largely similarly textured and written songs. On the other hand, this was never intended to be consumed in the way that this challenge demands, and the magnitude of the achievement here is not lost on me. This is one of Fitzgerald's greatest accomplishments, and it is, at the end of the day, a *very* robust collection of very well written pop songs. As such, I'm playing it boring and splitting it down the middle, getting to the aforementioned 3. Definitely listen to this, just never in one sitting.

First, let us stipulate that I expect there some place in the Smithsonian where this is playing on a loop 24/7. A box set feels like cheating for a 1001 Albums project. Good Gershwin selection but if I were to pick one Ella Fitzgerald album for this collection it would not be this because it's such a narrow slice of her talents. If I had to pick one Ella, which really isn't fair but still, it would be Ella In Berlin. Check it out if you aren't familiar. My one criticism of this almost approaching comprehensive collection of these two brothers' magnificent collaboration - possibly the greatest songwriting duo we've yet seen - Isaac Newton to Lennon-McCartney's Einstein - is that many of these arrangements are played slower than is typical, and it gives this already drawn out set a soporific quality that by two hundred minutes in almost gets downright stupefying.

Argh. Although I get the impulse by this project's editors to give us a healthy dose of the Great American Songbook performed by various artists, three-plus hours of Ella Fitzgerald singing Gershwin songs seems a bit too much for anyone (like me) who's not really a fan of largely interwar show tunes. But there's no denying Ella Fitzgerald has a great voice, and this album is impressively produced and recorded and preserved, which makes it easier to go on (and on and on) through the various songs. (I'll admit that I didn't bother to get the final few songs from the collection that were inexplicably left off the YouTube Music playlist.)

I own volume 4 of this (tracks 33 to 44) and have enjoyed it over the years; now I realize that's by far the best cut.

Baggrundsmusik til en meget lang middag. Ville være op mod 4 stjerner hvis det var et dobbeltalbum i stedet for 5-6 stk. virker sindssygt at der er så mange sange af Gershwin og så Summertime ikke er en af dem?

Fortjener en ret høj score fordi det jo bare lød pissegodt hele vejen igennem!

Heard this monster of an album with a duration close to 200 minutes during The Great AWS Breakdown of October 2025. I had to hear this album for the entire day and felt like I was living in a Fallout shelter... It had it's charm and could probably have scored higher if I didn't have to dedicate over 3 hours to listen to it..

Great voice and arrangements but just started sounding the same after a while

Imponerande att vara så långt men ändå njutbart!

3 timmar långt men hon är underbar att lyssna på

Oj, många låtar! Men funkar.

this should be longer Rating 3 because it’s too long to listen to and may circle back

I can't really start this review without getting the length out of the way first. I did listen to the first 3 discs of this Songbook in full (as others have noted, disc 4 is alternate takes). It was a slog, although not quite as bad as I had thought it would be. Redeeming features - Ella's voice, simply amazing Music - clearly of it's time, but actually pretty listenable - the orchestration was impressive and brass and strings both had their moments in the spotlight. There was even a bit of cheeky vibraphone at one point. But the length... I doubt I would listen to one of my favourite artists for 3 hours+ straight, let alone an old 50s record.

Solid 3.5/5

The highlights here are many and spectacular. One of the great voices.

Gershwins 5, Ella 5, but I have to knock off a point for Nelson Riddle and his overbearing orchestration.

Wasn't my taste.

Lovely, relaxing music.

A lot of great songs, performed by a great singer. Also an interesting insight into how much the music industry has changed since 1959. 'Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Song Book' - they really were simpler times weren't they.

Mid 3 Im usually all over stuff like this. Im sorry to say ive never liked Ella's voice, I find it a bit characterless. I love the ambition of this project tho

I’d rather listen to Dylan’s covers of the American Songbook canon but this is obviously super well produced. It’s like music that was only made to be played in 50s period films to signify the era. I like it though.

Essential, Ella and Gershwin, this is thé essence of music and life

As a former ballroom dancer, I could listen to jazz standards for days on end without tiring, which I realize is quite biased. The music is rich, complex, and all-encompassing. It permeates all the right parts of my brain to melt it into complete euphoria, while also making me want to break out the old dancing shoes again. It calls forth a yearning nostalgia for a time period for which I wasn’t even present. How amazing it is that music can do that! This project truly wowed me. The content is as much about Ella Fitzgerald as it is about George and Ira Gershwin. The lyrical composition, musicianship, and vocals are a trifecta made in heaven. My favorite thing about Ella is how crisp her voice is and how she so masterfully bends her notes to create the perfect crescendo of emotion. Her hums, scats, and yodels are eclectic and endearing. As far as the songwriting, I don’t even feel like I can adequately speak on it. I mean, there’s a reason these songs have lasted nearly a century and will continue to last far into the future. Additionally, the composition is lush, vibrant, and transcendent. I was thrown for a loop a bit by disc 6, but after reading up on why it was added, who am I to say anything? Let the Gershwins play on!

It all sounds the same.

Really enjoyable album. Loved it.

Fin men ikke så god at arbejde til. Kan se det fungere som parmiddag-musik og helt ekstremt meget som flimmusik

Ella has a hellava voice. This is also hella long. How is this just an album? The 1001 list should have a time restriction. The last disc on spotify is confusingly just instrumentals. Top tracks: "My One and Only," "'S Wonderful," "Embraceable You"

NOTES: I will not be listening to this whole thing. Don't got that kinda time. Gonna be a vibes based review. As such, I'm taking 1 and 5 out of consideration, as there's no way I'll get all of it. Thank you for your attention to this matter! CRK. Ok, so I'm 4 songs in. Many things can be true: - The Gershwin's contribution to the American Songbook™ cannot be denied. Classics all the way down. Like 90% of the tracks listed have their own wiki page, which isn't a giant thing, but it's interesting? - Ella is "the First Lady of Song" for a reason. Dynamic voice, beautiful in every way, probably in the team picture of greatest vocalists in history - This is too much music. This isn't the kind of thing you can get thru in a day, so doing it as "One Album A Day" is doing it a disservice. - I ain't listening to this whole thing lol. So how do we rate something like this? As above, you can't do a 1 or a 5, that's not fair. So we have to do the 2-4 range. And there's no way a 2 is fair at all - the bona fides of the singer and songwriters are just too myriad. So it's between a 3 and a 4. So then it becomes a question of how are we going to hone in on a rating? I think you have to do vibes, historical significance, and talent. Which means this is a 4 overall. TO BE CLEAR: This is a 1 in terms of this exercise. This is not an album that should be listened to in a day, but over a long weekend with coffee and pastry while doing a crossword puzzle and not worrying about what the kids are up to.

