Reviews (page 8 of 14)
me gustaron varios temas, el asunto es que dura 3 horas y no me pintó escuchar tanto loco. igual lo guardé
DNF only a little it was good just idk
חמוד מאוד, קשה לשמוע את כולו
sweet but gets really monotonous after three hours, this obviously was meant to be listened to front to back, but a couple of songs do hit the spot and Ella makes it really easy for one to get bought in the loop and listen to like ten tracks in a row.
Big band jazz is my least favorite form of the music. Except maybe the early forms of hot jazz. Listening to this I can understand the one reviewer who brought up Star Time which is a brilliant box set from James Brown that I listened to for many many hours as a kid. This is similar to that. I would rather never hear a Gershwin tune ever again. Ella Fitzgerald can definitely sing and Nelson Riddle can lead a band. I just don’t care for the songs that much. They are good but 3 hours worth is a bit too much. Yes I should hear it before I died but there is a 1950 album that she tackled George Gershwin tunes on. That probably would have sufficient.
This is a tough one to evaluate, as while it's too long for an album where every song is so similar, it obviously wasn't all meant to be listened to in one sitting. So I won't ding it for that, especially when nearly everything - outside of the slowest, most formulaic songs - is very pleasant. It's limited by the confines of this style of songwriting, but the string and horn flourishes are nice and the rhymes and turns of phrase are creative. Fitzgerald's voice is lovely, even if she's not doing anything too impressive with it. And there are some real highlights here, from the almost shocking opener to the ragtime of "The Real American Folk Song" to the upbeat "Nice Work If You Can Get It." Still, by the end there are no more surprises, and a slimmed down tracklist would be more rewarding for everyone but Ella's biggest fans.
This was great. Exactly as expected
good background music. VERY long though
This is a good example of midcentury songwriting and vocals. It's easy to listen to. That being said, I'm not into this vibe at all, and don't really have the patience to listen to 73 tracks of it.
good
Yeah, I can't really do it with this one. On top of it just not being my style, going through like six discs of music that isn't my bag is just a bit much of an ask for me. I can appreciate it, but just not my cup of tea.
TLDL At least not to the whole thing. Listened to the highlights. It does fade into the background, and I can imagine putting it on during a dinner party with my mother. Beautiful voice, some iconic songs, but it goes for too long.
Feels like old timey movie. Opted for the best of, 3hrs is a long commitment.
A huge undertaking: great songs, great performances. Not sure this is the point of the album exercise, but glad I listened to it. Yes…ALL of it!
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.
To be honest. I am really enjoying this album I like things are looking up. Its actually so long. Only on disc 3
Världens längsta album. 7.5/10
Very good. Though some of the disc's seemed to repeat tracks.
Beginner’s luck
So I cheated with this one because it’s not really an album it’s more a compilation of every time Ella Fitzgerald sang a Gershwin song, totaling over 3 goddamn hours which nobody fucking has the time for unless you’re retired, so I listened through the first disc and then listened to her best of the Gershwin songbook album to fill in gaps After all that though I still love it, my Sinatra review obviously shows my sucker side for a good swing song and this album is choc full of em, beautifully sung because it’s Ella fucking Fitzgerald and the orchestra is great, the songwriting is also good I especially like the wittier tracks they have that 1940s/50s sarcasm that’s charming to me at least. Overall not a bad album and I wouldn’t protest its inclusion since I presume the Gershwin catalog is the most famous of Ella’s work but I feel like they could’ve chosen a shorter one. Favorites are Sam and Delilah, let’s call The whole thing off, I’ve got beginners luck, and I’ve got rhythm
FIFTY NINE TRACKS?!? I can’t believe I got through this. I can do anything.
fantastic background noise
Jamais écouté avant. Une expérience d'écoute très particulière, et qui restera sans doute unique pour moi, tant l'album en intégralité est long (plus de trois heures !). Difficile d'y prêter une attention active tout ce temps, d'autant plus dans ce style de jazz vocal vieillot qui a déjà tendance à beaucoup se ressembler d'un titre à l'autre. Ce qui n'en fait pas pour autant une écoute désagréable, loin s'en faut, et ce pour deux raisons principales : la formidable voix d'Ella Fitzgerald, bien entendu, parfaite d'un point de vue technique et profondément empreinte d'émotions et de sentimentalité ; et la qualité du son, impressionnante pour l'époque. Chaque inflexion de la voix d'Ella Fitzgerald, chaque note de chaque instrument de l'orchestre est rendue avec fidélité, et si ce n'était pour le sifflement typique qui trahit son âge (et lui confère aussi un charme désuet), on pourrait penser à un enregistrement bien plus tardif que la fin des années 1950. Finalement, une rencontre bienvenue avec une légende, mais à l'avenir, je me contenterai de la version Very Best of, qui semble bien plus digeste. Top : But Not for Me Flop : Fidgety Feet
I don’t listen to jazz, but wow. It’s long as fuck but that makes it really great for background music if you wanna deep clean your entire house and pretend to be a 1950s housewife. Would I listen again? Probably not all songs in one sitting, but I definitely enjoyed it and would totally be open to actually exploring jazz. That first disc is great, but it gets a little exhausting. My only complaint. It’s background music, not something you consciously listen to
Great singer, not listening to all that. Happy for you though, or sad that happened
Ella's voice is great and it's all really lovely stuff. But there's just too much of it, especially the alt. takes and other stuff at the end. I was restless enough by the time I hit disc 3, although I did force myself to listen to it all. It seems a little harsh to downvote purely on listening fatigue I wouldn't necessarily encounter if I listened to individual discs, but thems the breaks if this is going to be on a list of 'albums'. Somewhere there's a great 1 or 2 disc compilation in here for non die-hards.
