One of the greatest American composers, Cole Porter, is the subject of a new series of reissues by UK’s Acrobat Music. This two disc set features songs both famous and obscure by the king of Tin Pan Alley, who supplied songs for shows ranging from The Broadway Melody of 1940 to Kiss Me Kate and Anything Goes. The ambitious collection’s most daunting task is obviously to answer the question, “Who’s version of a song should is the most representative?” I mean, it could be easy just to put on a songbook by Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra or Oscar Peterson and call it a day, but that would not serve the purpose of showing how wide the breath of Porter’s material could range.
Thus, while you are able to hear definitive pieces like Sinatra’s “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” and Fitzgerald’s “Do I Love You” & “Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye” there are also some versions by Anita O’Day (“Get Out of Town”) and Billie Holiday (“Easy to Love”) that are hard to beat, while Sammy Davis Jr. does an incredibly slow and agonizing read of “It’s All Right With Me.”
What’s the best part of this collection are the lesser known tunes. Who ever heard “I Love You Samantha”?, yet Kenny Ball & His Jazzmen dig it up and have a gas with it. Likewise, “Another Op’nin’ Another Show” by the Norman Luboff Choir” and Blossom Dearie’s “Always True to You In My Fashion” are wonderful bon mots. Everyone is going to have a favorite, with Tony Bennett with Count Basie on “Anything Goes” and the ringer of Bing Crosby with Grace Kelly dueting on ”True Love” impressively strong. Have fun with this one, and start the songbook train!