Final thoughts: I listened to all of it. Was I looking forward to it? No. But I'm glad I did. What a voice! I didn't love everything on here, but the slower ballads continued to hit me just right for the duration. Will you love these songs? Not necessarily. Should you listen to this if you care about the history of pop music? Absolutely. I may not like the length, but this is exactly why I started this project. ******************************************************************************* DISC 1 --'But Not For Me' was lovely. --Sigh, nobody says 'potato' like that. --'Oh, Lady Be Good' is also very pleasant. I like the slow tracks --'How Long Has This Been Going On?' slows things down again and once again it's great DISC 2 --'The Man I Love' is hauntingly beautiful --we get some ragtime pian-ee with 'The Real American Folk Song' --'Somebody From Somewhere' is slow and wonderful. I'm noticing a pattern --This has been a pleasant experience so far, but I'm not going to do this all in one sitting. I'm not that much of a psycho (yet) DISC 3 --'For You For Me For Evermore' is perfect --'I've Got a Crush on You" I could listen to her ballads all day DISC 4 --Slap That Bass! --'Isn't It a Pity' is great. Surprise, it's a ballad! --'Love Walked in'? banger --'Embraceable You' is a classic DISC 5 --'Lorelei' is awesomely sassy --'Oh So Nice' is indeed very nice DISC 6 --this may all be instrumental. which wouldn't be terrible because the musicians are excellent. but I'm here for Ella

this was an undertaking. the second 3+ hour album on this list. and absolute insanity that an album this old could even be this long. but somehow it never got tiring!! it was never mind-blowing but it was always good. even the last disc of all instrumentals i really liked. very impressive

not on spotify + 196 MINUTES?????

Arrancamos oficialmente la primera semana de octubre con una mostra del jazz, de la que sólo he escuchado un disco en colaboración con Louis Armstrong. Debo decir que pausé toda la semana el reto para poder escuchar esta obra enorme, que me fascinó. Inmediatamente, uno relaciona a éste tipo de jazz con películas (específicamente, Disney) o dibujos animados (Tom y Jerry). Más allá de esas conexiones de otro tiempo, la voz de Ella Fitzgerald a uno lo seda. Deja todo en reposo y en una bella calma. Muchas gracias y seguimos con éste reto hermoso.

Incredible work from Ella and the Gershwin's, just a stacked tracklist. Stellar.

Not my favorite Bit boring Cute

Note to admin: a box set is too much to cope with in one day 😏 I'm sure this sounded wonderful on the gramophone back in the day but it is soooooo dated now, both stylistically and lyrically, that it's hard to appreciate.

Some stuff to love here, but this is, of course, a DNF.

5 stars for Ella's pretty voice. -2 stars for 3 hours long. 5-2=3. 3 stars.

Sorry Ella, but this is not the kind of music I want to listen to 3 and a half hours of in one go.

Ella is wonderful, but I do question the album's place on this list. I would have rather had something uniquely hers. And not 3 hours long either

It doesn't get any better than Ella. 500000/5

It was good that I got this album on a Friday so I could break it up into three parts. It was okay but, just way too long. If I was playing one of the Fallout games, it would have been a perfect soundtrack.

Não terminei, 6 discos em 1 tem q ter tempo pra ouvir tudo de uma vez só! Vou ouvir aos poucos. Não é o tipo de música que costumo ouvir, mas é bom.

top3: - i’ ve got a crush on you - for you for me for everyone - nice work if you can get it

why a beautiful voice! Ella at here prime. A wonderful collection of just about the entire Gershwin song book (it seems). 3 hours plus! enjoy

No notes. Great, even if it was very long since it is a musical anthology of the Gershwin songbook. Not giving it a four because it didn't have stand out songs but very well made.

It’s good, she’s good, the music is good. But it takes forever to get through… I guess it’s something that would fit as background music at different occassions - perhaps during Christmas. At least some of it has Christmas vibes

Very nice and cozy

Very long but easy listening

One of the greatest jazz vocalists of all time with some really great material. This album was SO warm and comforting. Kept it playing non-stop.

Quite a slog at 3 hours but Ella has a beautiful voice so that definitely helps. Favorite track: The Man I Love

I worked my way through the 4-hour, 13-minute Expanded Edition of this project. While it was definitely a behemoth to work through, I have walked away with a newfound Ella appreciation. My favorites were, "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off," "Oh, Lady Be Good," "Treat Me Rough," and "Lorelei."

Meh

Don’t like these old standards, but her voice and the orchestra are so sublime I actually liked quite a bit of this very long collection.

I tapped out slightly past disc 1 of 6. I can't with that in mind give it anymore than a single star. This album was definitely a choice for this kind of list.

First of all, it should be illegal to create a 3 hour album with 6 discs. It should then be more illegal to include this type of album on this list to force everyone to listen to it. Quite literally the definition of “Throw enough wet paper balls see what sticks”. Everyone should QA their songs and just weed out the ones that don’t fit in a collection of songs or just aren’t as well put together. Live update, currently about to finish Disc 3 which is only HALF WAY THROUGH. I don’t know if I’m going to make it… the urge to listen to something else is very strong. All these songs are foot tappers, but they’re all not necessary for 1 album. Half way through Disc 4 and I gotta tap out. I need to listen to something else. Kudos to anyone who made it all the way through. But because I couldn’t, it gets a 1.

Grating experience, not just because it’s long. It’s seriously really uneven and some songs are good but some are straight up dogshit, it doesn’t matter how good a singer she is. The slow songs are generally stronger. ‘I’ve Got A Crush On You’ is one of my fav Gershwin compositions. I stopped listening early, and I’m going to stop complaining even though I have more to say, because unlike this album I value your time.

I get it, Ella Fitzgerald has great voice. She really does! But why is this album on the list? I know the songs are very old, but they just feel corny to me. I feel bad that this is how she's using her talent. And the length... it's like the listmakers didn't want to actually research and include jazz music, so they were like "Ah just put the long one on there, that'll cover us." I was really geared up to like this, but nah, wouldn't revisit.

9/10 for me. The entire album is fitted through Whitty lines that of course come from the songbook that doesn’t change anything about Ella Fitzgerald’s amazing singing throughout bringing the songs to life.

good but incredibly long

I’m not going to review this album. This collection features possibly the greatest American voice singing the collection of possibly the greatest American songwriter, produced by a legendary producer at the highest level of care and quality available at that time. That’s why this collection is here. If you appreciate music, you should be aware of this and listen to it. Is that not the point of this list? The whiny reviews are frankly embarrassing. Who cares that it is a compilation. This collection is a monstrous musical achievement, including as a way to ensure that Gershwin’s genius was fully captured. You don’t have to listen to all 3 hours (or 4 if you listen to the revamped versions). You can listen to 20 minutes and understand what’s there. Stop complaining.