Loses a star for length of album
You got to love that jazz and Ella Fitzgerald. Pero damm mas de 3 horas? por qué un compilado está en esta lista? no es valido. Me sirvió mucho para amenizar mi noche
Ella’s voice and style match well with the Gershwin style, but my dude you know I’m not tuning in for 3.5 hours of it. However I did listen to about half of the album, and it’s a really smooth listen at work. Ella’s smoky, classy style brings out the musical brilliance of the Gershwins. The length highlights the limits of their talents, though: Ella’s not the rangiest singer, and George and Ira get a lot of mileage out of “clever but lightweight.” So the songs start to blur the further in you go. Nevertheless it was a fine experience; I’ll just return for smaller doses in the future.
Strap in as this is a four CD set and over 4 hours of music. The good news is, Ella's voice is so good and soothing, it's not a bad way to pass the time. It really is great.
I can't give this any lower than a 3/5 because this is a sound that really hits, but only under the right circumstances. She's got an undeniably incredibly voice and the production makes it pleasing and relaxing to listen to, but after about halfway through the second disc of this 3+ hour album I got really bored.
Definitely want to visit Ella's other works based off of this. Had to split this listen into so many chunks because of the length, so I never really got too into it.
3.5+/5
3 stars for the voice mainly
I like Ella Fitzgerald but was a little dubious that I would make it through this entire album -- but I did and I like it more than I was expecting to since I am not really into Gershwin tunes......
Disc one feels like an old movie, classic soundtrack vibe done right. This is the stuff you'd remember because there's levels of skill to elevate it from the piles of average material. I don't know why I expected the second disc to feel much different. More standards I've heard, maybe. I find myself thinking of all the artists I've heard on this generator, I am so happy this 4 hour listen is with Ella's voice. I might never listen to this again, but I'll know where to look if I want this classic oldies sound. The further into it I get, the more I see it's got a thing for satisfying that default Sinatra mood, while also clearing the speakers with her much clearer voice. It's a pretty combo, I'm understanding the appeal better. Or really, I'm appreciating the Gershwin brothers' ability. This is the kind of gem that fits a mood and expands on it. 3.45/5
I can't believe that anyone other than this album's producers and engineers would listen to this record in its entirety in one sitting, so I approached it like I would if I owned a copy, listening to it in digestible portions over the course of a couple of weeks. Ella Fitzgerald has a great voice, of course, as well as a great sense of timing; I always respect singers who can syncopate with the beat of the music like this. And of course Gershwin was a talented lyricist (“it’s just another rhumba - why did I have to succumbha?”). Of course as usual, I liked the speedier tracks better than the slow ballads and love songs. There were also a handful of instrumental Gershwin pieces that were nice to hear. Summary: this album is a wonderful historical resource, but not something I'd go out of my way to listen to again. One or two of these songs would be fun to hear if it popped up after a Magnetic Fields track on the radio.
Ella Fitzgerald’s voice is incredible, warm, precise and full of joy as usual. I listened to this start to finish while going about my morning and it was very pleasant background music, but got pretty dull after a while. This is a lot of jazz standards for the average listener to sit through in one go. Also, listen on shuffle so you don’t end up with a whole disk of instrumentals at the end.
Easy listening
didn’t listen to the whole thing but i liked what i did hear- not my usual vibe but fun stuff
It was nice to listen to this album because it had many songs I hadn’t heard since I was small and so was full of memories. Only 3 stars though because it’s not quite my style of music.
Solid album. Not quite my genre of choice but I enjoyed :) 3.5/5
They Can't Take That Away From Me
5/10
No standouts
A cool look at history. It was neat to learn about the great American songbook and Ella Fitzgerald life. She has an incredible voice, even if the songs were a little same-y.
She's super talented and the music is enjoyable but I don't know what a 3.5 hour, 4 disc collection is doing on this list. There's likely no way I'm ever finishing this in one go.
It is full of some classics but man there is a lot of songs on there.
So far, just finished the first disc. There are a few that stick out, “but not for me”, “I’ve got beginners luck”, and “how long has this been going on”. I will say, it’s a little of a slog sometimes, as so far it’s a very predictable flow, like almost all big band jazz stuff, but I can already tell, on disc 2, since this is I imagine a collection of her songs, I can already hear a difference as we’re getting “newer and newer”. To be honest, I did not finish this. It was 6 discs in total, and I got half way through 4 and stopped. While I did “like” it, and can respect it, its roots and what it inspired, it felt as if I was in a 4 hour Christmas movie 2.9/5
Obviously it’s beautiful, but more than 1 or two songs gets boring.
Classy lady singng classy songs, the lyrics of corny and corny but she's working with what's in front on her
Excellente musique de fond pour fumer un cigare dans un bar mal éclairé en 1953.
60 songs is crazy but I like this lady she was the first black lady to win a grammy she also died from diabetes
Ella Fitzgeralds vocals are insane. No doubt about that. Did I get kind of bored after the 3rd song? Yes, unfortunately... I think the problem is more about the generel style of the music back then rather than about the songs itself. The style is just kind of repetitive? I really like "But not for me". Nice album to use as background music, but for me it's nothing more than that.
This is a fine collection of Ella Fitzgerald's singing and some good arrangements. As an album collection I would gladly take it. Not sure I would need it and be blown away by it. But yeah. Yeah...
