The Gershwin Songbook

Okay, yes: one of the greatest American vocalists takes on one of the greatest American songwriting canons, and it's really good. I especially like the more swinging renditions--like "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" or "I Got Rhythm". But not sure this should count as an 'album'. Might be too much. Hella lotta Ella.

Whatever charm listening to Ella Fitzgerald could have is robbed by having to listen to a 3h15 min album.

Ella, Ella, Ella - Three hours Cleaning music

Yes, it's one of the best singers of the 20th century singing some of the most noteworthy songs written in the 20th century... And yes, it very much deserves to be categorized as an album you must listen to before you die. And sure, it's probably good for posterity that they recored EVERY song in the Gershwin Brothers catalog, but 59 songs and over 3 hours is a slog.

Classic

Lovely voice

I get why this is considered a classic; Ella sounds incredible, the orchestra flows with her singing perfectly, and the overall quality of the whole thing is quite impressive. But honestly this was way too long. As the album went on, it started to feel more like a chore, which kinda ruined the experience for me. Even though everything is technically well done, it just felt repetitive and emotionally flat by the end. Great background music though.

I think it's the longest album I've ever listened to.

I feel like I am in a rom-com, or having cocktails at a wedding reception. It's good but it's a lot to take in.

Honestly I only listened to a little bit of this one. She has a beautiful voice and the music was nice. I've got to cap a 3-hour album at 3 stars though, don't nobody got time for that.

3.5 stars Fitzgerald’s voice is undeniably beautiful and powerful, but this is a long album and I was over it by the end.

I will not knock it points for the shear length, since I'm positive it was not made to be listened to in one sitting, but instead just as a comprehensive cover of all the Gershwin songs. With that out of the way, I'd say the songs are very good for the most part. Many are creatively written and Ella's voice really does not get old even after 3 hours. 6/10

awesome she completed the entire american songbook. not awesome that I wanted to complete every album on this list

only listened to the first 2 discs so far, will edit when i am done

Tough one to rate. Obviously really good music and Ella's vocals are gorgeous but it's undeniably tough to get through this whole collection. I feel like this would have made a lot of sense as a release in 1959 when owning this set would have been like paying for a Spotify subscription basically and you could listen to like pretty much every pop song that ever existed sung by the best singer, but in the age of streaming it just makes a lot less sense. I am rating these albums based on how much I enjoyed listening to them so gotta go with 3 here but I could see it being 4 if it was just one elpee's worth of toons :) Fav song: The Half of It Dearie Blues (which is sooo good)

Very pleasant listen. Good voice, nice music, but a bit backgroundy. Over 3 hours is taking the piss. 3.5 would've fair as there are contexts in which I'd listen to this again.

Very pleasant. Good background hotel, background drinking or eating music or cooking music. Will probably listen to again or actually finish the album because it’s obviously far too long for 1 go. 6 discs is outrageous A 3.5 rounded down to a 3 for the sheer length

I'm sorry to Ella and the Gershwins, and even to the guy who had the idea to record all this, but this should not be in the 1001 albums list. I don't feel that this was ever meant to be listened to from start to finish. The music is great but after 3 discs worth, it's all blurring together and I'm starting to hate it, and so I'm opting to throw in the towel. Music is great, inclusion on this list is terrible.

On the fence on whether my 3.5 here counts more towards a 4 because it was pretty good, or more towards a 3 because it took the whole goddamn weekend to listen to. 3.5/5

The songs are great, but quite a few are indistinguishable from each other on one listen. But I'm not about to spend the time to go through the whole thing again n

Look, I get it, Ella Fitzgerald has a lovely voice, she's a legend, but I can't imagine listening to one of my favorite artists for 3 hours straight, let alone an artist I barely know in a genre I don't typically listen to. There are some wonderful songs on here, but 3 hours is too much of anyone. Also, why does she get a compilation album while others get one random album with a hit single on it instead of comps of their best work? I'm not going to finish this, but I'll enjoy it for a while.

Holy long album, Batman

This album is pretty sweet. The problem is that it's too long. The best way to listen is with split listening, which makes me wish this album were split into two. But despite the length, Ella's voice is sweet and makes for cute tracks.

3.5 One of the beasts of this challenge - an album of standards over 3 hours long. I’ve weirdly been expecting this for the past couple weeks, I just “knew” I’d be getting it soon. Thankfully I got it on a day off with a workout and housecleaning to do, so I had ample time to listen to this. Here’s the thing - it’s one of the best singers of all time singing a collection of the greatest songs of all time. Yes it’s long, but it’s absolutely never bad. Shorter albums have been less fun to listen to, an assault on the ears. At worst, this occasionally settles into pleasant background noise. But there’s a lot of the best tracks on Disc 5 tbh, so I locked back in. If this were a curated, 60 minute version, it’d probably be five stars.

Ella Fitzgerald’s voice was a true treasure, she sounds absolutely wonderful through this whole thing, but there’s two downsides, I’m not that into Gershwin, and this is a box set that goes for 4 hours, upon finishing it I wanted to crawl in a whole and die, not because it was bad but because it’s really hard to muster the willpower to listen to Gershwin vocal jazz for that long. But her voice is truly magnificent

3 hours is a ridiculous inclusion on this list, so I listed to the Very Best of the Gershwin Songbook (shorter version). For that: it’s really nice Sunday morning music. Not my favorite but it gives a great overview of Ella, who has an amazing voice! 7/10

I made it through 2 discs and a had so far. It’s solid stuff but 6 discs and 3 and a half hours just takes time. I will continue to work through it but based on the third I’ve heard I don’t expect it to turn higher. I am appreciative from listening to it though!

Sehr oldschool - bisschen Frank Sinatra in weiblich und als Orginal - 40‘s Jazz. Ganz nett, hat was, aber vermutlich nicht etwas was ich öfter anmachen werde. It grows on you. Das geht einfach fünf CDs bzw drei Stunden lang. 3/5

Tooo looong, gets super booring.

This is a pretty good album for locking in at work. Feels very romantic.

3/5

This is very long. I listened to two of the five discs and got the gist.

Its ella doing gershwin there isn't much to love. But is a compilation the best representation of her capabilities or that of the music gershwin's were able to produce. I do not agree. This a behemoth to tackle in one day let alone one listen. It all morphs into one sound after a while and it becomes difficult to develop and unique impression for each song.

It’sa little long

Musiikki kuin musikaalissa istuisi. Vau! Nyt ollaan kaukana.

Great voice, less convinced by the songs and struggle to think of an occasion when I would be in the mood to listen to this.

Classic but not for me.

Just too much. She has a gorgeous voice but it’s wasted in these songs. Some of the tracks are great, some are so bland and banal I just can’t care. Who thought this album over all of her albums should be on a list? 3

good but really long, liek really really long. All quality but the songs werent unique enough from each other to justify listening to a 3 and a half hour album. Cool songs are, love is here to stay, siff upper lip and embracable you

That was a lot of Ella, but, so good.

3 Stunden 14 Minuten 💀. Musik ist gut aber keine chance, dass ich das aktiv durchhöre. Stimme ist schön. Nicht sehr abwechslungsreich. Viel zu lang aber da die einzelnen Lieder fast immer gut sind 3/5 (erinnert mich an fallout radio mit nur einer Sängerin)

I've never really been able to get into vocal jazz in general, unfortunately, and nearly 3 and a half hours of it is too much. I listened to this as I worked, and a lot of it gets tuned out, but every time my attention gets drawn to it, it's pretty nice. Plus it doesn't actually feel like 3 and a half hours, somehow! Almost certainly never listening too this again, but I will be listening to one of Ella Fitzgerald's shorter albums soon. Maybe she'll be the one to finally get me into jazz?