Obviously, the vocals are lovely...but the old-timey stuff here is not my jam.

Just beautiful

Her voice is like silk or velvet. Perfect soundtrack for those long, autumn evenings.

Pleasant performances all throughout, although very same-y in this quantity. However, putting a collection like this on a list of albums was like putting a boxed set of all seasons of a TV show on a list of movies.

Beautiful songs and singing, but this album was way too long for me to listen to the entire thing.

"3 hours is just too long for an album" was my initial thought. A little over 3 hrs later and I guess I was wrong. Her voice is just amazing, I could listen to her sing the phonebook.

The big band music is a bit much for a full album but some classic songs and she has a lovely voice.

I had an 8 hour delay at O'Hare and that wasn't enough time to finish this album

Shoutout to the reviewer who said there was a 45 minute “best of” version of this. I’m not listening to 3.5 hours of fucking 1959 jazz… even if it is Ella Fitzgerald.

Yes, it's big, but also extremely elegant. And Ellla's voice is truly a treasure.

Ella Fitzgerald had the most fantastic voice. This is an excellent album

Took me nearly 4 months to finish this one, what a slog. The 6th disc was completely unnecessary

Mate the Album is 3 hours 15 mins... the first few songs were very much of the era, but its not my thing and I ain't listening to all that.

love her music but holy shit 3 hours???

lol

2 out of 5. Ran too long for my liking but powered through. She has a wonderful singing voice that helped carry me through this album.

I mean great voice but the songs are a bit bland. I think it's good but I'm not listening to a 3+ hour album. Great background music for a swanky cocktail party but not my favorite Ella.

Perhaps social media has given us all short attention spans but I feel at 3hrs this album is far too long. Then again who am I to mark down legends such as Ella Fitzgerald and the Gershwins?

Could have, and should have been an email. I'm convinced that this album only exists as some elaborate sadomasochistic social experiment. Anyone claiming to enjoy it has been commissioned for their opinion, or held hostage. Needless to say, I didn't indulge in its 3 hour running time.

2 because of the 59 tracks.

Jesus Christ this a long album.

I kind of feel like compilations are against the spirit of this list. This is very long - 6 disks on Spotify and well over 3 hours. Ella Fitzgerald is great, and these songs are timeless, but this is a lot to get through. I am recognizing some songs which is cool, but this really isn't something I would choose to listen to, even if I wanted to hear Ella Fitzgerald.

Awesome

Maybe it's just listening to this not long after Grandpa passed, but this feels old in a way that not even other albums I've listened to as part of this felt old. It really has a sense of when I'd think to hear it. I think that's an impressive kind of good on its own.

Awesome

This is great of course (because Ella, because she's always a delight to hear), but Riddle offers only the broadest and most overdone arrangements. And editors might consider spiffing the list with the likes of Abbey Lincoln, Cassandra Wilson, etc.

Too slow and chill

This was a slog, not because it was bad, but because it was just long. She can sing wonderfully and the music is enjoyable, but why does a box set belong on this list? 3/5

Long ahhh Songs individually were fine but 70 songs is crazy

Listened to the first 4 discs. Band sounds great. There was a cadence exactly when my train to a stop and that felt good. Call me gay but this is a 4 even though it's long af

I listened to it. All of it. It's 3 hours 15 minutes long. That's almost as long as the Brutalist though this is a slightly more wholesome experience. It is difficult to separate, when listening to this, the amazing, versatile, enchanting voice of Ella Fitzgerald from the music itself. The songs are so well written and clever lyrically that they almost take centre stage and are an experience in themselves. In any case, this is an exceptional voice singing exceptional songs - the extremes of Fitzgerald's vocal range matched by the lyrical gymnastics of the songs themselves. Am I reviewing Ella Fitzgerald, or George and Ira Gershwin? It doesn't really matter, it's all incredible.

Like Ira, I never knew how good the Gershwins were until I heard Ella Fitzgerald perform their stuff. Even if you don't like this type of jazz or the album was too long (and it is), you have to appreciate the arrangements and lyrics. Who can write like this in today's day and age?

overall enjoyable and i liked listening but just a tad long

One hell of a voice! Big band music from 1959 is a historical curiosity at this point, and while Ella is a gem in the 1001 album challange, but is not going to find a place in my collection

7/10 Favourite: Lets Call the Whole Thing Off Least Favourite: Treat Me Rough

Despite the slowness of the music I find myself hanging on every word. It's the perfect kind of thing to put on in the background but also would be lovely to have seen live.

3 hours, 14 minutes and 48 secs... It worthed every second! That's what I call Prime Music.

This one is hard to rate. On one hand, Ella is one of the greatest singers of all time and some of these songs are great, but it is over 3 hours long and there are some serious snoozers on here...

Perfection

I remember my mam!💕

7/10

Love love love

Ella is good

Went back to work today after week off and if any album is going to make that a joyful and restful experience it is this one. After checking that I indeed have the album with just 59 songs and not the reissue (sigh), I swaddled myself in a blanket, cup of coffee in hand, and let this just ooze over me. Such beautiful songs sung by a truly wonderful vocalist.

Legendary vocals with really good music backing it up. It's very much old school with a brass section and there are dramatic horn pops or whatever it's called when everyone with a horn blasts it at the same time. Not in a bad way but in a dramatic highlighting the music way. You will know what I mean when you listen to it. The whole album is very nice I listened to it again the next day. I'm sure I will be listening to this many more times.

I like Ella's jazzy stuff, but this is more show tunes with a big orchestra. It's definitely not my usual style. My grandmother probably liked it. Yet... the songs make me happy. Her voice is incredible as always. You might know a few of these, in Ella's version or others (e.g. "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off"). It's over 3 hours of music, BTW!