Sublime, some great tunes romantic beautifully crafted and sung.
This shouldn't be on the list. It's 1001 albums to listen to before you die and this isn't an album. That said, I listened to a disc a day and enjoyed it to a degree. A lot of the songs felt very dated, but there were the odd ones here and there that I'd like to hear more often and of course, Ella Fitzgerald had a magnificent voice. A three I guess.
love jazz, her lyrics ruin it though
A really impressive feat, but not an album I see myself returning to.
Hard to rate as I don’t agree with this being included on the 1000 albums list. It’s an exhaustive boxset, not an album. However, I enjoyed a lot of this and it has a nice balance of showtunes and melancholic ballads.
too long
damn that sht long
хорошо, приятно никакого негатива за исключением трех часов здесь скорее знакомство с исполнителем нежели выделение конкретного альбома это приятная музыка, ее можно включать на фоне, можно слушать уделяя внимание, но тогда думаю надоест хорошие инструменталы, хороший вокал, перенос во времени кайф 3.3
This was a crazy long album my God lol but it's nice to hear these classic songs, might not be my first or even 100th choice to listen to but I enjoyed hearing these songs being out there!
Classic American music! Not always what I want to listen to, but she has such a great voice. Also, the album cover is so cool.
She has a wonderful voice and i never thought I would listen to a whole album.... but 3 hours later I am totally burned out
Chill para escuchar, me la imaginaba a ella cantando en un escenario all the time, y me recordó a festividades tipo Navidad. Nice album para escuchar en invierno o con frío y tomarse tipo una COCOA caliente by the fire. Would I listen to it again though? I don’t think so
The Good: Ella Fitzgerald! The Bad: It’s not a book… The Ugly: Having to listen to 3+ hours of Gershwin songs… I am not going to repeat what most people have already said. Shame that we couldn’t have just been presented with Ella Fitzgerald’s In A Mellow Mood… 38 minutes of mellowness, probably an easy 4*, or more… Anyway, plenty of memorable Gershwin tunes on this album, if you can sit through them all… and it was not easy. 3*
Ok, I listened to the first couple of songs. I get it. good I guess but so old it feels corny.
Very interesting album for this particular project. I believe this is the longest album in the whole 1001 set. I think it suffers from being too long/much of a project. Her voice is incredible and there are many classic songs in here. But after awhile the songs and arrangements sounded similar.
Ran through this over the past two days. It's all very pretty. Pretty, gorgeous voice. Pretty bland songs. Pretty long. But it's an incredible endeavor.
I couldn't do it. 3 hours is just too long. Loved the beginning, probably love all the songs in this album but BRUH. Just choose your favorites.
Apart from the corny songs, I had fun with this one.
Haha oh no, I'm in danger. Luckily I got this QUADRUPLE* album on a weekend! I do find the concept appealing, as a completionist and fan of themes, even if I'm not an especial fan of Ella Fitzgerald or The Gershwins™ (honestly, I didn't even know there were two of 'em... only know about the airplane song). Now that I meditate on it, my dad might have a (?blue, cardboard?) Gershwin(s?) album, but I must have found it very boring since I am not quite sure it exists. Will get back to you. [Update: he does have one, but it's neither blue nor cardboard; that was a different instrumental album ("Slaughter On Tenth Avenue"). It sure is easy to mix things up! In fact, I might have mixed up both albums with a large paperback book of baby names that had storks on it ("The Best Baby Name Book in the Whole Wide World"). I could probably read that whole book and listen to both albums and this would still be playing.] *or SEXTUPLE? There's a lot of versions floating around out there; I tried my best to listen to the original release, which is described on ellafitzgerald.com as both a "5LP Box Set" and a "six LP collection" - further text goes on to clarify that it is "5 LPs and a 10" LP", which I think adds up to.... six LPs. Even if one is just a little guy. Imagine telling someone you have five cats and one very small cat. What an outrageous thing to say. Do you have 5 cats? Or 6?? Well, isn't every 6-disc collection also a 5-disc collection? No!! Are we living in a Mitch Hedberg joke?! Anyway, I listened to the 6 album version with the tiny 6th album. It's pleasant and a cool project, but I don't know that many of the songs... even though a lot of them are from 1920s-30s (film) musicals, which is neat. Maybe these guys were the Rogers + Hammerstein of their time. Or the Sondheim of their time. Is the current Sondheim Sondheim? Maybe if Lin-Manuel Miranda does more stuff it'll be him. Where are all the lady musical composers?? >:( The singing is obviously good, but it's not a style I'm that into. It's like... vocal jazz. (Update: wow the wiki genre is "vocal jazz"! I'm getting better at this!) So slow... no choruses... no variety! I did learn the idiom "the worm has turned", though. other Linguistic Intrigue: "I'm biding my time/'cause that's the kinda girl I'm" is surely ungrammatical; "Have a crush on" apparently dates to at least 1903; "lovelight" is a word you only hear in 100-year old songs; "All the sexes from Maine to Texas / Have never known such love before" is a wild line for 1931 (assuming a societal presupposition that the # of sexes = 2) Highlights: 'Let's Call the Whole Thing Off' (because it's a language-related song, even though it probably entrenched some toxic ide-"ɑ"-logy), "When you said you care, imagine my emosh / I swore then and there, permanent devosh" (feels very early to have those clippings!), 'Slap That Bass' (for some reason this is one of the songs I knew, even though I have no idea how. [Update: Nick Cave sings it in the movie 'Joker: Folie à Deux'. Culture!]), 'Fascinating Rhythm' (especially fascinating: it's a song about an earworm that isn't an earworm! and it has the word "flivver" in it (=janky old car), which is another word you only hear in 100-year-old songs) Lowlight: 'Strike up the Band' is a UCLA song. Boooo.