I really enjoyed the music, but 3 hours of it was a bit much

I mean of course it’s great, I can enjoy it from a distance. I probably would have appreciated it more if there wasn’t 3+ hours of it.

Generally pleasant, but still proud of myself for listening to the whole boxed set

I love Ella Fitzgerald's voice, and she aquits herself well here; I do NOT appreciate Gershwin's too-cutesy showtunes in general, and three hours of this is ENTIRELY too much. I could probably whittle it down to a 50 minute disc of songs I kind of enjoy, but as it is, I will never be able to down this monstrosity.

This one was a bit of a surprise; I thought I’d kind of hate it. Although I don’t think I’ll revisit it, I quite enjoyed the Gershwin’s music. Ella Fitzgerald is very talented, even if she didn’t feature for the first third of the record. The production is first rate. The problem is that I don’t feel like the record gives me a compelling reason to listen to it again; I guess that’s to say that, as enjoyable as its constituent parts are, I don’t care to dive back in repeatedly. They can’t all resonate with me, I guess.

3 hours of pleasant background music. I did first disc and called it a day

God of mercy that was long

Not gonna listen to a 3 hour album, I did listen to the most popular songs. They’re great

This compilation album has way too much filler. The songs that are great stand out but half of it could be trimmed out and I feel nothing would be lost.

Pretty lovely singing and the backing tracks are quite exciting. I just didn't like that It was 3 hours long, which was pretty grueling. Had it been less than an hour I would've definitely rated it higher.

Another one of these impossible to rate albums. Here, listen to the best vocalist of all time sing some songs by one of these best composers of the 20th century, now rate 1-5. I mean it’s incredible. Fitzgerald is in my opinion as great a vocalist as there ever was. Not just on technical aspects such as range, pitch or enunciation. She also has a great emotional range and amazing delivery. The songs range from pretty good to great. I have to say I can’t rate it at five stars though. Five stars are desert island albums. Things I connect with fully and deeply. This is very good music, I just can’t say I deeply connect with it. Call it four stars. Oh, two comments. Great Gershwin songbook and no Summertime? I actually think the instrumental break in Just Another Rhumba referenced that. Weird choice. The other thing is choosing this album for the list. I mean yeah you must listen to Ella Fitzgerald before you die, she’s an all time great. Do you have to listen to over three hours of pretty samey songs? Definitely no. Go listen to one of the Ella and Louis albums, they’re so much more fun. You know what? On second thought I’m docking it a star for these comments. Not a good pick. Three stars.

I really enjoy Ella Gitzgerald and this style of music, but three hours of love songs is a chore and a half to get through

La vida en 1959 era mucho más cruel, pero también sencilla y nos permitía el tiempo para invertir en un disco quíntuple (!). Ahora, en el año 2025 de nuestra tallarinosidad, nadie tiene tiempo para eso. Además, pierde puntos porque cada año que pasa el "American Songbook" gringo pierde relevancia para los que no nos identificamos con ese país. Eso sí, la voz de EF es innegable.

This is a marathon of a listen…

Didn't have 3 hours to spare, listened to a few tracks. Sounded good.

Is this perfectly serviceable background music, unobtrusive and pleasant? Yes. Does Ella Fitzgerald have a stellar voice that deserves to be on this list? Yes. Do we need three and a half hours to prove that? Christ no.

I can only give it three stars because I heard this was 3 hours long so I cut corners and only listened to a Best Of version. Which I liked.

Have to be in the right mood but very talented

Great voice

Chill vibes but nothing I would listen to again.

Pretty good

high quality, but way too long, and gets repetitive fast.

Favorite Track: Who Cares? But way too long and some songs weren't even her

This doesn’t need to be a three and a quarter hour box set. It could have been a 9-10 song single album.

who says "/pətɑːtoʊ/"

Don’t get me wrong, I adore Ella’s voice and this is a beautiful album. But I truly didn’t think it would ever end.

ella ur album was 3 hours long. idk how you had time to make that but i certainly did not have time to listen to it. the first song was pretty good tho.

3 hours! No thank you! Listened to the first few songs, loved her voice and the vibe but it got real old real fast

Very easy listening, not her most exciting work

Lovely sounding album, but very long. After the second disc it all starts to sound the same. Will revisit this for background music and a get together, or for some study/work music. Overall lovely, just so so long.

Her voice is amazing, can't deny that, but just shuffling through it a little and it's already getting very same-y. I think the whole 3 hours would bore me to tears.

I'd give this album a 4 if it wasn't 4 hours long. I listened to it while working and it was more than enjoyable, seriously a talent.

It was good but way too many songs

I don't feel bad not listening to all this because its suppsoed to be her singing their works but it has not a SINGLE song from Porgy and Bess. Ella Fitzgerald singing Summertime is transcendental. Gives me goosebumps every time. Not including any songs from there is a crime.

Great voice, legendary songs, but at 3+ hours, I’m only queuing this up for a Great Gatsby-esque masquerade ball... with no end time.

Sometimes, the struggle is real. How do you rate something when every aspect -- from composer to singer to band -- is top-notch but it's just not your thing??

Only listened to three songs I ain’t listening to allat but those 3 songs were actually pleasing to listen to so I’ll come back to it

Some absolute tunes - tooooo long

Long Worthwhile Maybe one volume Should be on the list?

I like her voice and music, this is just another 'not much stands out' good album. Doesn't help it's 3 hours

I couldn't give this one the attention it deserves, just due to its length, but what I did hear I liked. Definitely the type of album I'm glad this challenge showed to me, otherwise I may never have listened to it.

Great voice, but way too little variety for over 3 hours of music.

Listened to it while cooking and had a fun time. Once my food was done, I still had 1h30 left. At that point I tapped out, it was too much of the same. To me then this album is great in adding a classy, old-school soundtrack to life. But as front to back, critical listening deal? I couldn't even do it for the challenge. In the end though, my carne adobada came out delicious as fuck, and maybe I have Ella to thank for that.

She is truly the greatest to ever do it but as an album it is just too long without enough variety.

Great stuff!

I think I got the "You Don't Know the Half of it Blues" after listening to all 59 tracks of the Gershwin Songbook! Much like the Miles Davis record earlier this week. I wish I had some earlier Ella Fitzgerald to compare to this later work. Don't get me wrong, Eight box sets to record the complete American Songbook is quite the feat. Favorites from the whole set, Sam and Delilah, Let's Call the Whole Thing Off (you say sasparila I say sasparila), Things are really looking up (I enjoy when she goes low), and Slap That Bass.

Made it through. That was long. Not really my thing. A little too songbooky. A mammoth effort though!

Interesting music. Very recognizable. Probably wouldn't actively listen to it in my daily life.

Not a big fan if vocal jazz, but it was nice to hear all these Gershwin songs as sung by Ella. Someone to Watch Over Me They All Laughed The Half of it Dearie Blues They Can't Take That Away From Me Embraceable You I Got Rhythm

3 hours long bruzz, good voice, production, and instrumentals. Comforting, but also not my style. 6.2/10

Overall: 5/10 So, I'm laid off from work this week. Apparently that's a blessing in disguise because I can listen to this goliath throughout the day instead of devoting 3 hours straight to one album. It didn't help. This is good music, and Ella Fitzgerald had an incredibly smooth voice that's soothing and exciting all at once. That album length though....you get fatigued pretty quickly then check how many songs are left and start to groan. If you want to listen to this much of one thing in one sitting then that's your perogative, but I prefer short doses of perfection and I didn't enjoy this enough to excuse the runtime. Fav Song: N/A Least Fav Song: N/A (hard to choose when it all kind of blended together)

Midcentury vocal pop is nice but not really essential listening for me.

