The Nelson Riddle Appreciation & Discussion Thread

This should be a start:

http://nelsonriddlemusic.com/nr_albums.htm

 

Came across one of Judy Garland's records with Nelson I didn't know I had.Need to give a listen to it.

 

Just ordered it. Import from England...

 

A UK compilation sampler of Nelson Riddle is arriving in a couple of weeks. It is from Acrobat, so we know it is coming from either 78s, 45s or LPs before 1963, and the sound quality of their transfers is unknown. There are 4CDs. It looks like the first six tracks are Nelson Riddle the trombonist playing in big bands.

Disc: 1
1. Prairieland Lullaby - Charlie Spivak & His Orchestra
2. Slap, Slap - Charlie Spivak & His Orchestra
3. When the Sun Comes Out - Charlie Spivak & His Orchestra
4. This Is No Laughin' Matter - Charlie Spivak & His Orchestra
5. Opus One - Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra
6. Sunny Side of the Street - Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra
7. Mona Lisa - Nat King Cole with Orchestra
8. Unforgettable - Nat King Cole
9. Take Me Back - Billy Eckstine
10. Weaver of Dreams - Billy Eckstine
11. My Buddy - Mel Torme
12. Blacksmith Blues - Ella Mae Morse
13. When You're in Love - Dick Haymes
14. Darlene - Dick Haymes
15. Dreamers Cloth - Dick Haymes
16. No Other Love But Yours - Dick Haymes and Four Hits And A Miss
17. You Will Never Grow Old - Nat King Cole
18. Kiss of Fire - Billy Eckstine
19. Here in My Heart - Dick Haymes with The Andrews Sisters
20. I'm Sorry - Dick Haymes with The Andrews Sisters
21. I've Never Seen - Al Martino
22. Say You'll Wait for Me - Al Martino
23. Come to the Mardi Gras - Billy Eckstine
24. I'll Walk Alone - Patty Andrews
25. That's the Chance You Take - Patty Andrews
Disc: 2
1. This Can't Be Love - Nat King Cole
2. I Didn't Know What Time It Was - Louis Jordan
3. It's Better to Wait for Love - Louis Jordan
4. Only Yesterday - Louis Jordan
5. Just Like a Butterfly - Louis Jordan
6. Where Did He Go - Margaret Whiting
7. I've Got the World On a String - Frank Sinatra
8. From Here to Eternity - Frank Sinatra
9. Waltz to the Blues - Margaret Whiting
10. Make Believe That You're in Love With Me - Pat Auld
11. Martin Kane Theme - Nelson Riddle
12. Getting Sentimental Over You - Nelson Riddle
13. Brother John - Nelson Riddle
14. Young at Heart - Nelson Riddle
15. Answer Me My Love - Nat King Cole
16. Goodbye - Bob Manning
17. I Speak to the Stars - Margaret Whiting
18. Please Remember - The Four Freshmen
19. Love Turns Winter Into Spring - The Four Freshmen
20. In the Chapel in the Moonlight - The Textor Singers
21. The Shadow Waltz - Nelson Riddle
22. The Argentine Fire Brigade - Nelson Riddle
23. I Can't Believe That You're in Love With Me - Nelson Riddle
24. Stowaway - Margaret Whiting
25. In the Hall of the Mountain King - Nelson Riddle
26. Robin Hood - Nelson Riddle
27. Lisbon Antigua - Nelson Riddle
Disc: 3
1. Julie Is Her Name - Bobby Troup
2. Instead of You - Bobby Troup
3. Port Au Prince - Nelson Riddle
4. To the Ends of the Earth - Nat King Cole
5. Could You - Nelson Riddle
6. Keep Your Eyes On the Hands - Jane Russell
7. If You Wanna See Mamie Tonight - Jane Russell
8. I Feel a Song Coming On - Judy Garland
9. Lucky Day - Judy Garland
10. Come Rain Or Come Shine - Judy Garland
11. Theme from 'The Proud Ones' - Nelson Riddle
12. Farmers Tango - Nelson Riddle
13. Accordion Willy - Nelson Riddle
14. The Love of Genevieve - Nelson Riddle
15. Holiday in Naples - Nelson Riddle
16. Blame It On Paree - Nelson Riddle
17. Let's Face the Music - Nelson Riddle
18. I Get Along Without You Very Well - Nelson Riddle
19. Let Yourself Go - Nelson Riddle
20. You and the Night and the Music - Nelson Riddle
21. You're an Old Smoothie - Nelson Riddle
22. Seven Nights a Week - Bing Crosby
23. Man On Fire - Bing Crosby
24. The Folks Who Live On the Hill - Peggy Lee
25. There Is No Greater Love - Peggy Lee
26. Rue Madeleine - Nelson Riddle
27. In a Small Forgotten Town - Nelson Riddle
28. Witchcraft - Frank Sinatra
Disc: 4
1. Tango Tahiti - Nelson Riddle
2. Get Happy - Nelson Riddle
3. Something to Remember You By - Nelson Riddle
4. When Your Lover Has Gone - Keely Smith
5. Put Your Dreams Away - Nelson Riddle
6. I Wish You Love - Keely Smith
7. Easter Isle - Nelson Riddle
8. Just in Time - Peggy Lee
9. When Your Lover Has Gone - Sue Raney
10. The Girl Most Likely - Nelson Riddle
11. Jump for Joy - Peggy Lee
12. The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad - Nelson Riddle
13. Love Theme from 'St. Louis Blues' - Nelson Riddle
14. Volare - Nelson Riddle
15. Two Loves Have I - Mavis Rivers
16. Five O'clock Whistle - Mavis Rivers
17. It All Depends On You - Dinah Shore
18. Taking a Chance On Love - Dinah Shore
19. Medley: Where Or When/They Can't Take That Away from Me/Easy to Love/Get Out of Town - Dinah Shore
20. Get Me to the Church On Time - Rosemary Clooney
21. Cabin in the Sky - Rosemary Clooney
22. Love Me Or Leave Me - Ella Fitzgerald
23. Don't Be That Way - Ella Fitzgerald
24. Ol' Mac Donald - Frank Sinatra
25. Route 66 T.V. Theme - Nelson Riddle
26. Naked City Theme - Nelson Riddle