Preference - 1 Musicianship - 1 Legacy - 1 Total - 3
While this genre of music is not to my liking, Ella is amazing. I can't say I needed to hear this album but under the right circumstances I would listen to it.
It's fine. I find a lot of these standards to be fairly boring but I can't overly knock them either.
With all due respect, this is just too long and boring. The songs themselves aren't bad, Ella Fitzgerald has an amazing voice, but holy is it just hard to sit down for so long listening to all of this because it gets repetitive pretty quickly. But again the songs themselves aren't inherently bad, but safe to say i could never see myself putting this on and fully listening to it all again.
Wow, what a daunting proposition…over three hours and six disks of any album would be overkill. I tried to satiate my desire to listen to some Ella Fitzgerald by consuming the top ten most listened on Spotify (none of which feature on any of these disks…). I didn’t feel like this would count as listening to this record and was sad at the prospect of having to click ‘Did not listen’, and then found a ‘Ella Sings Gershwin - Best Of’ that was only 25 minutes long…this is the best I can offer. Ridiculous choice to have the original album on here in my opinion, putting that aside, the voice and tone are intoxicating. Everything considered, I think this is the best I can give this album.
I'm not listening to a three hour 14 minute album. What I did listen to before quitting was great though.
The band are incredible, obviously Ella Fitzgerald is incredible, but I don't know how to listen to this. Am I supposed to do it in one stint? I don't have that kind of stamina. Am I supposed to listen one record at a time? If so, pick one. It feels like the author got tired or choosing and just threw this at the book without any thought.
Quite enjoyable. Not something I'd listen to daily but it is great.
This is a compilation across six discs. It felt a bit disjointed as a result. Of course, Ella is a fabulous vocalist and a mainstay of this period of jazz/swing.
Soft album, well recorded. Not my most favorite genre. Some songs are very well written and others are very poorly written.
Didnt know this album was gonna be this long. Music is great though. I don’t normally listen to Jazz but this is nice.
I feel like I could have pulled about a dozen or so songs from this and made a really amazing album. I did love hearing Ella sing, and I listened to the whole thing, but it's not really designed for one go listening. A lot of the songs sound very similar, and have similar themes. There were definitely some old favorites and some new ones though. Also, I love the album cover.
I might not have been that focused on this album. First of all I listen to only the first CD of the boxset but I don't think it would have changed anything to go throught all the CDs. But yes, Ella Fitzgerald has a great voice and Gershwin was a genius. Favorite Songs: Let's Call the Whole Thing Off
Way too long, no way I'm finishing this. RYM: N Saved a song: N
It is a good listen, but after more than 3 hours you feel drained and bit bored by the end.
Multiple 4 star albums combined to make a 3 star album
Alleen de eerste cd geluisterd vond ik wel geinig beetje Disney film vibes.
Ja wel echt vet, maar dit aget toch net matig.
Beautiful voice, but this is just not my cup of tea and the album is waaaaay too long.
I love Ella Fitzgerald but 3 hours worth of Gershwin songs? No thanks. But she’s amazing and can sing anything and sound great.
A legendary musician sings terrible songs.
That was Ella good. Beautiful voice singing old time standards. Very Enjoyable.
Listen, I’m fully on board with long ass records. I’ll happily sit through The Wall, 69 Love Songs, or any other bloated masturbatory concept album in one sitting. Hell, I just survived 78 uninterrupted minutes of Anthony Kiedis. But this isn’t an album. It’s the musical equivalent of The Complete Works of Shakespeare. I don’t even think greatest hits albums belong on the list, much less a collected works box set masquerading as an album. That said, the “very best of” version absolutely rips. Ella is ridiculous and the Gershwins wrote standards for a reason. Turns out if you take the best songs from one of the greatest singers ever performing one of the greatest songwriting catalogs ever, you end up with a pretty good record. I’d give that one a 4.5/5. I might defer to the site consensus for the full box set.
Haven't finished
I'm gonna keep it real with everyone here: I did not listen to the entire 198 minutes of this album. I made it through the first 80 minutes or so and then skipped around to another few songs that had a higher listen count. All in all, I probably listened to half of this 3 hour and 18 minute behemoth, and I feel that's more than enough to give this a proper rating. It goes without saying that Ella Fitzgerald's voice is absolutely beautiful and I would have probably appreciated it even more if the album was shorter, more focused, and had a little variety. The songs on this record suffer greatly from "sameness"; big band comes in, Ella sings, then were on to the next one to do it again. There were multiple songs I liked, but nothing really stood above the rest. I'll give it a solid 3/5; it's good, but a bit too old-fashioned for my taste and WAY too long. I'd be shocked if more than 15% of the people doing this list make it through the whole thing.
Oh come on… this isn’t an album! This is a box set! Seriously. I have a few projects. I listened to this already. And I did. I listened to all 3 hours of it. But I have some questions: why is this the only Ella representation on the list? Why the Gershwin song book? I mean she did the WHOLE DANG AMERICAN SONG BOOK. So why Gershwin? Anyway, not listening to this again today. Will have to wait for when it comes up again. 3 Boolean: True, at some point, in chunks, probably not all at once
Was fine
Сара 3 Марко 3
She could sing the phone book. Not necessarily my favorite and its really long but good nonetheless.