Album was listened to prior to bed, great album for a slow night.

Very long. Present but not my thing

7/10 As so many others have said on here this is a tough album to rate that feels like it does not belong on this list - certainly sitting through this for three hours does not seem like the best way to appreciate the majesty of Ella Fitzgerald. Anyway many of the songs are beautiful, it just drags on for far too long to listen in one go. Oh and it called me single one too many times... Listens: 0.6

Gear: Abyss DIANA MR Artwork: 🖌️💄👵 Production: 🎧😘🤌 Music: 🎵🔥😍📈⏳😐🤔😒⌛📉😴💤 Rating: 🎨🎨🎨/5

Wow, this was a lot to get through. Ella was insanely talented. And her band kicks. But I have a hard time listening to any single artist/group for 3+ hours. I’m really trying not to take run time into consideration when rating, but it’s hard to look past the chore that was sitting through all of this. It’s excellent background music, but it’s just not something I’d put on in my spare time.

Three hours. Listened to the first hour then left the party as they’d run out of vol-au-vents. Great music though, but knocked down a star each as it’s not an album and it’s THREE HOURS LONG!

Not for me, I appreciate the compilation, but a tough digest at 3 hours, as has been mentioned copious times. Ella Fitzgerald does have a fantastic voice. Good for a selection of songs to shuffle but not to absorb and live in. It's an era I'm unfamiliar with and have no major desire to revisit this selection of music. I feel a compilation is a bad placement on this list, surely a better selection from a such widely renowned artist. A 3 from me, arbitrary.

Absolutely get why it should be here, by this is a tough one to get through even with a whole weekend to do it.

Classic Sunday morning vibes with this album but my god is it longggggggggggggggg

Brilliant background music, sounds like the kind of thing that would sound incredible on vinyl.

eh cute aber vieeeeeel zu lang wtff

Masterful performance and recording but I cannot imagine a situation where I would not feel ridiculous putting this on, save being a ATF agent tasked with driving a doomsday cult from their compound.

I like Ella. I'm not listening to this entire thing, though.

Way too long

Not bad, definitely a very long album to try to listen to in one day. Pretty enjoyable to have on in the background sometimes but otherwise I don't see myself listening to this very often if at all

Feel like I'm in a classy movie. Her voice is very nice. Many recognizable songs. A bit too slow here and there, but very nice overall. Do we need this many songs???

Beautiful voice but not my thing

It was fine, probably good, but for 3 hours it was so similar. The rhyme scheme, the vocal inflections, everything was so samey for 3 hours.

-hoooly shit 3+ hours of Ella Fitzgerald. oh my god.. I experienced something like the Tetris Effect where every time I closed my eyes I would hear her voice while trying to sleep -fun fact I “dated” her great nephew in elementary school -despite its length I did rather enjoy this.. her voice is beautiful. I have quite an appreciation for the aesthetic of this 50s jazz + blues stuff. no complaints -Favorites are Sam and Delilah, Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off, and They All Laughed

It's a long one

3.5 - what I heard was good but 3 hours is entirely too long to listen to. Also compilations shouldn’t count for this

Chill

Longggggg album. Could realistically only listen once throughout the day. Loved what I heard. Couldn't speak to any specific song, though I'm pretty sure I heard some tunes that have since been used in rap/hip hop beats. That wouldn't surprise me at all. It's weird. I know that this is largely "Jazz" music, but it's not what I have in my mind (for at least some of the music) when I think of jazz. Something faster with a lot more brass, bass and rhythm. nonetheless, the music is remarkable.

Too much of a good thing.

thx

I love Ella. but I didnt find many songs i like

Very nice.

Perfectly pleasant, but I’m not listening to all 3 hours of this today. Or am I?

Beautiful voice familiar broadway songs - this is nice for 45 minutes. I tried to get through the three hours but come on. She’s a legend but enough is enough.

At 3 hours, and 15 minutes, this is now the longest album I've listened to in my entire life. Unfortunately, its length was used to deduct a star in my rating(sorry, but I wouldn't even enjoy a 3+ hour album from my favorite artists). Other than that, it featured some of the best singing I've ever heard in my life as well. Favorite Track: "Night And Day".

hell yea big horn sections

I didn't listen to the 3hr 15mins Ella sings the Gershwin songbook. Instead I listened to the earlier, 25 minute Ella sings Gershwin. Love the way Ella sings a song, but less keen on the Gershwin songs (more of a Cole Porter man) so settling on 3 stars here..

I remember thinking, "I haven’t heard any jazz yet…" and then I was listening to over three hours of jazz with Ella Fitzgerald. Yikes. Surely one of her albums with Louis Armstrong would have been sufficient, right? But then I started digging into the history. This album is a major milestone, not just for Fitzgerald, but for the Gershwin brothers as well. When this was released, this album was an ambitious project, and it still feels that way today, especially considering its length. It was enjoyable, but took several days. I’m not likely to revisit the whole album again. Personally, I wish her work with Louis Armstrong was represented in addition to this one. Check those albums out!!

I appreciate this for what it is, but it was not for me

My god that was long. I like her voice a lot but holy cow that was too much. I think if I knew more of the original songs maybe it would have had more of an impact. I knew a couple of them but not enough to justify 59 songs. That was insane. I don’t know who the audience Is for this but I wish them the best.

Could only get halfway through in one day, and I'm calling it. I love Ella, and I like the Gershwin brothers enough, but I don't even think they would want to sit and listen to their songs for over three hours straight. It's fine, but it's also almost a "best of" compilation, which definitely feels like cheating.

3/5 fallout vibes

That’s a lot of songs! (Strange how they slapped on the purely instrumental ”disc” 6 as well.)

én szeretem az ilyen zenét, meg konkrétan Ellát is, szóval nagyon lelkesen álltam neki a hallgatásnak. az, hogy hihetetlen hosszú, még lenne baj - ez egy box set volt, nem arra való hogy egyben hallgassuk - , de direkt kisebb részletekben hallgattam, és így is egyhangú meg unalmas sajnos. Ella hangja ér egy hármast, de ahh ez a projekt nem sikerült jól sztem.

lovely voice and some well known songs on this, but not my cup of tea

An amazing vocalist but the show tunes vibe isn’t really my thing.

Very jazzy, smooth vocals. This is good background music for me. The length of the album is ridiculous and the songs do all blur into one. Not inherently bad music, just gets boring quickly.

Ella Fitzgerald is a beautiful woman with a beautiful voice. Never recc me a 3 hour album again. 0 stars for length, 3 stars for artist

Honestly, I listed to the first two discs and I can try to finish it later. Overall, it's enjoyable, but as expected by the Gershwins. Boring at times. Ella's voice is fantastic, but the composition is very much what you would expect. Very broadway-style musical writing.

Just pleasant easy-listening vocal jazz. Inoffensive, not bad by any means. I was expecting it to be too much of a "quantity over quality" thing (considering it's over 3(!) hours long), but it turned out to be quite enjoyable with a surprising amount of nice grooves. There isn't anything that would draw me to this album over any other one with a similar vibe, but it works well as background music. Also, yes, I did finish it before writing this. Professionals have standards. 7/10

good oldies

too long lol will get through it at another time

Phenomenal singing and catchy tunes. Reminds me of going to my childhood barber and listening to big bands while old guys talked about random local happenings.