Amazing Really great singing voice Some swing music I think Only heard 14 out of 60 songs

I'm going to rate it 4 stars because it's Ella Fitzgerald and I know some of these songs but it's over 3 hours long 😅

I love Ella Fitzgerald's singing, one of the best of all time. So graceful, so elegant, there's just lots to love. I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that bonkers runtime. While Ella has no problem carrying her weight in the album the repeated cycle of production just doesn't do it for me. Nevertheless, with the amount of songs on this there is no shortage of great songs. For the most part, this was a great listen excluding the runtime. Top 4: But Not For Me (solos), Embraceable You, Love Is Here To Stay, and Someone Watch Over Me 3.75-4.25/5

HOLY FIRE I LOVE THIS ENTIRE ALBUM

Ella here is great here dont get me wrong,and its clear gershwin is a great songwriter as you can tell from these beautiful tracks,but its just way too long.I get that back then it probably wasnt seen as a casual listen type thing and in reality it was a 5 day show where she performed these songs but for the sake of this im gonna take the length into account.It took me about 2 days to finish surprisingly enough tho,thought it would take longer tbh.I dont wanna hear vocal jazz for a while yet now iwl.but if its not as long i will persevere.Some of the songs toward the end honestly js suck tho which is interesting cause i havent really heard a vj song which i havent liked.Also,those instrumentals were,pretty unneeded Skill:8 Actuality:6.5

I want to give you my perspective of this album. Imagine a food that you like. Not your favorite food or even your second favorite food, but like something you think is just okay. Now imagine having to eat it every day for a month. Imagine going through the motions of experiencing the same thing over and over again, wondering how far you are from the end. Imagine the sensation of that food getting stale really fast until it just feels the same way everyday. That’s the Gershwin songbook. I’m not gonna sugarcoat this. I don’t give a fuck how iconic this is or was. I don’t care what you think about Ella Fitzgerald’s singing (I think she’s fine, but like I’m not going crazy about her). I don’t even give that much of a fuck about the Gershwins. You don’t put a fucking box set on here. That’s ludicrous and a little pretentious. Like what do you want me to say? Every song sounds the fucking same. It’s just big band and ballad hell. And believe it or not, I got lucky because I got this on a Friday. Since I don’t do weekend albums, I had three days to do this. And I still had to squeeze it because I just couldn’t give a fuck about this. I don’t know if this is blasphemy. I don’t know if this it going to put me in music hell or something. But if I sit through a three hour box set and get nothing from it, then I can’t justify giving this any good score. Favorite track: I Got Rhythm (I know there’s a joke somewhere that I like this because it’s the last song, but it’s actually the only one I knew prior) Other hits: You think I’m combing this shit again for songs that I’m never gonna listen to again?

Wonderful compositions, amazing voice, but this is a VERY hard listen after a certain point. I understand the historical significance, but it would be an easier listen in bite size chunks.

I narrowed the track list down to 12 songs because there’s no way I was gonna listen to this for three hours. I’d have difficulty doing that for my favorite bands. I chose songs based on how interesting the song titles were to me, and I enjoyed it! It goes without saying, her voice is amazing. The band was great too!

6 discs is absolutely crazy work, but Ella is THAT girl and it's so easy to listen to.

Beautiful ambitious album. I'm sure one day I will finish it although I doubt in one sitting since it's over three hours. One of the greatest singers of all time

I'm not a jazz head. this isn't my thing, but I can recognize that its a good rendition of "not-my-thing."

Lo primero que he pensado ha sido: "PUF 3 DISCOS???" pero cuando he llegado al tercero y seguido bajando y he descubierto hasta 6, una perezota la verad. El primer disco guay, animado y tal, no estoy en el mood pero ha sido disfruton. El segundo es mas tranqui, mas triston, por lo general prefiero la melancolia y la nostalgia pero ahora mismo ni tanto ni tan poco. La verdad que la mayoria de las canciones no me las he terminado, no solo en este disco, en general :P (Inciso: En este punto he descubierto que son 6 y definitiva me lo voy a escuchar por encima lo que queda) El tercero suena a Navidad DEMASIADO no soy yo el grinch pero me cansan los villancicos. Ya me suena todo igual. No se cuanto mas voy a durar. Creo que no es un disco navideño pero a mi me lo parece al principio luego no tanto. LLegue al 4, otra vez bajon? si. Creo que he encontrado de donde han sacado los de iphone un sonido para las notificaciones. ¿Estoy delirando? Parece el diario de una persona que se esta volviendo loca y esta dejando de ser un comentario sobre un album con 6 discos. EL 4, que es por el que voy y en el que decido plantarme porque al final voy a escribir un libro se ha vuelto muy sensual. Mis felicitaciones a aquel que se le escuche entero.

236/1089 - This kinda came at the perfect time for me. A nice refreshing break of 3 hours of semi-Classical music I'm familiar with (not all in one session, I'm not that much of a degen!). The arrangements can get a bit similar but there's always enough variation per disc and Ella Fitzgerald has one of the clearest voices in jazz.

I love Ella, but I guess I’m learning that Gershwin is pretty hit or miss for me.

I’m really not sure why a 59 song set would find its way on this list. It’s not an album, it’s a collection. I give it 3 stars because of the respect I have for the woman behind the microphone and the ever increasing respect for those behind the songs. It’s truly amazing to think of what song writing and composing once was. I listened to this entire thing in an afternoon as I went about my business. It was like a fever dream…

Uh oh could it be one of the most instantly recognisable and iconic singers of all time? I do prefer others by her more than this, but love ya Grandma and Grandad

One album. Not six CDs. Cmon.

Ella has undeniable talent. I'm not listening to a 3+ hour record. The first few songs were good, then I had to move on to other things.

The voice, oh the voice Breathing life into each note But oh so, so long

I didn't listen to the 3 hour plus box set, just selections from it. These are great songs and Fitzgerald sings them superbly with impeccable backing from Nelson Riddle's orchestra. Not really my cup of tea but I can appreciate the hell out of it (just not for 3 hours plus).

Listened to this behemoth over the course of a few days. Like a lot of classic American jazz/crooning, its a good song, but a lot of is the same song. I did appreciate and enjoy a lot of it, but it is hard to get through and repetitive as hell

Very good. Listen to the first two discs

great singer, great songs.

I think there's something here for everyone to enjoy. Somehow the Gershwins are able to take coarse, Tin Pan Alley Jazz, splice it with raw folk melody, and color it with orchestral genius fresh from Debussy or Ravel. The result, with the showy flourish of Bizet and the contrapuntal depth of Bach, is nothing less than a pinnacle of musical achievement. I can't say enough about the songwriting, Gershwin's oeuvre speaks for itself. The real magic of this album, however, isn't in the songs themselves, but in the marvelous interpretation by Ella Fitzgerald. She's probably the closest to a perfect singer that jazz will ever get. She somehow manages to sit her vocals right in that sweet spot between girly, fragile falsetto and thick, sonorous mid-range, and it sounds so effortless. Her vocals perfectly complement Gershwin's colorful arrangements. I could talk about this for hours, but imma keep it short. Becoming familiar with this album is very enjoyable, there are so many tiny details in the vibrant orchestration, the carefree scatting, the clever lyrics, etc. I love absolutely everything about it and I can't recommend it enough.

I actually LOVED this and will be looking into more ella fitzgerald.