First, i'm not listening to the whole album, i will listen to the first 10 songs. I liked the music, it was pretty chill, but oh my god it gets boring and tired after 7th or 8th track, now imagine listening to the all 59 tracks.
Great music with a great singer, but on principle I don't think an album of this length really needs to be on this list. Surely there must be a more concise record to show off Ella Fitzgerald talent!
I'd recommend listening to The Very Best of The Gershwin Song Book rather than this whole compilation as it gets pretty repetitive pretty fast. Still, it's okay in the background and Fitzgerald does have an incredible voice.
🙂
I’m not entirely sure how to approach this review. I was initially excited to see an Ella Fitzgerald album come up, but that excitement faded a bit when I realized it was a six-LP box set: Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Song Book. My issue wasn’t the material—it was the 196-minute runtime. I probably would have enjoyed this much more as a carefully curated 60- to 80-minute selection. As it stands, listening to over three hours of George and Ira Gershwin standards performed by Ella and a full orchestra is simply a lot to ask of anyone, especially while trying to get work done. The music itself is pleasant throughout, with Ella’s silky-smooth voice effortlessly carrying these classic Broadway-era songs, but at a certain point it started to resemble the Energizer Bunny and simply kept going and going and going. To be fair, I almost certainly missed some gems along the way. That’s the downside of tackling a collection this massive: eventually your attention drifts, no matter how good the music is. So what do you do? You keep it playing and hope something grabs you. Would I put this entire box set on again? Absolutely not. Am I glad I experienced it? I suppose there’s some value in hearing it once, but I can’t say it left a lasting impression. Maybe Ella’s catalog simply wasn’t meant to be consumed in this way, because the sheer size of this set definitely affected my final rating. A single-disc highlights collection would have been an easy 4 out of 5. The full three-and-a-half-hour experience earns a perfectly respectable 3.
I have a six disc box set is considered an album. The music was fine but there certainly didn't need to be so much of it.
Is this 1001 albums you must hear before you die or 1001 Ella Fitzgerald tracks you must hear before you die? It's very nice, but it's a little much.
Yes, as much respect as Ella Fitzgerald deserves (and she has all my respect—what a voice, what a talented woman she was!), this compilation shouldn’t be here. I agree with the guy who gave it a low rating—my attempt to listen to this entire box set failed miserably! So, I’m not going to pretend to be a connoisseur just for the sake of it, just to avoid going against the grain: there are albums that deserve to be here more, given the criteria the author of this list himself laid out :-(
Far too long of an album to sit through. I listened to it on my drive to and from work, on my breaks and dinner time, about one hour forty. It’s just pleasant music to listen to, her voice was amazing. For me it would just have to be music I’d have on in the background, nothing wrong with it, but I just couldn’t sit and commit to it.
6 discos, 3 hrs y cacho y aun así me lo chuté todo lo cual significa que se deja. Pero a todo queda un pregunta: cómo es que llegamos al reggaeton?
Enjoyable relaxing music, but it is waaay too long in my opinion though.
I can appreciate it’s good musically and good at the time but not something I want to sit and listen to. In the right environment I’m sure this is good
no lo he terminado, son 3 horas de disco, pero me ha sorprendido gratamente para no tener nada que ver con lo que suelo oír
It was a fina album but it is not my style it really gives me the 50s vibes but it is 3 hours long.
Fantastic vocals and composition but I found the lyrics and content were very repetitive. I did enjoy it, probably wouldn't listen again in full though but glad I did.
It was a marathon, not a sprint, but it was worth it!
Lovely. Enjoyed almost all of the songs, even if so many of them sound so similar to each other. I also think this is really pushing the definition of "album," as it's over 3 hours long - something I grew increasingly frustrated by.
I’m gonna ignore the actual runtime of this “album” because there’s actually no way I was going to listen to 3 hours of this. That being said, it’s great and soothing but like that’s about all I get out of it.
Good
3.5
This album was great. I enjoyed every 1000 hours of this long tedious 4 album bundle. Really I did. But I think music should be digestible. It couldn't listen to it in a single session. It shouldn't take 4 days to listen to something. Would give it 4 stars but its long as fuck. Strong 3
I really don't know how to approach rating this. Her voice is stunning and Gershwin is a great lyricist but four of hours of music makes it impossible to consume in one sitting. I'm giving a three but would have rated much higher if a single disc had been chosen for this project.
Well as cool as this is its still too much for one day. I got it done but its like 3 days worth of music for me. Im lucky enough to have the time to do it, and I know I can pause it for the time I need but I dont want to do that. An album a day scratches my brain real good. So actually to the album, its great. Its hard not to find a bunch of song you like when there are nearly 60 here to pick from. I got maybe 10 or so. To my surprise, im more into the slow and dreamy tracks here. It just fits her sultry voice for me. The backing track is good all around if not a bit too subtle for me. It hides alot but it does put the onus onto Ella. I had fun even though I was tired by the end. Good music that would fit a different context much better than living my life with headphones on for half a day.
Live Reacting to this album. The first words being Delilah was a floosy was awesome. OOOO, Big Band. Wait.. 4 DISCS?!?!?! Ooo, Congas in Just Another Rhumba hit my brain just right. Lost track. I would have rated it higher, but it was so fucking long lol.
