How great is Andy Williams? He could reach notes unscalable by normal human beings, without oxygen. Wotta set a pipes the guy gots! And he never resorts to the corny vibrato of Bronx funeral singers (like *cough* Tony Bennett *cough*). Technically, there is no better singer. But the technique is never cold, as it is in classical-type singing (opera, lieder, all that stick-up-th'-ass shit my first wife liked). The guy invests every syllable with exactly the right emotional heft, never - quite - going over the top. Tell you what - I bet he was great in bed. I bet he never got any complaints in that direction. I bet he played th' dames like he sang; dynamic, slow builds to multiple climaxes. I bet that's an opinion you're not going to see anywhere else on an internet, also too.This was his global breakthrough album, staying on the charts for three furshlugginer years. You have to flinch through Never On Sunday (a shit song on any day of the week) to hear his take on As Time Goes By, which shows he gots nuance out th' ass. But it's the unbelievably great renditions of standards like Moon River that make this album the Everest of Music Like This. Leave us not forget, Hortense, it's him what made them standards.
Yes, the arrangements are the musical equivalent of seasonal knitwear. Yes, it's everything my generation fought so heroically against during the Acid Wars. I'm old enough to forgive. To wallow. It's Sunday!
That's right, OBG, and I thank you for your tact in not bringing it up.
ReplyDeleteAndy Willams, Eydie Gormé, a Florida trailer park, Lyle Waggoner, Eva Braun's Bergen County NJ S&M dungeon, Lee Hazlewood's laundry hamper, the Olson Twins ...
ReplyDeleteQuentin Tarantino's Aristocrats!
I'm not saying Andy Williams is dull, but Perry Como listened to him to fall asleep.
ReplyDeleteIt's gettin mighty Sting-y in heah...
ReplyDeleteDon't stand so close to me indeed...
Saw him in concert one time when he sang the Richard Harris song MacArthur Park. The high notes rivalled Orbison.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rUhxrdevfs&ab_channel=AndyWilliams-Topic
Showcase your free-thinking independence and refusal to be hide-bound by societal norms by requesting this swell record album! Or, you know, have a stick up your ass for the rest of your life. I could care less.
ReplyDeleteSo, Spider Sabich shoulda been wary of sticks?!?
ReplyDeleteI've been listening to The Mike Samms Singers and Sergio Mendes lately, FFS whats happening to me/us. Good job I couldn't find the stealth link to this.
ReplyDeleteThat's because nobody yet - apart from you - has had the courage to step up to the plate and bat for freedom of expression - freedom to assert an individual's right to say NO to uniformity! To stand up against the cultural Nazis and say ENOUGH! To draw a line in the sand and say NO FURTHER shall the forces of conformism advance! THIS is where I make a stand! I WANT this Any Williams long-playing record because it comes from th' Islo O' Foam©! That blessed haven for freeloading bums everywhere, regardless of color or creed!
DeleteUh - where was I? Oh yeah. Link coming up. On my laptop right now. Have to move across the room. May be a while.
Sergio Mendes is cool. Replace Sams with the Mike Curb Congregation and we are soulmates.
DeleteMy mother loved Andy Williams and we watched his variety show every week. Gotta love those Osmond kids, not to mention Claudine Longet (how do you say va-va-va-voom! in French?). Speaking of Mrs. Andy, when can we expect her very own FMF post? With any luck, local tv will re-broadcast an Andy Williams Thanksgiving special one of these days.
ReplyDeleteHere ya go, pals!
ReplyDeletehttps://workupload.com/file/anjwCVcSaRC
(Claudine is being prepped for a cage fight)
Listening to several versions of "Moon River" here... Henry Mancini gets docked several points for the accordion. The chorus doesn't really make it, either. Shirley Bassey surely sings it way too brassy. Nice string arrangement, though. Perry Como starts out very nice, but features too much chorus padding out the middle section. Andy's is the gold standard. Good move to emphasize the female vocals in the accompanying chorus.
ReplyDeleteI can't remember the name of the female fronted group that covered it 20 or 30 years ago. Really like that version. Maybe it was Mary Black. Thought there was another. Most of my friends were too horrified hearing the tune to enjoy the beauty. Tough luck.
There's a very recent version done by Melody Gardot that is sublime.
DeleteInnocence Mission is the group I was trying to remember. I must have borrowed the CD from somebody, as I don't have one with "Moon River" around here that I can find. Nice sparse acoustic arrangement with a slightly breathy (somewhere between Natalie Merchant and Claudine Longet) vocal.
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElmAbFE1vTc