3.5

Not for me

Started this but could not go on. Great singer Great songwriters. But no wonder Rock n Roll came along if this self indulgent treacle was their legacy.

Before I get into the music- why is the album cover of a white lady? Aside from that, great album. Can't believe how long it is. Gershwin and Ella Fitzgerald and wildly prolific.

5/10

amazing voice, thought the songs all blended together though

So lovely

i love a bitta Ella. But i could not listen to this entire thing through. I got the gist after disc one. It’s beautiful music don’t get me wrong. But did i need to hear this before i die?

Nice enough. I listened to the 'best of' version of this album, which was more than enough.

Kinda boring

Thats not really my vibe at the moment. But I can imagine this would grow onto me and then I would probably play it in certain situations for the vibe

Ihan ok, tuttu nimi, koskaan tosin en oo kuunnellut. 3/5.

Ella Fitzgerald’s voice is smooth as silk and this glides through the first three tracks and then we hit a track i actually recognise in ‘let’s call the whole thing off’ and i hate to say it but the vocals are just too clean for my liking. This track feels like it should be sang by a more lived in voice. (I’ve got) beginners luck gets up back on track and we’re swaying along like I’m watching an old film at my grandparents in my childhood. I’d have given the first lp/disc a 3/5 but fear my tolerance for this is already seriously waning and i’m only just started the second set. The Real American folk song is a real pick me up with a lively piano offering a welcome bit of variety to the general floaty big band numbers. End of disc two and everything’s still generally pleasant, but now definitely feels there needs to be more variety. Clap yo hands at least raises the tempo, a bit to more of a swing like tune This is just toooooo loooonnnnngggg. Disc 4 is too one dimensional with Slap that Bass being the stand out due to it at least punctuated the dreamy sleepiness of the rest of the music. Other than that ‘shall we dance’ almost adds some life to proceedings, but not quite. By the time i reach the 5th disc ‘i cant be bothered now’ feels worryingly self aware. I got rhythm at least ensures it ends on a high. Good moments that could have been edited to a great album. Whilst i applaud the ambition of the project it is just too long to enjoy as a single album

Ella Fitzgerald clearly takes her brief very seriously, because when it says she sings the Gershwin songbook, I assume they mean every, single song given this album comes in at a whopping 3+ hours. I’ve heard infinitely worse albums so far while doing this project, but this was just totally unnecessary.

If "too much of a good thing" was an LP. Or more accurately, 5 LPs. Her voice is amazing, the musicians are wonderful, the songwriting is great. Even admiring the ballsiness to release this, it's too long to be a fully enjoyable listening experience (ironically, her previous Gershwin album is too short at only 25 minutes). The Wikipedia page also defeated me, as I normally like reading the background to the album, but this had a page for basically every song and frankly, I ran out of enthusiasm half way through. All of which makes this hard to mark. A nice trim 50 minutes likely would have got a minimum 4 from me, but an album shouldn't be a test of endurance. 3/5 P.S. Even as a Brit, the phrase "Carry on, old fluff" in Stiff Upper Lip made me giggle.

respectfully, I cannot I made it halfway through album 3 and thats as much of my day that I am willing to sacrifice to these shenanigans

grande voz, uma das mais lindas que já passaram na terra.

All-time classic voice and some catchy tunes. But this is not an album, it's an anthology. It is 6x too long, its inclusion in this list is frankly cruel and it loses points for that

6/10 There’s just no way I could do my usual song by song review for this album. It’s just too long. But let’s leave the gripes for later. The first thing to note is that Ella’s voice is just magic. It’s spine-tingling, goosebump inducing magic. She has so much control and presence, but also has this laid back swagger that makes it sound like she’s just rolled in off the street, been handed a lyric sheet and bashed out each song on the first take with a glass of wine in her hand. The perfection of her timing as she slides effortlessly from note to note is something to behold. The orchestration is also absolutely exceptional. Nothing sticks out or gets lost anywhere at all and the balance is just beautiful. As for the recording? There are over 70 players on this album, which was recorded over a three month period in 1959, and it sounds like it’s happening right in front of me over 65 years later. It puts a number of the (much later) recordings on this list to shame. The songwriting is quite obviously of its time. There are some really lovely tunes in here, and Ella lends things such emotional weight with her delivery, from light hearted and fun, to sad and sincere and everywhere in between. Personally, I have a preference for her more pure jazz output, rather than this more pop/classical jazz and have a particular soft spot for her work with Louis Armstrong, but that doesn’t take away from the quality of what’s on display here. There are obvious lulls in places and there’s a lot of stuff that obviously sounds very very samey. Which leads on to the big negative of this ‘album’. It’s not an album, it’s a box set. It’s just too much. Partly this is down to the era that this was released. The album as a concept was only really starting to form at this point, and had been, essentially, a collection of songs, rather than a considered artistic whole up to this point and, arguably a good few years into the 60s. This isn’t really intended as a singular listening experience, more as something that you’d stick on a disc or two of here and there. So where do I land on this? At its best, it’s gorgeous. I love listening to Ella sing. But this is just excessive. I’ve really struggled to pin down a score because of that, but I guess I have to put a pin in there somewhere. I’m just very sad that this is the only Ella ‘album’ on the list.

I give myself 5 stars for listening to all 3 hours and 15 minutes of this. Pleasant stuff. The lyric "So I'm looking for a boy 'Bout five foot six or seven" is not something that is familiar from contemporary online dating profiles.

Some of the most substantial songwriting, performaning and arranging of all time.

Ella sings classics, c’mon. I met her Once, extra special.

Didnt finish I enjoyed it at the beginning but then most songs just kinda sounded the same and I got tired of it

A delightful album, with mesmerising vocals and witty lyrics

3h 15m... Maybe if it was a concept album I would have listened to it all

Not my cup of tea. Relaxing and cozy

I listened through this album during my attempt to make my way through the 1001 Albums chronologically, so I was somewhat dreading running back through this 3+ hour collection. Even calling it an album is somewhat misleading – it's more like 5½ albums rolled into one package. I'm not the biggest fan of show tunes in general, but Ella obviously has an amazing voice and makes what (in the hands of a lesser singer) could be an absolute slog into something tolerable. There are a decent amount of highlights across the 59 tracks, but most cuts aren’t particularly distinct from one another – if all my favorites were gathered into one short album and the rest were absent, it'd probably get four stars from me! Highlights: Let's Call the Whole Thing Off, Things Are Looking Up, 'S Wonderful, The Real American Folk Song, I've Got a Crush on You, Boy What Love Has Done to Me

Alltså visst. Gershwin är ett geni! Fitzgerald sjunger skiten ur örhänge efter örhänge. Men är det rimligt att kalla ett 6-box-set med 59 sånger och över tre timmars lyssningstid för ett album? Hur ska jag betygsätta. Hur jämför jag med 35 minuters 60-talspop? Blir ju bara larvigt ju! Nåja det kan ju inte bli en femma när man slänger hel pastakoket i väggen och hoppas att något ska fastna. 4

She's got a very beautiful voice, it's very smooth and clear. Not my genre but really cool. Didn't realise she was the potato potato chick. 2/5 stars.

bad

Okay, I made it through the whole thing - I think that deserves some kind of bonus reward, right? I love jazz, but I have never loved vocal jazz. I'll always make time (apparently 3+ hours) for Ella and Billie but it's not my go to.

over 3 hours. didn't listen to it all but liked what I heard. great voice and very clever lyrics

Brilliant voice, entirely too long, listened to the best of and didn't feel deprived

Big band jazz with the legendary Ella 👌 Takes about half a day to listen through though!