Wow she really meant the whole songbook. Great vocals with music that felt a little boring but I did know a lot of the songs from chorus or band in high school

I am not patient enough to kisten to a 3-hour-long compilation. Love Ella Fitzgerald.

Listening to it in parts. Almost done. I’ve heard of her of course but damn she has an impressive career recording over 2000 songs 🤯 this album is good. Certain mood to listen to. But ya. I can see myself returning to this.

I had 69 Love Songs on Tuesday and The Gershwin Songbook on Wednesday. What kind of cruel joke are the music gods playing on me? Fitzgerald’s voice is magnificent, but the full 3:14 was far too much for album format.

I love you and your voice Ella but please next time don't make it 6 disks fgs. The first one was an absolute banger ("Let's Call The Whole Thing Off" my favourite song for sure). Good album to have a classy date with profound conversations. Terrifying album cover but Ella's voice is too smooth so kinda disturbing.

Cool, but not for me

Its Ella so the singing is always going to be top notch. It was pleasant to listen to but nothing wowed me. I would listen to it again but not really seek it out

This is something that could be played low in the background in a coffee shop or record store and I wouldn't mind it or rush to buy it. Soothing.

3.5 stars if you could do half stars. Great music for deep conversations that doesn’t sound too romantic or too intensely orchestral. Would have gone off on a gramophone. Kinda like a funky sounds of music the movie.

NOTE: i listened to ‘the very best of the gershwin’ album from this songbook because there is no way i am listening to over 3 hours of this one album. it’s really nice background music. amazing orchestra and voice. 45 mins is enough tho, i applaud anyone who listened to the entire 3+ hours of this song book. as for the painting on the artwork, that’s a 5/5. i love it! i read the artist was bernard buffet, a frenchman. i didn’t think i’d know any songs but i do know “fascinating rhythm” as covered by jamie cullum!

I'm giving it a 3, which is how many hours I'm saving by not listening to this. This is the first of 270 albums that I'm just not listening to because it is so long. I listened to a bit and it sounded good but I could not listen to anything for over 2 hours and still be invested. The Gen Z attention span strikes again!

So, like many of the others on this list I respect Ella Fitzgerald's voice, and by extension George and Ira Gershwin's songs, but there was no way I was going to listen to over 3 hours of these songs in less than 24 hours, so, I needed a plan. What I decided to do, at the behest of my partner, was to al low ChatGPT to randomly choose 10 tracks from the 73 available. On the basis of Ella and the Gershwins' quality of performance and composition this gets a 5, but out of protest to the authors of this book blatantly breaking their own rules that compilations, greatest hits, and furthermore box sets, are not allowed for other artists, then this gets a 3. I find this particularly galling because we have many artists from the 50s and 60s whose careers were comprised greatly of singles releases (45s) who would benefit from greatest hit compilations that are unduly punished do to the fact that they did not have many LPs, or the ones released do not encompass their most vital works. While I am ranting, I am going to add that I find it ridiculous that the decade of the 1940s, when popular music (particularly Western popular music) really became a force, was not even included in this list.

This was fine but way too long.

Yet to finish due to its length, I would argue this isn't an album and shouldn't be on the list, I'm glad I've discovered Ella though because her voice is amazing and the music is too. Giving it a 3 as I don't ever see myself listening through all this again but the music is great

Lovely music. And, although I am a jazz fan, and I can appreciate the artistry here, the songbook is a bit too dated for my taste. Still, an amazing voice.

Extrem langes Album mit vielen schönen und abwechslungsreichen Liedern, u.a. mit klassischer Musik - mir fehlt Erfahrung in diesem Genre, deswegen schwer zu beurteilen - ich hatte aber keine schlechte Zeit

Really nice but just far too long in duration

Liked it but didn’t finish, over 3 hours

Nice singing. Slightly boring songs

Ambulatory Suite 3.3 The Preludes 3 Sam and Delilah 3.2 But Not for Me 3.1 My One and Only 3.3 Let's Call the Whole Thing Off 3.4 (I've Got) Beginner's Luck 3.2 Oh, Lady Be Good! 3 Nice Work If You Can Get It 3.2 Things Are Looking Up 3.1 Just Another Rhumba 3.2 How Long Has This Been Going On? 3 S Wondeful 3.1 The Man I Love 3 That Certain Feeling 3.3 By Strauss 3.3 Someone to Watch Over Me 3.1 The Real American Folk Song (is a Rag) 3.2 Who Cares? 3.2 Looking for a Boy 3.3 They All Laughed 3.1 My Cousin in Milwaukee 3.2 Somebody from Somewhere 3.1 A Foggy Day 3.1 Clap Yo' Hands 3.3 For You, For Me, For Evermore 3 Stiff Upper Lip 3.2 Boy Wanted 3.1 Strike Up the Band 3.2 Soon 3.1 I've Got a Crush on You 3 Bidin' My Time 3.3 Aren't You Kind of Glad We Did? 3 Of Thee I Sing (Baby) 3.1 The Half of It, Dearie' Blues 3 I Was Doing All Right 3.2 He Loves and She Loves 3.2 Love Is Sweeping the Country 3 Treat Me Rough 3.3 Our Love Is Here to Stay 3.2 Slap That Bass 3.4 Isn't It a Pity? 3.1 Shall We Dance? 3.2 Love Walked In 3 You've Got What Gets Me 3 They Can't Take That Away from Me 3.1 Embraceable You 3 I Can't Be Bothered Now 3 Boy! What Love Has Done to Me! 3.1 Fascinating Rhythm 3.2 Funny Face 3.2 The Lorelei 3 Oh, So Nice! 3.1 Let's Kiss and Make Up 3.1 I Got Rhythm 3.2 Somebody Loves Me 3.1 Cheerful Little Earful 3 But Not for Me (45 rpm Take) 3 The Lorelei (Alternative Take) 3 Our Love Is Here to Stay (Partial Alternative Take) 3.2 Oh, Lady Be Good! (Alternative Take) 3.2 Oh, Lady Be Good! (Alternative Take) 3.2 Oh, Lady Be Good! (Alternative Take) 3.1 But Not for Me (Mono Mix) 3 Fascinating Rhythm (Mono Mix) 3.1 They All Laughed (Mono Mix) 3.2 The Man I Love (Mono Mix) 3.2 Nice Work If You Can Get It (Mono Mix) 3.3 Clap Yo' Hands (Mono Mix) 3.3 Let's Call the Whole Thing Off (Mono Mix) 3.3 I Was Doing All Right (Mono Mix) 3.3 He Loves and She Loves (Mono Mix) 3.3 (I've Got) Beginner's Luck (Mono Mix) 3.1 Score: 3.2

264/1001

This album goes for three and a half days (well... hours maybe). Quick, run to the shops and get some snacks and adult diapers. Maybe some coffee to stay awake. Competent musicianship, and vocals smooth as eggs, but I'm constantly reminded of old Christmas songs for some reason. I'm not gonna last, so let's give it a three right now. It's not Ella's fault someone put 5LP BOX SET! on a list of albums to listen to before you die. At the length of this one, it might be the last one you hear. Let's call the whole thing off.

A lengthy listen, none bad, but also none stood out. Not many sound changes in this one, so when listening all the way through, most songs sound the same.

Nice music, a lot of the value of this is sort of as an archive for all these songs in ideal form. B

Bakrundsmusik

Way too long but good grooves

Really enjoyed this but it's just insanely long

What a way to start this journey! This album started off well but became a slog after a while. Super talented artist but this album as a whole isn’t my cup of tea.