I feel like Tobias on arrested development taking the $12 shuttle to the airport: excited at first but as it goes on and on and on… the more I want to get off the bus. 2.5
This doesn’t deserve to be on the list as-is. Gershwin is a legend. Ella Fitzgerald’s voice is incredible. But there’s gotta be a trimmed down “best of” 40-minute LP in this three hour box set. That leaves me with no idea how to rate this. 6/10 Has Its Moments But Is Way Too Long And Unedited
Mega długi, nie zdążyłam przesłuchać do końca, fajny klimat ale nie porwał mnie
This feels like buying one of those giant bags of jasmine rice at costco but for gershwin
Definitely don’t try to listen to this all in one go. That’s not what this album is for. This album is for dinner parties, or other such sophisticated-but-lighthearted events. Ella Fitzgerald has a great voice, but a lot of the songs here aren’t quite my jam. I think I’m just not big on the brothers Gershwin.
it’s a fun album. it sounds like a movie disney soundtrack to me
Delightful and soulful, but most of the songs are about cheesy old-time love
This is a very long collection of famous old jazz tunes sung by a legendary female vocalist. Her voice sounds incredibly beautiful, smooth, and clear on every single track, and the backing orchestra is great. However, because there are so many songs on this album, the music starts sounding exactly the same after a while, which makes it feel too boring.
Su voz
Didn't listen to all of it. She has a voice like silk. Would defo listen to at Christmas.
Why is it three hours and why is it kinda good. Didn’t listen to all of it but I’d happily chuck it on in the background
i do like it i like it so much but omg 3 hours is ridiculous. surely there's a better way to include ella fitzgerald in this list? if i owned a cute little cafe this would be played back to back at least once a week but since i do not im just kinda sitting at work really wanting to listen to something else. i did get through the entire thing though. it's a long track run but it's not unpleasant by anyyyyy means. like never in any universe does this deserve less than a 3 fave track: by strauss
Good but too long
If this wasn’t a friggin BOXSET this would get a higher rating, but - compilations? Really? The ENTIRE Gershwin song book? I mean, what an education. So important for jazz. And Ella. She really is a marvel. But… the whole friggin BOXSET? I just can’t go higher than 3. Boolean: yes, I do suppose I should have listened to this whole dang thing before I died, but it would have been so, so much better as MULTIPLE albums. Yeah
3hr my god Ok I gave up 6 songs in
I know everyone says this is a masterpiece but it felt really long and repetitive, it took me weeks to finish
I...what...is our time a joke to you guys? Ella is amazing though.
How can I rate this when it took me four days of stopping and starting to get through. I mean, I enjoyed it at times and at other times it just went on and on and on. Maybe I can revisit this again? But likely not.
She's something, ain't she? But 3 straight hours of Ella, damn, that's way too much in 2026.
I tried to do this in a day but I just couldn’t, music should be enjoyable and not turn into a chore. Ella Fitzgerald has an amazing voice and did great justice to all the songs on these albums. But 3hrs is pushing it. There is only so much 1950s jazz standards I can listen to without getting bored. There are some really good songs on here but there were some really boring moments that took me out of the experience. Happy I listened but I probably will not be coming back for a very long time
I love this style of music, but its a type of nostalgic love that finds me, yet I never seek out on my own. The album sounds like instrumental music to an old disney film, or claymation holidays specials. It is the definition of warmth and comfort to me, but I never look for it in the same way that I never seek out lullabies. I don't enjoy it in the same way I do modern music, but to me it's music that sets a scene and it does it wonderfully. Ella Fitzgerald is a great vocalist and I'm impressed with her her range and clear sense of humor in her music thanks to lyrics from Gershwin. I do miss old songs that tell clear stories. No metaphors or abstract lyrics that require multiple listens to understand, just a story sang in very straightforward language. Almost every song is incredibly relatable and the emotional range on this album is wide. Love, anger, apprehension, regret, Rumba, all expressed beautifully through a clear, controlled voice with clever writing that still holds up. I tried my best not to associate this kind of music with fallout, but I have ripped too many bongs and played too many hours of the game not think of it when I hear Ella's voice. But whichever way I was introduced to it, I'm glad I was. I'm rating it solid 3 stars, This album did not move me, but I can recognize it as something important. I like it a lot more than other albums from this era so that's gotta count for something.
#1 The production and sound quality is amazing for its time, and there is no denying that Ella is one of the best voices of all time. However, the extremely long runtime causes the songs to run together, and it isn't a genre that I am typically drawn to for anything other than background music or film settings. I won't say this isn't a good album, but I also won't likely ever re-visit it.
lovely voice but far too much Gershwin for a single day
Brilliant but oh so long Love Ella more than I do Gershwin . Not sure a 6 disc box set should be on this list , even as nice as this is . The problem is, is it’s 3 hours of easy listening Jazz . Loved it and was annoyed in equal measure so 2.5 - rounding up as 2 feels churlish
I could only listen to the 45 minute 'best of'. She has a great voice but jazz is not my cup of tea and certainly would die of boredom over a behemoth 3 and a half hours.
A great voice, but why the hell is this so long
first thoughts: so I'm listening to a person sing an assortment of songs for 3 hours? after: that 3 hours wasn't that long
Great singer and the album was nice background music for inside activities but it is overly long. Still not bad.
Yeah yeah it was fine but did it have to be so long
This is extremely long. Sounds good but not a lot of memorable songs.
My time has come. It's obviously great, but my limit for four stars is that I'd put the album on again on my own time, and I'm never listening to this as an album again, so three stars.
Had zero expectations of this but found it quite pleasant.
Seems repetitive to me. not my vibe.
Actually really nice listening to it while doing some chores. My picks: let's call the whole thing off and they can't take that away from me.
