Sarah Vaughan - Golden Hits

Sarah Vaughan's Golden Hits

Sarah's Golden Hits is the quintisential and the aboslutely Divine Sarah. I'm on my second copy...I wore out the first one. Her gloriious voice and sensuous interpretation shine through on so many old favorites. Everything she sings on this record is outstanding but a few of my favorites are:....Eternally...what can I say....she does an "eternal" job of Eternally.....Broken Hearted Melody ...is outstanding...Moonlight in Vermont..unbelievable and Close to You.....an inimitable, lush interpretation...the entire albumn is an unforgetable, emotional experience . I love, love, love, Sarah's Golden Hits. October 5, 2008

A VOICE UNLIKE ANY OTHER

I can listen to Sarah Vaughan 24/7.

Tunes like BROKEN HEARTED MELODY, ETERNALLY, WHATEVER LOLA WANTS, SMOOTH OPERATOR
(not the same song Shade had a hit with) & others, make it worth the price.
Tough to admit, I never even knew it was this amazing singer who cut these tunes until recently. I'd known the name, heard the tunes played on the radio over the yeras--but never became aware that it was the one and only Sarah Vaughan.

I gotta buy more of her CDs to make up for lost time. July 2, 2008

GOLDEN is the WORD ! !

I needed something sweet, so I chose the best collection of any singer's hits: SARAH VAUGHAN's GOLDEN HITS. It's the perfect album for Autumn, for being alone, or for falling in love. Yes, I get "Misty" listening to any of Sarah's haunting interpretations... they just get better and better, such as "Autumn In New York" (hers is the definitive version) "Smooth Operator," "Make Yourself Comfortable..." or "How Important Can It Be?" It's still the greatest "hits" collection I've yet heard, perfect for dancing to, fireside chats, and family and friends. Much more than "sweet" as I foolheartedly put it, this record is also remarkably touching, heartbreaking, insightful, and funny. SARAH will steal YOUR foolish heart, as she did mine. Intimate dinner for two? Holiday party music? A Thanksgiving selection par excellence !! If you're at all interested in the single most esoteric and fully realized of the GREATEST JAZZ SINGERS, my own favorite, SARAH VAUGHAN, this is the place to start. Yes, this is just a starting place, as fortunately for us fans, SARAH has many more recordings available, and she never delivers less than the finest. This might even be called a "lighter" effort for her, which kind of defines the experience. This record feels like an event, is part guilty pleasure, and all perfection. SARAH VAUGHAN was a rare, remarkable artist. Do I love this record? Is there "Moonlight In Vermont??" September 26, 2007

The Divine One Indeed

Whoever it was that dubbed her "The Divine One" knew what they were doing. This preeminent jazz stylist and accomplished pianist first began wowing audiences with the Earl "Fatha" Hines band in 1942 and then later, with Billy Eckstine's orchestra [in both bands she also served as a pianist].

Her first solo hit came in 1948 on the Musicraft label when Nature Boy climbed all the way to # 9, losing out only to the Nat "King" Cole [# 1] and Frank Sinatra [# 8] versions. Following another hit for Musicraft that year (It's Magic - # 11], she moved to Columbia where, for the next four years, she would rack up 11 more hits, beginning with Black Coffee in 1949 [# 13], and ending with Sinner Or Saint in 1952 [# 22].

Then she switched to Mercury and in late 1954/early 1955 her rendition of Make Yourself Comfortable peaked at # 6. From there to her final charted hit in 1966 she would add another 19, three of which would cross over to the R&B charts [her only R&B charters in fact], one to the Adult Contemporary [AC] charts, and would add one more only to the AC charts [a version of Len Barry's 1-2-3 which reached # 33 AC].

This collection started out as a 12-selection vinyl LP which, for years, was just about the only compilation available of her Mercury hits. Then it appeared as a CD, again with just the 12 tracks, until finally re-released with tracks 13 to 18 added as music buyers began demanding more for their buck.

Even then, technically it never did quite fit the "Golden Hits" title since tracks 4, 9, and 11 to 14 were never actually hits for Sarah, although all are now generally associated with her more than any other artists who recorded them. The same applies to Misty which, as the flipside to Broken-Hearted Melody [# 5 R&B/# 7 Billboard Pop Hot 100 in 1959], itself "bubbled under" at # 106.