Its too much maaan 3/5

This 3 hour beast was intimidating to even conceptualize sitting down and listening to it, I mean 3 hours of vocal jazz standards sounds like the most tiring task in the world and the fact that it was included on the book just seems crazy, yet sitting down with it and taking the time to take it in while I was working on other things made for a nice time. It's hard not to view older jazz as background music for just doing anything but at the same time it doesn't take away the fact that Ella is a tremendous voice (so full of emotion but also so soft) and the backing band manages to play varied tunes for her to sing. It made the experience go from something that would have made my afternoon feel like an eternity to a breeze. I don't love this because I mean come on it's too long but Ella's voice is undeniable.

I’m glad this came up on a day I wasn’t busy because I was not expecting a 3 hour listen. Her voice is phenomenal but it didn’t feel like one “album” or original work of art, since it’s covering other songs. Don’t love all the source material.

If it didn't have some of Gershwin Broadway musical numbers, I might have given it a 4 star but I'm just not into listening to Broadway musicals without the show. Also It could have been pared down to something less than 3+ hrs for an album a day :D. There was the whole instrumental only numbers that really had nothing for Ella to do! -40-

Oh my golly was that long. I barely got through it. It did, however, have some lovely little songs on it.

I think I made it an hour. It sounds nice but I can’t do 2 more hours.

I enjoyed a few tracks. ive Got Beginners Luck and Lorelei. I wasnt in the right mood for this album and Im still frustrated how albums like this can be missing from apple music. I think its the 3rd time over the 115 albums ive done so far Ella is incredible without a doubt. I appreciate her other work more than this

Great voice and really good jazzy music. Not something I would listen to every day but also something that I wouldn't switch away from if it started playing.

Dope for background bar night

Didn’t finish but it was soothing!

More than 4 hours long

Great voice, great arrangements. Can’t see myself revisiting this but can appreciate how influential she was.

Too long to listen to the whole thing but I liked what I heard. Ella Fitzgerald has an excellent voice.

Initial thought: Meh. It's an interesting selection that I'm not upset about. I know she's supposed to be great, so I'll be interested to hear it, but also, I don't generally connect with really old music, so we'll see. OK, so I'm listening to this, and it's fine, even pretty good for what it is. I'm at work, so I've been doing stuff while listening, and I've stopped a few times to talk to people, etc. But it finally dawns on me - it feels like I've been listening to this for a *really* long time. So I open Apple Music, scroll down and - holy shit - it's over THREE hours! No thanks. I looked it up and apparently it's a box set and it's like 6 albums and that is too many albums. I've already listened to the better part of two of them, and that's enough. So 3 stars. It was smooth, she's got a great voice, it's proper lounge bar music, but it's too long for this project. Honestly, it's too long for anything. I'm glad I cut it off before getting annoyed with it. I'm sure some fans will say I missed some good stuff, but there's no goddamned way I'm listening to 3 hours of boomer youth music.

Todas suenan igual pero vibey 3/5

This was ok but over 3 hours was just too much for me.

This seems like it'd be an iconic American album. 4 HOURS LONG (the version in Apple Music has some Nelson Riddle pieces). It's definitely a clear snapshot of that era. I'd be happy to have listened to it, been exposed to it, but don't expect to be going back to it. I also hate the album cover, it creeps me out. Just like Sinatra albums, I recognize the artistry and icons of American music Fitzgerald/Gershwins are, but this is a 3* for me. I spent all day at work listening to this and only made it through 3/4 discs. The last disc seemed like other versions of songs I already heard, so I quit. Highlights: let's call the whole thing off (tomato tomahto potato potahto)

Solid stuff from Ella!

Good hits but just too long. Lots of songs but few that stick

5 stars when you select 12 or so tracks , but no need for a colossal box set up on this list. 3 or 5 stars depending on how you listen to it !

Uživam standardno u ovoj vrsti glazbe i volim Ellu, pogotovo te stare stare stvari, ali ovaj album je daleko predug da bih se mogla cijelom posvetiti, doslovce bih morala razlomiti na više dana, što mi gubi smisao. Skužila sam da mi baš ide na živac kad albumi dugo traju, pogotovo što mi se (barem zasad) čini da su najbolji albumi (po mom ukusu) bili i najkraći. Zbog toga će ocjena biti niža nego što bih inače dala. 3/5; 6.5/10

Her voice is incredible but we feel the songs and arrangement are very much of their time

ella fitzgerald has a gorgeous voice, but it’s not enough to justify the sheer length of this thing. 6 whole discs??

This made a long drive on a rainy and windy December day a little more pleasant, but I’m not sure there was anything to gain from the second or third hour that you couldn’t get from the first

I liked it. Long like. Feels like a way to tick off Ella and Gershwin at the same time.

Very long but great voice.

ja, naja, ella is tof, maar was er wel klaar mee na... weet ik veel hoe lang. lastig om dit een cijfer te geven, tis een hele specifieke vibe, wel eentje die ik heel vet vindt, maar ook eentje die wel heel niche is en ik niet te vaak op kan zetten? maar wel nice op een regenachtige zondagochtend op de achtergrond met een kopje koffie ofzo? ik geef het een 3/5 maar zou het het liefst een 7/10 geven

If it was Christmas Day with logs crackling on an open fire and snow outside then 5 /5 but just a great voice trailing through some old tunes but some are classics

Veldig fint, men mer enn 3 timer..

Nära en fyra då musiken gör mig glad och stundtals känns julig, men skivan är ju på tok för lång vilket drar ner betyget.

This was long and not my bag. Her voice is amazing, the old timey music is a little dull. Let's call the whole thing off.

Listened to The Very Best of the Gershwin Song Book as it was only 45 mins and not 3+ hours Songs were ok, vocals were great But not for me Someone to watch over me

Alvorens ik alle 60 nummers individueel ga bespreken wil ik eerst een shoutout geven naar de artistieke albumhoes. Ik denk dat je vocale jazz het best kunt beschrijven als een expressionistisch schilderij, en dus draagt de cover wel echt bij aan de totale vormgeving. Wel moet ik zeggen dat ik over het algemeen ietsjes blijer keek tijdens het luisteren dan de klassieke resting bitch face op de hoes. Al begon m'n gezicht na een slordige 100 minuten wel echt gelijkenissen te vertonen. Misschien is dat ook wel het verhaal achter dit schilderij, en is de titel: ''Woman being exposed to 200 minutes of increasingly boring jazz''. Dat gezegd hebbende, het is natuurlijk gewoon te lang. Niemand, zelfs de grootste Ella fan niet, zou dit durven te ontkennen. Maar los van dat feit, wat logischerwijs wel echt meegenomen wordt in de beoordeling van het album, vind ik haar stem en gevoel voor ritme wel echt fascinerend. De muziek slaat ook wel aan, zeker in dit seizoen. Het voelt als een Disney kerstfilm, en zelfs ik kan niet ontkennen dat dat een pluspunt is. Het mocht een onsje (lees 3 a 4 CDs) minder, maar vóór ik mezelf identificeerde met de albumhoes was het zeer aangenaam. 6,5/10

The combined strengths of Ella Fitzgerald’s incomparable performance and the Gershwins’ pop sensibilities make for one enjoyable listen. At almost 4 hours in length (the deluxe version) there’s plenty to sink your teeth into. That said, yet another album that requires a specific mood that I’m rarely in.