3,4/5
I don't think I can do this. I'm not going to waste 196 minutes and 48 seconds of my life on someone, even if it's the great Ella Fitzgerald. Let's try this: I'll listen to the 15 most streamed songs from this album on Spotify, something like the best of. And then I'll probably deduct one star of the rating for all the ones I didn't listen to. Or maybe I won't. Let's wait (not 3 hours and 20 minutes) and see. So, here they are: 02) But Not For Me - 7,0 04) Let's Call The Whole Thing Off - 8,0 06) Oh, Lady Be Good! - 6,5 07) Nice Work If You Can Get It - 7,0 11) 'S Wonderful - 6,5 12) The Man I Love - 6,0 15) Someone To Watch Over Me - 6,5 19) They All Laughed - 7,0 22) A Foggy Day - 7,5 29) I've Got A Crush On You - 6,5 38) Love Is Here To Stay - 6,5 44) They Can't Take That Away From Me - 6,5 45) Embraceable You - 6,5 48) Fascinating Rhythm - 7,0 53) I Got Rhythm - 7,0 TOTAL: 6,80 (68/100) Current ranking: 556/894 Okay, I won't take anything away from you, Ella. I'll just assume that the other 44 songs are just as much of a drag as these 15 "most streamable" ones are. Let's Call The Whole Thing Off!
Number: 112 Date: 04/24/2026 Artist: Ella Fitzgerald Album: The Gershwin Songbook Year: 1959 Genre: Jazz Musical Familiarity: Moderate (3) Rating: 3 Before: ======= Oh, I thought I already had this one, I guess not. Definatley not. It's 3+ hours, I would remember that. During: ======= Opening track, Sam and Delilah. Wow, yeah I think I would remember this. This is awesome. But 3 hours is a bit much. Seeing how it's Friday, I think I'll take the whole weekend for this one. After : ======= So, it took 2 days for this one. Way too long obviously to be included as one entry. Surely there are other single albums out there that showcase Ellla's talents equally well. But maybe the point of including the book was to pay tribute to the Gershwin brothers as well? 4 my personal rating 2 suitability for this list 4 impact ----------------------------------------------- 3.3 composite rating
It's a difficult one to rate, this A truly amazing voice (5⭐), some ok songs (3⭐) but some shite songs (1⭐) Overall, it's just punishingly long (1⭐), but you can't deny that incredible voice (5⭐) Good for having on in the background, but not an album to actively listen to, certainly not in one sitting
Ella can absolutely sing and is amazing. But this album is sooooooo much. I get that at the time one would just put this on for an evening or something and that you can find a lot of the songs throughout American cinema and culture, but how do you even review an album like this? The individual songs and Ella’s voice are great. The album as constructed is just a mountain.
It’s Ella so it’s great. But it’s also a lot of Ella. 3 stars.
this is too long. nothing i actively dislike but it is just ok and too long.
Voice and singing are undeniable but this is far too long and I can only imagine there are other superior Ella Fitzgerald albums for this list
love jazz. But didn´t listened to the whole álbum, too long.
Too long, but many nice songs and a wonderful voice. 3.5 stars
I ended up doing the 45 minute best of compilation for this. While I think it's really great at times, this still of music really works best in small doses for me. Even 45 minutes was a bit of a slog, so I can't imagine 3 hours of it. Stuff like "I Got Rhythm" or "They Can't Take That Away From Me" are bona fide classics, but after a while, the lesser known Gershwin songs all kind of start to sound the same. Is it objectively good? Yes. But, as a collection, I'm not sure it's all that necessary. High 3 stars.
Some good songs on this. All very fruitily sung by Ella, guru of old timey singers. I don’t like the album art though so a star off for that.
Shockingly I managed to listen to this full album and I really enjoyed it. No album should be this long though. I’d rate it higher if it was shorter to be honest.
Hard to rate this alongside other albums on this list as it’s over 3 hours long. I don’t think the expectation should be to rate the 5 or whatever disks as a whole but the general vibe of what was put down. I liked it mostly.
Good music, great voice. Not really my main thing or first choice though, and a 3-4 hour box set was maybe a bit much for the "an album a day" project, LOL.
So far very good, but I can't sit down for 3 hours. I do have a life 1001 albums, and throwing an entire songbook in here has to be rage bait. shoutout to the legend ella fitzgerald though
It was a little too long.
definitely didnt listen to 3h worth of this but i liked it! good morning album, passionate vocals, tick
Ella Fitzgerald is natuurlijk een fantastische zangeres met goede timing en frasering. Ik luister liever wat meer persoonlijk werk van Ella Fitzgerald ipv dit album. De nummers zijn vermakelijk maar ook soms beetje jolig. Wel fan van de band en Ella Fitzgerald maar misschien minder van het repertoire Gershwin.
Ik heb de fout gemaakt om te beginnen aan het hele album, ik ben na 2,5 uur luisteren geswitcht naar een best of Gershwin songbook wat gewoon 45 minuten duurt. Wanneer een album te lang is beinvloed het ook je mening over een album wat jammer is, als je 4 uur zou moeten luisteren naar je favoriete artiest zou je op den duur ook verveeld raken. (althans ik) los van de lengte zal ik het wel beoordelen op muzikaliteit, en dat zit wel goed. Ella Fitzgerald staat bekend om loepzuivere stem met een grote range, en dat etaleerd ze ook op dit album, haar timing is erg goed en ze weet de nummers van Gershwin zo eigen te maken dat je haast vergeet dat het niet haar nummers zijn. De arrangementen zijn ook goed en het is gewoonweg goeie muziek. Toch blijft mijn luisterervaring bij dit album steken op een 3.
