Buddy Greco - Talkin' Verve: Buddy Greco (2001) Lossless

"...As creepy as it gets, Greco's swing remains feel-good infectious..."
sol pincus:
I am very familiar with Mr Greco's work, & was hoping it would be in his vintage period of 50's to mid 60's. When I put in on , I was GASSED ! I listen to many singers of standards/show tunes : Sinatra, Bobby Darin, Mel Torme, Steve Lawrence, Frankie Randall, Tony Bennett, June Christy, Ella, Sassie, all who are superb , but at his best, NOBODY , & I mean NOBODY can touch Buddy Greco ! To say he swings is such an understatement : his songs, at whatever tempo, SMOULDER, SIZZLE,TRANSFORM THe AIR AROUND ONE. He has been critizied for his excesses ('quasi-operatic vibrato" 'smarmy', 'schmaltzy, ) but for someone who knows about the drama conection between song & lyric, WHO CARES ! His renditions of TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT, ALL OF YOU , IT'S ALRIGHT WITH ME, just to mention a few are MASTERPIECES.He, at his best, is THE textbook example of EVERYTHING a singer needs to fill a lounge, or a large room, & then some.
His approach to a tune in small groups like these differs somewhat from his Big Band & orchestral settings : one hears a delicate rendering that BUILDS, using a comprehensive array of singer-like trills, curls, changes in dynamics, & the ESSENCE of a tune that, in other singer's hands, pales significatnly. His larger group albums are equally good, though the emphasis is more on his own brand of operatics.
This album is a GEM !

Fifty years after he worked for Benny Goodman, he toured with the "Salute to The Benny Goodman Band", only this time to star, headline and conduct. The tour took him to 72 cities and 72 unforgettable shows which drew standing ovations to capacity crowds. He brought the house down when he recently appeared at Carnegie Hall in "An Evening with Nat King Cole", a tribute to a dear friend. He has been a Las Vegas favorite, from the first performance in 1950 with Goodman, through the swinging 60's with The Rat Pack, to the present day, he has been performing to capacity crowds. He is currently producing a nationally syndicated live radio show, "VEGAS LIVE TONITE!" The show recreates the glamorous old Vegas, promotes current shows in Vegas and his 13-piece swing band, and plenty of celebrity guests. He is also producing the stage production, "FEVER, A Tribute to Peggy Lee", starring his wife, singer Lezlie Anders.