I find it challenging to rate this collection. While it may not be advisable to listen to all three hours of music in one sitting, it is a delightful set of songs featuring interesting and engaging orchestration by Nelson Riddle. I truly appreciate Ella Fitzgerald and her incredible voice as she navigates the Great American Songbook, ensuring that all these (re)recorded songs will be preserved for posterity. Jazz and the Great American Songbook are closely intertwined. The songwriters, especially the Gershwin brothers, as well as Irving Berlin and Duke Ellington, clearly understood the genre. You can hear the strong connection between Fitzgerald and the Gershwins—this is perhaps the best way to appreciate their vast repertoire. However, as others have noted, this is a collection consisting of a 7- or 8-LP box set rather than a single album. Maybe listen to 1 LP at a time.

- Ella Fitzgerald = Legende - "Holy Fuck, oh nooo" war mein erster Gedanke, als ich die Laufzeit gesehen habe - (Ich will ehrlich sein, ich habe nicht die vollen 3:15 Std. gehört, aber ich glaube genug um mir ein Bild von der Platte zu machen) - Ich fands einfach richtig schön, hab direkt Weihnachtsfeelings bekommen. Sehe sofort irgendwelche Filmszenen von Leuten, die in New York City durch den Schnee hetzen, um die letzten Geschenke zu kaufen. Love it. - Also eigentlich die perfekte Platte, um die mal so zu verschiedenen Anlässen im Hintergrund laufen zu lassen - Tolle Stimme und angenehm warme Aufnahme - Insgesamt aber natürlich ein bisschen lang, um das so mit anderen Alben zu vergleichen, zumal nicht viel besonders rausstach Rating: 3,25-3,5/5

- sehr entspannt, schön jazz-ig - viel zu lang für eine aktive Hörsession, eher mehrere oder als Hintergrundmusik perfekt

Here it is. I've been waiting and I can't believe it took so long. It's not that this is bad; she's got amazing talent and much of this is timeless. But why 3.5 hours? And why cheat? Compilations shouldn't count. So I refuse to give it better than 3 stars. But yes, I listened to most of it. It consumed my day .

There is a very small list of albums which I knew would appear at some point. And I dreaded the day they came up. 69 Love Songs was one of them, but thankfully I got that out of the way before I had a job and real responsibilities in life. One of the others was this particular Ella Fitzgerald record. It is, in fact, her only appearance on the list. I’ll preface this review by saying that technically I haven’t heard this entire album. I tried as hard as I could, but given my schedule throughout the day and things I have going on, I physically wasn’t able to hear this all the way through. To those unaware, this is over three hours long. It’s the fifth entry in her career defining series of recordings spanning nearly a decade that tackle the Great American Songbook. So this material she is working with is not original, but it is some of the most classic and timeless music ever written in the English language. Of course, my biggest complaint is going to be the length. After hearing multiple records this long, I’ve come to the conclusion that I don’t think albums need to be this long. Unless the artist can somehow find a way to justify that length. But 69 Love Songs couldn’t do that, even with its decent amount of variety. I’ll state what I love about this box set, at least from what I’ve heard. Ella Fitzgerald has one of the best voices of any female singer ever, point blank. It transcends the generation she dominated in, and can be appreciated by almost anyone. The nickname “Queen of Jazz” is very fitting. I can’t think of one moment I heard where I thought she genuinely sounded bad. She is seemingly on point in all 59 songs. The arrangements, on the other hand, are also generally pretty stellar. From the first song I was really struck by how good they are. Easily some of the best I’ve ever heard from the time period. They go from dreamy and entrancing, like one of the old, hand-animated Walt Disney films, to slightly more energetic jazz-affiliated instrumentation. All of my issues with this record lie in its length and its similarly massive track list. After a certain point, it just becomes exhausting to hear dozens of songs that all sound relatively the same. As badly as I wanted to hear this entire thing and really see the best it has to offer, unfortunately it wasn’t achievable for me in one day. Rating: 5/10

hun er flott

Ok the first hour was lovely. How can you not love Ella? However. 3 hours is a bit much. And it’s Gershwin. It’s corny romantic cheese. In a good way. But there’s only so much you can listen to in a sitting. So Ella deserves a 5, always. But this 3 hour compilation is just toooooo muchhhhh

This is yet another covers album from the 1950's. The Gershwins wrote songs, someone else arranged them and Ella sang them. All did their job great. I'd probably call this a Gershwin album with an invited singer. The result is an album that is great in its genre - except it's not mine. The songs are great for cliché rom-coms or in some cases children's cartoon movies. I'll give it a 3 because I gave Ray Charles ("The Genius", ahem) a 2 and this album got on my nerves much less - the big band arrangements are much less annoying here - and Ella IS an amazing singer (rather than a musician).

Did not listen to much. Way too long. Not a jazz fan.

Didnt listen to the full thing because it’s loke 3 hours long but liked the vibe of most of them, great voice

Ella Fitzgerald has a great voice. Gershwin made great music. After listening to too many musicals in my youth, they now get on my nerves. I also can't listen to Gershwin's music for more than 3 hours. And that also applies to this album. After one and a half CDs, I'd had enough. I probably won't listen to the remaining two and a half CDs. It‘s enough. 3/5

Listened to the Very Best of the Gershwin Song Book. As good as Ella's voice is, I can't imagine listening to a three and and quarter hours long album. Not super memorable.

Who has time to listen to an album that's over 3 hours long? Ella's voice is so velvety and warm, though. A nice, jazzy, cozy vibe.

I finished! It was mostly lovely background noise. Really put me in the mood for Christmas

Almost protesting the generator system with this one as it clearly wasn't meant to ve listened to in a day. Becomes formulaic very quickly.

I tried but I couldn’t do it. Way too long and too repetitive. This is a box set. Not an album. I don’t have time to listen to any single artist for multiple hours just to give a score on this goddamn site. Especially when most of the songs sound nearly the same. She has a ton of albums and picking any of them from the 40s or 50s would have seemed more fitting for this site. No one else tha I have come across in over 500 albums has been represented with a box set here. I don’t know why the author thought he could get people to go along with this. The reviews show that most people did not listen to the whole thing. Seriously, replace this with 2 other album entries from her and there would be less complaints. As is, picking something this long is doing her and the jazz genre a disservice on this site.

General impression: beautiful, classic, essential, but not for three hours straight. Or even two. Detailed review: I’m keeping this in my library because I do feel like it’s an essential document of a powerful time in American cultural history. One of the greatest American singers performing songs by one of the greatest American songwriting teams. The production is lush and lavish. If you’re at all inclined to appreciate older forms of popular music, what’s not to like? It’s pristine, it’s classy, it’s got so much personality. It’s just that this is a long-ass collection. It’s hard to imagine anyone loving an entire 3.5-hour listening session of this without getting bored or losing interest in some way. 5 for the quality of the music, and 2 for the listening experience of the album. Deeper thoughts (context): if you don’t like this, you are not historically minded and/or you have no patience. Score: 3 Number of albums left to review: 968 Number of albums from the list I’d consider “must-listens”: 18 Albums from the list I won't include in mine: 15 (including this one)

extremely long album, took me like a week to finish, good vintage sounding songs overall although a lot did sound similar, good to shuffle play if you like the sound

There’s a lot to love and laud about both Ella Fitzgerald and the Gershwins. Still, at over three hours, this album questions just how much of this one needs in their life. Pleasant, but would I buy this if I found it in the bargain bin? Probably not.

Ja, kann man sich anhören.

I like Ella more than George

Wonderful background music. Ella Fitzgerald is a gem. I can't say a liked all of the songs. And there are lots of them. Too many.

