A great (neglected?) Bacharach & David song. There are three other versions by Rick Nelson & Joannie Sommers from the "On The Flipside" ABC TV special soundtrack. Though i like how it plays as a duet between Nelson and Sommers, Peggy March's vocals are ultimately the strongest. Hence, this is my favorite version. Hey, does anybody know of any other recordings of this song?
21 Jun 02 ·scrubbles: You're right, I love this little gem. Peggy March's voice is sexy, strong and way beyond her earlier girl groupy stuff. The arrangement is plush and understated, very "Bacharach". Thanks for writing about this.
Totally ridiculous faux-Indian song with very "heavy" spoken lyrics on top. A real trip.
from Bill Plummer and the Cosmic Brotherhood
21 Jun 02 ·scrubbles: It *is* a trip. This same album has what might be my favorite instrumental version of "The Look of Love" -- a lovely, subtle arrangement with sitars, woodwinds and a groovy solo from a sitar-like stringed instrument. Way out, man.
This is Billie Holiday at her absolute best, or worst, depending on your point of view. I personally consider it her best. She sings this song with a feeling of absolute devotion and love. With only months to live, Billie Holiday made her final recording for MGM records in March 1959. Years of abuse thru drugs and bad relationships had left both her voice and body only shadows of their former selves. However, what she no longer retained vocally, she more than made up for emotionally. Her battered voice and life experience allowed for the feelings to shine thru in a way that she couldn't have possessed in her younger years and for this reason, I fall into the group that prefers her latter recordings over the earlier ones. I am the happy owner of a 10-cd boxset of her complete recordings for the Verve and MGM labels which includes outtakes and incomplete tracks recorded between 1945 and 1959. It's one of the few things I will grab if I have to evacuate my apartment in an emergency...
from Billie Holiday (MGM E 3764) available on CD - Billie's Best / the Complete Billie Holiday on Verve 1945-1959 (Verve-Polygram 513943 / 314 513 859-2)
28 Oct 02 ·scrubbles: This is one of my favorite Billie Holiday songs as well. Her voice is absolutely haunting here.
While "Metti una sera a cena" has always been amongst my favourite Ennio Morricone themes this interpretation by Milva lifts the quality of the song to an even higher sphere. In fact, its hard to describe the intensity of this version : Milvas voice is perfectly suited for this piece, the arrangement is even crisper and more dynamic than the original Morricone recording, the full blown crescendo of strings and voice at the end is simply overwhelming. My only complaint is the song seems to fade out a bit too early.
from Dedicato A Milva Da Ennio Morricone (Ricordi) available on CD - Canto Morricone Vol.3 - The 70s (Bear Family Records)
02 Jan 03 ·scrubbles: I love this song. Very chi-chi sixties sounding, refreshing as a glass of lemonade. 26 Jun 06 ·dominb: There are several versions of "Metti",besides the original s/track lp,there is an entire lp of other versions available...the live Piero Piccioni conducted version feat. Edda Dell'Orso is fantastic. 26 Jun 06 ·eftimihn: Yeah, the Piccioni version is a crescending epic, makes the hair on my neck raise when i'm in the right mood. What is that "entire LP of other versions" you were referring to ? Is it coincidentally called "Metti una sera a cena grande" ? And where did you get it ? 02 Jul 06 ·dominb: Yeah,that's the lp I meant,I search blogger and other places for music,I got the Piccioni vers. off Limewire (useful for finding obscure stuff and things you might not buy) but I found a link to the entire lp,here it is:http://community.livejournal.com/relaxmusic/792781.html just right click on each song to d/load as the "vip link" doesn't work."Blogger" is a v.good place to search for morricone,if you are a fan and want anymore links to d/loads,feel free to email me at [email protected]. and I'll steer you in the right direction. 03 Jul 06 ·eftimihn: Thanks for offering some advice and help, i find this trend in posting interesting stuff on highly specialized blogs very nice, also the possibility of searching for this stuff via Blogger. As for "Metti una sera a cena grande", it's very interesting for me where this album pops up on the net, because this was, in fact, compiled by me a year ago or so :-D 05 Jul 06 ·dominb: You compiled it?Wow,that's amazing!I guess you work for a record company?Yes,if the internet is great for one thing alone it's the access to music you would otherwise not hear.I don't really agree with people posting full albums they have just ripped from a new cd (an odd track or clip is fine) but for out of print or obscure vinyl these blogs are ideal.It keeps the music alive for the future which is what the composers would want most I think. 06 Jul 06 ·eftimihn: No, i don't work for a record company, i just enjoy doing compilations of stuff i really love and spread it if i find others might like it too, like with this one. I fully agree with you that blogs should be limited too out-of-print or vinyl stuff. But i sincerly hope that one day record companies open their vaults and put their entire catalogue online so people don't have to search the web for rare gems that otherwise would completely vanish, i have the feeling though that this won't ever happen... 06 Jul 06 ·dominb: I came across a samba record morricone did with the singer chico buarque,maybe you've heard it,there are a few very unusual songs on it,here is the link:http://balacobaco2.blogspot.com/2006/03/chico-buarque-de-hollanda-discografia.html 06 Jul 06 ·dominb: other morricone i discovered,2 great scores for "roma come chicago" and "una breve stagione",not great sound quality but both feature some great tracks that I had not heard before.
http://bedazzled.blogs.com/bedazzled/2006/04/roma_come_chica.html
this is motown at it's best in my opinion. i bought the album "a cellarful OF MOTOWN!" when it was released in 2002. however i just re-discovered it a couple of weeks ago when i was cleaning. the track was (as it say in the booklet) originally assigned to the supremes. great stuff!
available on CD - a cellarful of motown! (motown/universal)
05 Feb 04 ·scrubbles: Agreed. I love the undercurrent of dread in this song. Why it remained in the Motown vaults is a mystery to me.