Dude why is this album so long?

I think this list is a psyop to get people to hate certain musicians by linking a 3 hour box set. I just listened to a different Ella Fitzgerald album and rate that 4/5

lovely, gorg-iana, icon, straight up cunt, BE-YOU-tiful, Linda Evangelista, real eyes realize real lies, intel core processor, salty salty crocodile tears yum yum yum in my tum.

I listened to "The Very Best Of The Gershwin Song Book" sang by Ella Fitzgerald instead. I did not want to grow resentful of Ms Fitzgerald or the Gershwins. I am glad that they blessed earth with a 3h 14m album, but I don't think that's meant for us to listen to all in a row. Unless that's your jam.

Joy

Ella is always on point. An amazing singer, beautiful songs to play, nice arrangements. A must!

mast classic

Good stuff! Classic, mostly sounds the same, but reminds me of high school

Highly enjoyable. Ella is one of the greatest

These songs in 2025 sound so funny. Hey ladies - jobs are for men! Make him feel special when he gets home. Maybe you’ll get a nice dress when he decides to take you to dinner.

A great collection. As an “album” it could be trimmed down.

As an album this is overkill but as a compilation it is ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I can appreciate Ella Fitzgerald but I can’t appreciate jazz especially when it spans across multiple disks. Got 5 songs in and peaced out

Far too long

Loved it

Everyone should have this in their collection. The greatest female voice of all-time singing some of the greatest music ever written.

Fuck this is long.

Great but far too long.

Whoever put a 3+ hour box set of jazz on this list needs to take a long, hard look in the mirror. I get it, Ella had an amazing voice and was a jazz pioneer, but there are a few tracks on this compilation that sum up my feelings about today's pull: Who Cares? I Can't Be Bothered Now Suffered through this in hopes the 1001 Albums Gods smile upon me tomorrow.

Pas fou

A lot of these songs are really pretty, but this is so long they all start to bleed together and lose impact.

Yeah it's was long but she can sing and it sounds good as i drive on 294

Probably too old for my taste. Didn't enjoy it, didn't despise it either.

Never really something I'd considered listened to, but it was a peaceful, fun listen. Ella's voice is beautiful and the music was like a relaxing day in a sunny park.

I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. That is to say, the first part of a different Gershwin as the recommended album is 3+ hrs in length. Still, great voice and some unexpectedly fun songs.

Wow. If "Voice of an angel" was in the dictionary, it would have a photo of Ella next to it. Incredible. This was over 3 hours long and I loved every mintute

'let's call the whole thing off' is annoying the hell out of me. It just keeps going. How did she find so many things to pronounce? Boring and too long but 1 star feels too harsh.

My niece thought her name was Elephants Gerald... Elephants Gerald, Ella Fitzgerald... let's call the whole thing off

I liked listening to this time for an hour a day over 4 days. Seems like a curated selection of these songs would be more appropriate for this list.

deeply rude to put an album this long on the list and i like ... couldn't have cared less about it the whole time but i enjoyed it nonetheless

J - 2/5 Best Track - "Let's Call The Whole Thing Off"

This is an incredibly difficult "album" to review, because a 5 disc (6 if you count the non-vocal tracks) really stretches the definition of album. I personally had a great time listening to this. I like the music of the Gershwins, and Ella Fitzgerald's voice is positively enchanting. All of these songs just sound so effortless when she sings them. Even when I started to drift while listening to the whole collection, I continued to be drawn back in by the quality and soul of her voice. I also think it was nice to get some Broadway and stage music as part of the 1001. That type of music is extremely influential, but it feels suspiciously absent from this list. All in all, I think disc 5 is the best of the collection, but any of them will give a consistent good feeling that music recorded after fails to capture.

This is an interesting inclusion and listen, just for the vast amount of material included. It is somewhat intimidating and almost impossible to digest in a single sitting - but I don’t know if any of the material really compells me to revisit. The recording quality and performances are excellent, and I didn’t realize that box sets like this existed in 1959 - but I guess it makes sense. Here you have a top tier performer recording a vast catalogue from a famous popular songwriter. We take it for granted sometimes that access to music is just a click of a button away, but having a collection was really something back then (and even until 20 years ago).

It's pleasant enough to listen to, but I doubt I ever seek this kind of thing out in future. Also, I'm not sure stuff like this should really count - its not just an album, its 6 volumes.

I don’t know how much to write on this that hasn’t already been said. Ella’s voice is silky and beautiful, and I could listen to her sing a toothpaste ad. Throw her in with Gershwin, and you have magic. There was so many great songs showing off her range and vocal chops, as well as great performance by the unnamed musicians in the band. My favorite song, though, was the swaggering That Certain Feeling, with its long music interlude and her fluid voice playfully moving across the notes. She’s an American Treasury.

Random thoughts: * Wow! 3+ hours of music. * choosing a box set is kind of cheating. * it was an enjoyable listen and I might throw it on for an evening again but it will not be a music selection I seek out often. * Ella’s voice I beautiful and was great with these songs. * However, it felt like a vanilla version of Ella Fitzgerald often. There wasn’t the scatting and the usual Ella verve on many of the tracks.

I am entranced by her voice. And it seems the music is more in the background than in, say, the Sinatra and his ilk's recordings--to this recording's credit. The Gershwin compositions have an enduring timelessness, a defining presence in the American songbook, in no small part maybe to Ella's beautiful interpretation. I don't know as I'll have time for all four discs, but I'll have a delightful time trying.

It’s strange sometimes how amazing + amazing = not as great as it should be. If there’s a Gershwin musical on TV then I am more than happy to watch. I love these songs in context. Ella has a great voice and accomplished delivery, but this was overly long and we didn’t need 1000 verses of each song. I didn’t think this was the greatest iteration of these songs. I guess I want the movie versions or a more unique delivery.