I will not listen to three hours of this

Damn it. I tried. Listened to all 3 hours and 14 minutes in one go. I could have broken up the listening time, but taking multiple days to get through one album just doesn't interest me. And I don't think I'll be compelled to listen to this again, broken up or not. Obviously Ella Fitzgerald has such a clear, expressive, timeless voice. And I truly respect the effort of this passion project. But I've heard other Ella songs I thought were far more interesting than the ones from this collection, and I hope there's another of her albums in this 1001 project.

DNF. Four hours long. Great classics though. Recognized more than a few. Would be nice to have on in the background at a party

I love Ella Fitzgerald and I love her renditions of the Gershwin songbook. When I was younger, I went through a When Harry Met Sally phase that was accompanied by an obsession with 1940s-50s vocal jazz classics. I’ve attended regular Fridays with Frank parties and learned how to swing dance. That said, I’ve never sat down for a 3+ hour session all at once. The great songs are great! But honestly not all of the songs are worth listening to. Ella Fitzgerald herself taps out of the final 6 songs and leaves us with jazz ballet. I'd give a pared down song book - a "best of" album, if you will - a 5, but I'll subtract a star for each of the extra hours included on this version.

A 4- or maybe even 5-star album if it was cut down. At this length, it is reduced to background music or simply a historical record of the Gershwin’s songs.

Exceedingly pleasant. I apologize, but I did not listen to all 3 hours and 15 minutes of this selection.

Over 3 hours of music. I like Ella Fitzgerald but sitting through 3 hours of her is a lot. This record is compromised of 6 discs. The first 5 are that typical Ella Fitzgerald sound. A lot of the same sounding songs. But they are beautifully sung, as expected. Disc 6 is all a composer, Nelson Riddle. Not my style of orchestration. I didn't care for it to be honest. I think this is kind of ridiculous to be on this list. As these records that were made in this era were typically short records. I feel this is Ella's whole discography. Compilations should not be on this list. It makes no sense. Anyone can slap a few songs together that are popular. But it defeats the idea of an album. It doesn't capture that moment in time. At least that is how I feel.

Good, but not my style.

Rating based on the first hour (I ain’t listening to all that). This would probably be a 4 if it was December (and shorter).

not my jam

stile anni 20 americani.. forse è proprio di quel periodo. Voce bellissima, però 4 album di fila è un pò too much!

I feel like this album is not meant to be listened to in the course of a single day. I want this on vinyl and want to listen to it over a weekend or even a week while I am in the right mood for it. a huge disservice to get through 3 hours of music in a single day. That being said, it's Ella fricken Fitzgerald. She's OBVIOUSLY amazing, and she's one of the all time greats. It feels a disservice to rank this anything less than a three, even with talking about length of the album. This is meant to be a whole collection of Ella's primo work. 8 months of work and recording went into this, and it deserves to be viewed through a different lens. This may a bit of an odd album to rank, but it stands as greatness in my book. i just wish I had gotten to listen to it under different circumstances.

I like the style - brings me back to my musical theatre days. The songs are cute and witty, and her voice is great and captivating. It all started to sound similar by about the middle of the album though. 3 stars for Ella.

I fully understand the importance of this combination between vocalist and composers, as well as their importance in the evolution of music, but releasing the whole songbook is a bit much. Ella’s voice is and always will be incredible, and listening to it while sipping coffee on the first chilly morning of fall was delightful, so those are the only reasons this album gets a three.

Time capsule more than enjoyable like the Ray Charles country album

Listened to disc 1. Everything is good enough but holy I'm not listening to 3 hours of it. Will I listen to again: 0%

Pleasant. I can see my 90yo Dad delighting in this if he were still around. I'd say great, truly great for then, for now, ok. 3 stars. Unlikely to listen again, but nice to hear her work in this way.

Has that classic 1960s vibe that instantly puts you into a homey vibe. Of course, with a total runtime of more than 3 hours, there are "meh" songs here and there, but for the most part, I enjoyed this album.

Sooooo long. Some nice songs, a bit sleepy after a while listening

Loooong... and quite repetitive. I don't hate the vibe though. Could work as a background in some occasions

I really enjoy this style of music but unfortunately it's such easy listening for me that I zoned out during a lot of it while I listened at work. There were a few moments that stood out to me when the big band would come in louder. I think in summary this just makes really good background music.

Beautiful voice, beautiful music. Ella Fitzgerald is the embodiment of a special and unique time in American music. I didn't get through all 3 hours of this.

Its a nice little collection of songs and fitzgerald has a generation defining voice, but its much too long to finish all the way through and this kind of easy listening music wears thin after a while

Love the songs and her voice. Way too long. Would be nice to come back to later

It’s fine, Ella Fitzgerald is a legend for good reason, but just not for me.

Like an old sweater, this album provides a warm hug of familiarity. The songs will be recognisable to almost everyone, and Ella's voice is always wonderful. However, it's just too smooth. There's no real bite to any of it, so it just washes over you...almost like elevator muzak. It's better than that... but I'm unlikely to feel the need to relisten.

Too long and too much filler but it has some gems

Her voice is amazing, and the recording on this is spot on. But I don't want 3 hours of her amazing voice in one go.

I didn’t finish… it was 3.25 hrs long… but what I heard was good

I get the hate on this one - it’s a compilation and that alone should be enough to disqualify it. Equally, the overall style is more than a little passé nowadays. But that being said, I generally quite enjoyed this one. And I slogged it out through all three hours of it. The jauntier numbers are the ones which really standout from the more turgid affairs - both Fitzgerald and the Gershwins shine when the tempo isn’t trudging along the ballroom floor behind them. As for the sibling songwriter extraordinaries, I’m a bit ambivalent about them. They are super composers and some of their arrangements are undeniably timeless. The embryo of modern pop music can be gleaned if you listen closely, and that’s not insignificant. But, in objective terms, they represent a curious period of music history when songwriting was a ringfenced affair instrumentalised in the interests large corporations - and the Gershwin’s weaker material exposes their ideological place on the conveyor belt of cultural fordism. It’s a shame, since it becomes a symptom of a more pervasive shortcoming in their songwriting: the lyrics. Leaving aside the obviously circumscribed subject matters they broach, every single song seems to be a cringe-inducing pun excessively laboured over two or three minutes. The rhymes begin to approach ”dad joke” territory, no matter how recondite the inter-textual references they draw upon (see “By Strauss”). The preludes and instrumentals by Nelson Riddle at the end of this mammoth 3 hour listen are completely forgettable - at best, they come across as deep cuts from the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang soundtrack (and that’s not a compliment). With all that in mind, on a really base level some of these songs just resonated with me when I listened to them on a sunny stroll around my home city. They put a smile on my face and that’s more than can be said for some of the other pish I’ve been subjected to. It’s a product of its time, but like all great albums it has a timeless quality that prolongs its value as an album worth listening to. But maybe go for the abridged version.

This is difficult. I mean I don't know. There's nothing inherently wrong with this... Box set... It's not really an album. Or is it... I don't know. It's super long. Too long. I didn't hate it though. I mean it did end up feeling like work going through the whole thing. But it's not bad in anyway. I did like the music. But it's just WAY TOO LONG.

This was too much

Oof. They really could've picked a shorter album for this.

How Long Has This Been Going On? I Can't Be Bothered now Oh, So Nice But Not For Me

Ella, you’re great singer, but I don’t want to listen to three hours of this. I’m sorry.