That leaves as extremely hard-to-find Mercury hits the following: Mr. Wonderful [# 13 in 1956]; Hot And Cold Running Tears [# 92 in 1956]; Fabulous Character [# 19 in 1956] and its flipside, The Other Woman [# 86]; It Happened Again [# 72 in late 1956]; Leave It To Love [# 91 in 1957]; You're My Baby [# 87 in 1960 as the B-side of Eternally]; Serenata [# 82 in 1960]; A Lover's Concerto [# 63 in 1966]; and the afore-mentioned 1-2-3.

Clearly, counting some of the B-sides to the ones just listed, there is room for a volume 2 to this great CD. How about it Mercury (or whoever?). A winner of Grammy's Lifetime Achievement Award in 1989 [the year before she died at age 66 on April 3, 1990], deserves nothing less.

In the meantime, this remains as the best source of her pop hits from 1954 to 1966, and includes a couple of pages of new liner notes by Will Friedwald and one page of the original notes by Lou Sidran. August 23, 2007

Jackpot !!!

Sarah Vaughan possessed a voice with a remarkably broad range; and her audiences loved her for this wherever she went to perform. Sarah enjoyed challenges, too; on this CD she performs both "Autumn In New York" and "Moonlight In Vermont" in full range. Sarah makes it sound easy; but we know it really isn't quite that simple to sing the way Sarah sang. We are all better off for Sarah's sharing her talents with us on great albums like this one.

The tracks set starts out with a beautiful rendition of "Misty." The orchestration glistens as Sarah delivers this without singing a superfluous note. The musical arrangement relies on the strings and horn to carry the bulk of the melody; and they do not fail to disappoint. Sarah's voice is as rich, warm and vibrant as ever on this track; I predict you will love this rendition of "Misty."

The CD continues with "Broken Hearted Melody" with a male chorus backing up Sarah as she sways and sings this song to perfection! The melody may sound somewhat upbeat; but this stands in sharp contrast to the lyrics which explore Sarah's feelings about a love gone awry.

"Autumn In New York" boasts a beautiful intro by the violins; and when Sarah comes in you're in heaven. Sarah uses her voice to convey a certain intimacy and sense of vulnerability both at the same time; this number is a golden nugget shining brightly! Sarah hopes for a new love when she sings "Autumn In New York." She celebrates New York with this song, too. "Moonlight In Vermont" follows "Autumn In New York;" and Sarah sings this soulfully and wistfully. "Moonlight In Vermont" allows Sarah to deliver a pensive ballad and the orchestration is lush. Sarah's voice is in excellent form and the percussion enhances the beauty of this number.

"Whatever Lola Wants" gets the Latin treatment and a male backup chorus to accompany Sarah. Sarah sings of her ability to get "whatever (she) wants" because she, as Lola, is "irresistible" to men. This romantic ballad shines brightly with Sarah's voice, the orchestration and the backup chorus all combining to produce a high octane performance! When Sarah tells you to "give in," you can intuitively understand why.

"Lullaby Of Birdland" is yet another great song on this CD; the drums, percussion and Sarah's voice produce a winning ticket yet again! The flawless melody and lyrics are by Shearing and Foster; and the piano playing shines to perfection as well.

Equally important, this CD gives you six bonus tracks to enjoy. I have this album on LP in my collection; but the CD is much better for this reason alone! SMILES "Lover Man" begins with a brief but excellent piano solo; when Sarah starts to sing her voice captures all your attention as she sings this torch ballad about a man she loved; but he did not love her in return. The musical instruments play softly in the background to showcase Sarah's voice as its own musical instrument on "Lover Man." The next bonus number is the timeless classic "Tenderly" which Sarah sings passionately. Sarah's voice remains in excellent form as she displays her wide vocal range to bat this number straight out of the ballpark. "C'est La Vie" is about love that goes unrequited; and the CD ends with "The Banana Boat Song." This final number gets the predictable Latin treatment and Sarah is accompanied once again by a superb male chorus. Sarah sings about men who work hard and dream of an easier life without such hard work. This final number rounds out the CD very well.

The liner notes give you the song credits and the original liner notes for the record album when it was originally released. Will Friedwald contributes an excellent essay about Sarah Vaughan's unforgettable talent.

I highly recommend this CD for people who want to become better acquainted with Sarah's artistry. Sarah's fans will consider this CD to be a "must-have;" and people who enjoy classic pop vocals will love this CD, too. The extra six bonus tracks make this CD a very special one.
March 23, 2007

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