Ella has a great voice and the Gershwin‘s wrote wonderful songs. Standards are standards for a reason, right? Put this album was too long, the songs began to run together, and I don’t even think I ever knew there were as many verses in ‘Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off’.

Well, this started out promisingly, with me explaining to my kids (as we listened in the car together) how Ella Fitzgerald was iconic and to appreciate the arrangements and how this preceded rock and roll and how difficult it is to hear it in the context of its time. Then, after eight songs, we all agreed it was starting to blend. The arrangements and recording and even the melodies started sounding like they were borrowing from one another. After 11 songs I asked, how many songs are on this (I was driving), and Sylvia said, "there are six discs, 59 songs." At which point I turned it off. That's not an album, it's a collection. And on top of that, a collection that sounds like they ran every single song through the same processor. No wonder it was sounding tired and similar. So... ambitious? Sure. Extensive. Yes. Does Fitzgerald have a voice that defines an era? Yes. But I wasn't enamored enough to endure three hours of the same old song.

Simply grading this on its own merits, this is an impressive collection, no doubt. If you want Ella's interpretation of the Gershwin songbook, boy are you in luck. You also might be a little sorry you asked, for it's a million-and-a-half years long. Given its length, I chose to skip through it so I could hear Ella's take on the songs I was familiar with. And they're great, if perhaps not my favorite interpretations. (Though her version of Someone to Watch Over Me is definitive.) Nelson Riddle is tasteful as always though he seems to have more fun with Frank. There is something Prestigious about this whole affair that I think hampers the proceedings it a bit. Ella is a very playful singer and I think that's lost a bit here. Also, including the introduction for every song weighs things down a bit. Frank had the good sense to only include the intros for a few songs on any given album. Is this the best Ella album to include on this list? Certainly not. If nothing else, people are going to be turned off by the sheer weight of it. If you want to include one of Ella's Songbook albums, then the Cole Porter collection is a much better introduction. Porter was (IMO) the greatest of the Great American Songbook composers, Ella's versions are among the best there are, and it's the album that completely changed her career, transforming her from a cult jazz singer into America's singing sweetheart. (It's also a lot more fun and lighthearted. Check out her version of Anything Goes to see what I mean.) But even that one is a double album. Another suggestion: the charming Ella and Louis album. It's a single disc, it includes a nice collection of Great American Songbook composers, and it also features the unmistakable vocals and trumpet stylings of Louis Armstrong, one of the giants of 20th Century music (and someone who isn't represented on this list). If nothing else, the pairing of the two makes Ella's bell-like vocals stand out more. Just listen to their version of A Foggy Day compared to the one of the Gershwin collection. They're both great, but which one are you likely to return to? How to rate this? 4 stars for the album itself. 3 for including it on this list.

At three goddamn hours this little chestnut took me a fair share of days to chunk through. But every single time I got to go back to it...bliss. I'm biased here. I love jazz. I love Ella. I love musical theatre. I love the Gershwins. So, obviously I'm going to fucking love this thing. Fantastic arrangements, unbelievably varied and consistently effortless singing by Ms. Fitzgerald, and source song material that's thoughtful and - in my view - never, ever gets old. It's a dream come true, and love is in the air. Fave songs: Nope. It's the whole damn book. A couple fell flat, but who gives a fuck.

Classical 1950s tunes and themes. Very nice and smoothy.

Wesh c’est baaaaad long heureusement c’était le week-end

3 val. gan išgąsdino, bet pakankamai lengvai klausosi, Ella gali skaityti žodyną ir vis tiek gražiai skambės. Tekstas lengvas, galima nuspėti, kokius žodžius surimuos. Puikus sekmadienio pasivaikščiojimo po parką albumas.

God It was WAY too long for one sitting.

One of the best voices we’ll *ever* hear! And smart, gorgeous songs. Beautiful arrangements. Sure, the album is three-plus hours long. But can there be TOO MUCH perfection? Nope. No, sir.

I think I found a different album, this was 1/2 hour and not 3 like the other reviews. Smashing voice, Not really a fan of Jazz but this wasn't too bad. My One and Only hit the playlist as a Gem.

A box set album of Gershwin songs that is three hours and fifteen minutes long ! I've entered the world of Jazz and climbed it's Everest ! Ella Fitzgerald's voice is absolutely enchanting, no doubt about that. This is maybe the ultimate chill out album of all time. Great arrangements. The whole thing is pretty much flawless really. Yes, it's looooong but so what, lose yourself and this world for three hours and relax. Yes, I listened to it all.

Big band style, would listen with grandma Lou kind of music

3.0 - Ok

4 would love that.

very old timey but also very pleasant to listen to. enjoyed!

Incredible. No notes

Ella Fitzgerald, great voice. Gershwin, some fantastic music! Put them together and what do you got??!! Ella Fitzgerald singing covers of Gershwin........ This album isn't ground breaking or influential in any way, it's literally just a bunch of covers. I actually listened to the full 3 hours, after a while it all started to sound the same. Is it good, sure. Is it great, no way.

- .... - 0 nummers toegevoegd aan MMMM - 1 nummer toegevoegd aan LLL

5 étoiles pour l'envie de chanter et danser dans la rue.

Voix sublime mais beaucoup trop long à écouter pour une seule journée !

I’ll probably never actually listen to this whole album. Picked 5 Ella tracks to listen to and she’s one of the best to do it.

Amazing voice, great songs.

Too long to finish. Nice stuff, tho. Of course I had never listened before.

I'll confess, I only got to the halfway mark on this tome. I fully intend to go back and complete. This is a project! But I think a lot of the low star reviews are missing the forest for the trees here. Yeah, it's Fitzgerald and her silky beautiful voice is the star. But let's not dismiss the great American songbook of the Gershwins. Playful, soulful, undeniable songwriting here. And the orchestrations are top-notch. All 3 of these players bring this great project to life. It's a LOT to listen to all at once, but my journey through these 60 tracks has been lovely.

Ella reallly bring life to these often quite silly Gershwin songs. Quite enjoyable background music, except for the horrible instrumental section that started the album. Ella ***, instrumental songs *

I don't like this but I respect this. Respect gives star number two

This is music I don't mind listening in an elevator or shopping mall, it doesn't get an emotion out of me. Music that makes me go *shrug* This type of big band show jazz is really not my cup of tea. It's not particularly off putting, rather I feel it's kind of neutral or bland music, wouldn't call it muzak tho since it's rather well excecuted. I've got so much new music to sift through, that I don't feel good about loosing daylight to something I've no feelings what so ever towards.