Amazing voice. Kind of dull lyrics. Almost every song is about falling in love with a man. That’s great but when the backing music and her voice barely change, it’s like listening to the same song over and over. My favorites were the songs not about falling in love with a man. 6/10 *I guess I only listened to part one of the box set? I couldn’t make it through three hours of this…*

This is impossibly long.

People that knock this album due to its length are the killjoys of our society. Just enjoy life and enjoy a good tune. It's like the people that complain the White Album is too long. Maybe it's listeners attention deficit disorder that's the issue?

vocal jazz at its best. her timbre is so sharp yet so smooth. happy to have listened to these classics.

Beautiful voice

I liked what I could hear of it (40-50 minutes). Ella Fitzgerald's voice is so beautiful and sunny. Potayto potato song is such fun. But honestly I don't think I can listen to it for 3 hours. So I'm just gonna give it the website average.

Not really my thing, but very nice singing.

We'll start at 3/5, the rating of an average album. -1 for album length. Listen, I'm all for a compilation album, but not on a list like this one. You might as well put in compilation albums by other greats, like the Beatles' "1", Led Zeppelin's "Mothership", Queen's "Greatest Hits"... but those would (in some cases) also be too long, and for that reason I'm glad they aren't included. Ella Fitzgerald doesn't get a pass. In fact, out of protest, I only listened to 40 minutes of the album on shuffle, and the rest of the review is dedicated to those 40 minutes. +1 for gorgeous vocals. Ella Fitzgerald's singing is smooth, lilting, well enunciated, and just all-around fantastic. She's definitely material for a "top 10 vocalists of all time" list, even if lots of online critic articles seem to disagree. -1 for bringing nothing new to the music scene. By the late 50s, rock, skiffle, and experimental jazz were experiencing revolutions, and in terms of sheer creativity, Fitzgerald's style of music can't quite compete. It doesn't help that nearly all the songs on the album are in the same style and mood. Add to that the fact that none of these songs are originals, and you have a set of material that's not quite deserving of a spot on a list of the 1001 most important albums. +1 for atmosphere. There's something so indescribably charming and beautiful about soft brass, a laid-back rhythm section, and jazzy harmonies and melodies. You can all too easily lose yourself in the music if you're not careful. It's hypnotic. 3/5 Key tracks: The Man I Love, Embraceable You, They Can't Take That Away From Me

Too long

Eins manns roadtrip frá Boston til New Jersey var fullkominn tími til að hlusta á þessa plötu. Hún er frekar löng. Ok. Mjög löng. Þrír klukkutímar og verður svolítið endurtekningarsöm en í réttum fíling eibs og ég var í bílferðinni er hún frábær. Ég set hana örugglega aftur á en þá aldrei í heild sinni og síðasta disknum má alveg sleppa

Wow, that is a long one. That’s what she said!! I got through it all though. It was tiring but not because of the music and her voice. It was all good.

Ella's voice is amazing, but listening to 3 hours of this is completely obnoxious.

Beautiful voice, incredible array of songs. Minus points for compilation and covers.

I love jazz, but I always struggle with jazz with singers. Don't get me wrong, Ella Fitzgerald has a great voice, but the music is serving her voice (which is totally understandable) but what I like the most in jazz is the music itself. Not as a background. And it also tends to be smoother than other subgenres, and I like my jazz with edges. So, it's OK but I'm not too fond of it. Also, it's way too long. A shorter version would have get probably 4 stars, but gosh, that was too much for me.

5 stars for Ella herself, but 3 for having a giant compilation on the list. I found an album under the same title on Youtube that only had 12 tracks, and I would've given that version a 4 or 5.

Amazingly produced album, sounds incredible and Ella's voice is legendary. Overall a beautiful album, just not my taste. (and insanely long)

Yeah, im not listening to this entire "album." It is good with so I may revisit the remaining disc's when I'm done with the list.

I listened to it all - it took 2 weekends - just hard to devote that much time. It's not an album! But it is good I enjoyed it

J'ai l'impression que cet album est plus ici du au travail impressionnant que ça a du prendre pour réaliser un tel album, plus que la qualité de la musique. Loin d'être mauvais, c'est très long et répétitif et d'avoir autant de chansons similaires sur 3h15 de temps diminue l'impact de chacune. Ce n'est pas comme 69 Love Songs où il y a beaucoup plus de variations d'une pièce à l'autre. 5.5/10

Great voice. Good music. Too long drops a star.

3☆/5 08.21.2024

Ella Fitzgerald has an amazing voice, but this “album” is 2 hours too long

More Ella Fitzgerald than I ever really asked for. Not going in depth on anything because the album is 3 hours long. Not really an album, more like a collection/boxset imo. I got rythym is a classic, the rest vary from listenable to good--there isn't any trash here. The worst songs of the album were the instrumental pieces because it was the same as the previous 3 hours just without Fitzgerald's voice (the only reason you would still be listening at this point). Since this one is so weird I'll give it a 3/5 overall--no 5/5 songs, a solid bit of 4/5s spread throughout, and the rest are 3/5s (except the instrumentals, how dare you give me instrumentals at the end of a 3 hour album--1/5s for all of those songs for even thinking to include them)

I have to say that I am extremely disappointed when I saw that this is more than 3 hours, as it has 6 Disks (!!!), but it's alright, not too bad. It is very outdated because this is from 1959 but it's a nice relatively jazzy (sometimes) background listen, so if you don't want to listen or watch anything else while you're doing stuff throughout your day, this is an okay album.

Yeah old shiz

Great voice but 3 and a bit hours of it is too much in one sitting.

I'm not sure what to do with this. Is Ella Fitzgerald a great singer, yes. Do I have time to listen to a 3+ hours, 6 disc boxset album? Probably. But do I want to? Not really. I ended up listening to disc 1 and parked it. I may revisit on some rainy Sunday, today wasn't the day.

Listening to this you feel like you are in a Disney movie. But my god 3 hours is too long!

There is no denying that Ella is in the top three jazz singers of all time, but I'm a little disappointed by this album. First, she didn't write any of this. Second, despite the fact that some of the greatest songwriters in the country to that point wrote everything, it lacks a lot of variety. There are a lot of unique songs, but when you have other three hours of content a lot of it is going to blur. Third, I don't think she gave herself many or really any songs that really highlight the full range of her potential. She's great, this is not her best.

6/10. It features a lot of really nice jazz songs. However, I wish that it wasn't over three bloody hours long.

It does not become stale with a duration of more than 3 hours which is a hard thing to accomplish

Long

I can’t imagine any album on this list is going to be longer than this one. Would be a good record to listen to if you were making pasta from scratch or something but ultimately it was just background noise to me.

I love me some Ella but this is just too much Gershwin for one listen. Great background music for sure but I just don't appreciate it otherwise.

She sings like old-school Christmas songs, which I like. Praise that person on youtube that uploaded a 40-min selection of this because the full thing is enormous. Stand-out: Beginner's Luck (I've Got)

on the one hand, it's self evidently really good. on the other hand, 3 hours of it is way way too much and i will die on the hill that this is not an 'album.' split the difference and call it a 3

After unknowingly listening to the first 5 discs while tinkering away at work I thought I surely had ventured out of the album and into the spotify suggested playlist. To my suprise, the album was still playing! I am proud to say I listened to the whole thing without giving up, but I can't say I really enjoyed it. My tolerance for this type of music runs out after about an hour then everything blends together and I lose interest. Despite the 3 hour run time, Ella's voice is phenomenal and the songs are well composed for the time. I likely would only listen to this again as background music (for a fancy home cooked meal perhaps)

It certainly is too long for repeated listens - but essential to do so at least once....

Too long, can’t listen to it all.