Eight Classic Albums

…doesn't even come from the mouth of Lena Horne. It's at the very, very end of the first CD, when we've just listened to a full set of Lena "At the Waldorf Astoria." Her last song is "From This Moment On," she sings it out, there's audience applause -- and suddenly we hear the voice of the announcer/host (in the ballroom, right?), saying: "Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, this marks the end of our show for this evening, we now invite you to dance." I don't know, that line, that moment, so perfectly capture that late-Fifties feeling, I love it.OK, on to the music. And boy, is there a lot of it: 4 CDs worth, capturing 8 classic Lena Horne LPs from the late Fifties/early Sixties. 89 tracks. Mine came without any inside booklet (not unusual for these RealTime productions), but I was able to go online and get more info about the individual LPs/performances. Almost all of them are Lena-with-a-big-orchestra, almost always arranged/conducted by her husband, Lennie Hayton.You're right, there's a reason we think of Nelson Riddle when we think of Frank Sinatra's great Capitol albums, but we DON'T think of Lennie Hayton when we think of Lena Horne. Because the sound he perfected (and perfect it he did, he had a long and successful career in Hollywood) is essentially a big, splashy, Vegas-plus-MGM sound. Lots of horns, lots of everything. America in the Fifties. For me, it's overboard. I actually think Lena sounds best, out of these 89 tracks, in the very, very few when she's quiet and there isn't much behind her. Such as: "Let Me Love You" and "Mood Indigo" on Disc 1, "I Wonder What Became of Me" and "Just In Time" on Disc 2, "But Beautiful" on Disc 3, and "The Man I Love" on Disc 4. All of them gorgeous reads.She could've been a cabaret singer, with just a piano/bass/drums backup, but that's not where her career took her (or where she took her career). So there are plenty of songs in this collection where she has that big-belting sound that (for me) isn't all that rewarding. Maybe it was when you were in Vegas in 1961, watching her live at The Sands (one of the LPs here), I don't know. There is so, so, so much talent in her voice, so much ability to caress a lyric, but all too often it's buried under arrangements and fancy-pants vocalizing. An interesting part of this collection, by the way, is an LP she did with Harry Belafonte of Porgy and Bess. Looks great on paper, right? Not so hot on wax. And the first CD has an i-n-t-e-r-m-i-n-a-b-l-e rendering of "Frankie and Johnny" that should go into the Embarrassing Recordings Hall of Fame.All that said, I give this four stars. I mean, it's Lena Horne, right?

A real bargain, eight very good works by Lena Horne at the price of one, including two live shows (at Waldorf Astoria and The Sands). Besides that, the whole Porgy and Bess by Lena and Harry Belafonte. What more to expect? Highly recommended.

Thank you!

I've always like Lena Horne; after reading how good she was to Billie Holiday after Lady Day got our of prison, I had a great reason to enjoy Lena Horne even more.

If you like Lena Horne, a must buy.

bravo!!!

Arrived Early--Arrived as described

A charming collection of earlier LOena.

Excellent,Lena Horne a wonderful singer singing wonderful material and sound quality very good and at the price athat a great bargain.

Classic

Brilliant cd but brilliant service very quick thank you

one of the all time greats

Sehr schön 8 Alben von Lena Horne zu einem vergleichsweise günstigen Preis zu bekommen. Die Qualität ist top und deutlich besser als auf vielen Compilations, die man angeboten bekommt. Bei der Albumauswahl hätte man jedoch ein bisschen umsichtliger sein können. Das Album "Porgy & Bess" wurde zusammen mit Harry Belafonte aufgenommen, der einige Tracks des Albums mit Lena Horne oder solo singt. Da hätte es genug Solo-Material von der Horne gegeben. Aber das stört mich nicht weiter.Einen Stern Abzug muss ich aber auf jeden Fall für die Aufmachung geben. Den Cover ziert ein Foto von Lena Horne aus der damaligen Zeit, auf der Rückseite sind die Titel gelistet und darunter wenigstens noch eine kurze Anmerkung welche Alben sich auf den CDs befinden. Sonst leider nix. Weder Credits der Songs und leider auch keine Bilder der Originalcover. Da sich diese Edition vornehmlich an Sammler zu wenden scheint, hat man da leider doch sehr geschlampt. Sehr schade!