I don’t know if you’re like me, but there are times when I hear a piece of music & it will almost, or actually, bring me to tears. Not sure why, but it's happened to me quite often while listening to the album. This album has 59 of the greatest songs ever written. You could talk me into saying this is the greatest album ever. I loved it and had so much fun listening to it. It made me happy all day...until my day kind of fell apart. The music is played by a jazz orchestra, with some of the songs being updated from the 1920s-1930s when they were written to better fit the 1960s. My fave tracks are all of them, but I love But Not for Me, Just Another Rhumba, ‘S Wonderful, & Someone To Watch Over Me. That song always gets me. Give this a try and see if it doesn’t tickle you right where you need it.

Lovely voice... unfortunately not enough to appreciate listening to it for 3 whole hours.

I tried. I got through half the album, 30 songs to be exact. I just can’t give it another hour and a half. It’s great music. It’s all the same - Ella’s beautiful voice over jazz. Great to put on while making breakfast on a Sunday morning. Not a destination album.

It is complicated, and even seems unfair, to try to give this a proper rating as an album, because IT IS NOT an album rather than a compilation. A huge one for that matter. Trying to actively listen to this for more than three hours straight is close to impossible, not because of the music being bad, but because there's not a way for the music not to get old throughout that whole length. That being said, Ella Fitzgerald is without a doubt one of the best voices of jazz, and George and Ira are definitely incredible songwriters. The combo results in a compilation of great songs, some of which have managed to make me come back to them a couple of times, even if they were being held back but the inevitable blur that this many songs created throughout my listen. As an album? Way too long. And that sucks. Then again, this is not really an album and it was never conceived to be listened as such.

Honestly not my thing

naprosto divno... nevjerojatno koliko je ovo staro a izvrsno

That was a lot of music. I would say it holds up pretty good start to finish. Took multiple days to get through it.

At this run time, it's not the best for a straight playthrough, but when one of the best vocalists of all time is singing the best showtunes of all time the result s'wonderful.

I am dubious about the validity of listening to and rating a standard 40 minute album after one day. A 3 hour box set stands no chance of being fairly appreciated in that amount of time. I also find the idea of putting a compliation album like this on the list in the first place. Feels like a cop out to me. Would be like putting the 2009 Beatles box set on as a single entry.

película newyorkina de navidad

have different copy

Ok you have to be in the right mood for this one. It's over three hours and very chill. I started at work while doing some mind numbing tasks so I got into it there. Then came home and it was a low key Monday night so I played the rest. It makes me wish it was cooler out. Her voice is simply amazing and this album is clear as a bell. Some older recordings can be heard, this one sounds like it was put out a few years ago. Impressive. You can tell some of these were recorded at different times. Her voice sounds different in some and I swear I can hear the hiss of an album in a few. I wore my good headphones for this album. I'm not familiar with the Gershwins, I know the name and that they wrote a lot of "standards". I don't think I would enjoy it as much if someone else was singing. Maybe some of the rat pack could so these justice, I'll bet Sinatra or Martin could do well with some of these. Ella just takes it to a different level. I can see a lot of folks being turned off on this one. It's very of its age. It feels like Grandma's house in fall. It's a damn good album set, but it's not modern. I think this will get added to my album list. It just feels relaxing. I wish it was cut down though, it's a lot. Still though I will end up putting it on to read a book with, or cook a big meal, I won't sit down and listen to it cover to cover.

delightful

Wonderful. A bit too long for the Spotify version (3hrs15min), but Ella's voice is magnificent and the accompanying band is fantastic! 'Let's Call The Whole Thing Off' was my fave!

What the fuck am I getting myself into? 3 hours and 15 minutes is a box set not an album. She has a lovely voice. Let's Call The Whole Thing Off is one of my favorite jazz standards. (I've Got) Beginner's Luck is really good. Oh, Lady Be Good is beautiful. Some of these lyrics are ridiculous. Just Another Rhumba's torturing of standard pronunciation to rhyme is ridiculous. How Long Has This Been Going On? is good as well. One disc of six done. My god, this is going to turn into torture. This is not meant to be listened to in one sitting. A third person self-reference in By Strauss. Someone to Watch Over Me is a great song. The Real American Folk Song is terrible, rags are not my cup of tea. The lyrics are like what a ten year old would write, My Cousin in Milwaukee is so bad. People in the early part of the 20th Century had a lot to contend with, but the Gershwins' lyrics might have been one of the worst. Disc two, done. I wonder if Nora Ephron or Gary Marshall just listened to this album and stole their movies from it...because I would believe they did. There's just too many songs. They could have made on amazing double album; four sides, six songs each. Instead, it's ten sides. Treat Me Rough is about rough sex and I'm here for a swinging, jazzy Closer. Two of the bigger songs in this back to back in They Can't Take That Away From Me and Embraceable You done well by a genius. There's a lot here and you realize that she's more talented in her way than the Gershwins' are in theirs. Her performance is spot on every song, even when the material leaves something to be desired. They close out the Ella portion of the album with I Got Rhythm which is way overrated. An album of showtunes and now a bunch of intermission filler and overtures. What is the point of tacking these on at the end? One on each side I get, but six in a row on their own record?

Perfect. No notes. One of the most beautiful albums I have had the privilege of hearing.

Good voice, good tunes. A little long. Just throw it on in the background while you're doing something else and it'll fly by.

Enjoyed this more than expected. Ella's voice was incredible; her control and her phrasings were amazing. The recording and arrangements were impeccable. The only knock is the length of the entire collection - it became exhausting as the songs started to blend into one long song. I broke it up into separate listening sessions but still had the deju vu feeling when listening. All in all, its an awesome collection of one of the greatest female voices of all time.

I can appreciate this album. Ella sings with such ease. The music is engaging making you feel like you’re in a Tom and Jerry episode. In the right setting this is very enjoyable. But over 3 hours.. glad to move on to something else.

Great voice - LOTS of album - 6 discs - last disc purely musical (no Ella singing).

Favorite: Love is Sweeping the Country I love the orchestral music at the end of this album. Ella Fitzgerald was undeniably a crucial and impressive person in the music industry however this album was slow, not very musically interesting, and way way too long.

Nice voice but don’t have the interest to listen to the WHOLE thing.

Excellent singer. I enjoy the songs, but a 3.5 hour collection of it, too much.

Long. I know she has a nice voice and that the music is magical, but I just couldn't get into it

Amazing, iconic voice. I just didn't have time to get through the whole album... It's over 3 hours long. But, I could easily see just throwing it on for some atmosphere when doing stuff around the house. It deserves more than that, though.