Box sets… I have views on them. I have box sets of artists I love that well meaning people have bought me- and I wouldn’t listen to them in one sitting and I certainly couldn’t do this with an artist I admire but dont love. So I listened to the very best of… she has a wonderful voice and the arrangements are sharp and full of movement- however my cloth ear for jazz doesn’t pick up the nuances and whilst I enjoyed it- it didn’t wow me. That’s on me I reckon though
I did it. I listened to the whole thing. I completed the Ella Fitzger-athon. And I have some thoughts. This album fundamentally breaks this project. Most of the 130ish albums I've had so far are somewhat analogous to movies - discrete experiences with at least some thought put into the beginning, middle, and end. Not every one is a concept album, but they at least have some kind of flow to them. If these other albums are movies, this one is a sitcom, specifically an early sitcom with no overarching narrative. That's not to say it's worse, it just needs to be enjoyed differently. Independently, most of these songs are pretty great. Ella Fitzgerald's voice is incredible, and the jazz accompaniments suite the songs well. If I heard one of these at a snazzy cocktail bar, I'd probably really enjoy it. Binging all these songs together is a mistake. The cutesy lyrics and jazzy bombast can only get you so far. I was mentally done halfway through the second volume/disc, but I was less than halfway through this thing. If you have the opportunity, maybe try listening to this over a long weekend of cleaning the house or something. I think I would have definitely liked it a lot more if I had given each volume a little more room to breathe.
I DID IT!!! You can start a speakeasy and play this entire album and it would be awesome! Her voice is iconic. Just because of the length it is not getting a top score, but if this was 40 minutes long it would be a top album for me. 6.75/10 Top song My cousin in Milwaukee
What a voice but a album over 3 hours long. It's a test. Minus one point for the length.
In a nutshell: the full treatment. The Gershwin brothers. Live orchestra arranged and conducted by Nelson Riddle. Ella- The First Lady of Song. This is a power combo. But I'm conflicted. There's a lot to get through. I don't know Ira and George's work was that extensive. It's marvellous, don't get me wrong. I haven't heard Ella like this before. Ella gives each song a depth and breadth that only she can give. It's a pity this is the only Ella Fitzgerald album on the list too. As separate entities, Ella and the Gershwins are essential listening. But you only need a taste. The first disc is plenty, maybe the second if you really dig it. Overall: 5/10
It was a good album but its just not my style.
This album is a great representation of Ella Fitzgerald's range as a performer. She works through Gershwin songs with the strength of a woman who knows how to hit all the right notes at exactly the right time with exactly the right tone.
I'm all for Ella Fitzgerald being on this list, but it's "1001 ALBUMS," not "1000 Albums and a Box Set...". I'll listen to a bit of this today, and then maybe more of it over the next few days. This is just a lot to try to consume in one sitting. I'll give this a 3 out of respect for Ella, but you can't expect a more thorough listen or review on a collection of over 3 hours of material.
me hizo sentir que estaba en una película animada viejita de disney. Muy tranqui pero amo la voz de Ella
Boy this was long. Good gems buried throughout. Also some weird ones… can’t all be winners with that many songs.
Buena música, un poco melancólica, mucho r&b y blues, bonita voz, pero no me gustó tanto, me fastidió, pero su musica, es increíble
Destaques: Let's Call The Whole Thing Off, Things Are Looking Up, Just Another Rhumba, The Man I Love, Someone to Watch Over Me, The Real American Folk Song, They All Laughed (resto não ouvi tudo) Simplesmente muito longo e acaba ficando repetitivo como um álbum, mas definitivamente não é ruim, os Gershwin são ótimos compositores e Fitzgerald é uma incrível intérprete.
I stopped listening a quarter way through because I got bored
classic sound
Nice voice, not my cup of tea.
nice jazz album
this is a nightmare. absolutely beautiful songs but after the second track it gets quite repetitive and hard to get through
Like Ella Fitzgerald but this is way too long to be on here.
Amazing vocals and instrumentation. Lyrics make me feel like a little girl fantasizing about love.
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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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
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 :)
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.
Hard to say… All-time talent plus Gershwin. Yeah, the Gershwin’s I don’t know.
Ella Fitzgerald is amazing. But I'd prefer to have a normal album of hers added to this list.
Muy bueno, nunca antes había escuchado jazz y me gustó!
Compilation albums are too long
Marvelous songs. Very old school with great and instrumentation in a big band style.
Pleasent but sooo long 3 stars
The answer to that one repeating crossword clue. This is very lovely.
Really, that was a crazy amount of Gershwin. Ella did her best, which is the best.
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
She has a great voice, but it was so long. I powered thru the entire thing in one day
A little too sweet and cutesy for me. Love her more scaled down stuff with more improv though.
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.
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
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.
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.
Musically excellent but not my thing.
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!
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!
it's very well sung, i feel like im in an olive garden but with extra bread sticks
Didn't blow me away. 3 stars
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 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.
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 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...
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.
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.
it is incredible
Not a Gershwin fan so this isn’t for me.
That's not the album's correct title...
Long but really pleasant listening. I did not expect to listen to it in sitting
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.
Great if you like Gershwin. Ella’s voice and styling is wonderful.
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
Easy listen
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.
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
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
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.
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
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
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.
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.
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
Its Ella but its 3HRS!! Damn
long as fuuuuckkk
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.
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.
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
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.
Positivt överraskad
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.
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.
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.
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."
Я люблю Еллу Фітцджераль і музику Гершвіна теж люблю, але 3 години то занадто, вибачте.
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
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.
It’s Ella, so it’s good, but it’s just too long.