 

I'd be interested to see how this sells (not the highest expectations, but still). Interesting track list, too.

 

Not the Frank Sinatra tracks (despite listing him first on the cover). "Ol' MacDonald"? That's the best Sinatra-Riddle track they could come up with for Disc 4?

 

I actually like the Sinatra "Ol' MacDonald". It reminds me of someone I know (which I mean as complimentary).

 

Bob, "interesting" wasn't meant in an all-positive light. I agree that if this was meant to be a presentation of Riddle's best work, some of the Sinatra selections are puzzling. It does, however, bring forth many recordings, both by Riddle and other vocalists, that I'd never heard before.

But will I purchase this title when it is released? Likely not.

 

It makes me think of Ronald MacDonald, and that reminds me of the Sarbonator.

 

Four other guys, actually. That looks like Jimmy Van Heusen in the background.

 

I want to crop it to just Nelson and use it in a meme.

"Nelson Riddle says: You are wrong."

or

"Bring me my Jack Daniels from over there."

 

I do too. A guilty pleasure perhaps. But I hate that he blows the last line.

 

I love Love Tide... perhaps my favorite Riddle solo album. The mono LP is especially great, but I also enjoy the stereo 2-for-1 CD with Sea Of Dreams.

One more: I found a clean LP copy of Music For Wives & Lovers (Solid State/United Artists, 1967). It swings really well, with electric organ featured even more than on Contemporary Sound Of Nelson Riddle (United Artists, 1968). Those would make a wonderful 2-for-1 CD reissue (although that may have been more viable in the '90s).

http://nelsonriddlemusic.com/nr_albums_wiveslovers.htm

 

Some of Riddle's music for the Batman series just came out again on CD and LP:

http://amzn.com/B00MZ3WYIQ

 

From the article:

There wouldn't have been any afternoon rehearsal.

 

I've just played the Canadian LP British Columbia Suite (Capilano, 1969), all tracks composed and conducted by Riddle. They're described out of sequence--I think--and with corresponding color photos, in the gatefold booklet. That's the order currently shown on discogs (maybe someone registered will correct it):

http://discogs.com/Nelson-Riddle-British-Columbia-Suite/release/5337185

The label of the record itself shows a different order, some titles slightly different as well:

Side 1
1. The Route Of The Haidas
2. Peace River
3. Victoria
4. The Cariboo
5. Valley Of The Swans
6. Government House

Side 2
1. Vancouver Nights
2. The Okanagan
3. Butchart Gardens
4. Barkerville
5. Garibaldi Mountain
6. Moving Ahead

It's far less "groovy cocktail-lounge" than his 1968 albums, although I think Vancouver Nights would play well in a lounge setting. Valley Of The Swans and Garibaldi Mountain are contemplative, great surreal mood pieces.

 

Also, there's Romance, Fire and Fancy (Intersound, 1983), apparently Nelson's final solo album. I have a 2003 Intersound CD, with good quality, but mastered just slightly louder than I'd prefer.

Most tracks sound like incidental music from '70s American TV shows. The four Riddle originals--Costa Mesa, Chemise Noir, Dancing Shadows, and Fireflies--are up-tempo performances, sometimes bordering on disco, or like driving/chase music for an action drama.

One surprise is Night Winds (written by producer Walt Heebner), which reverts back to a very different Riddle style of many years earlier... It almost sounds like an outtake from Sea of Dreams.

From the liner notes:

Recorded 1979 at Capitol Records Studio, Hollywood
Sound engineer: Hugh Davies
Remixed by Willi Schmidt at Trixi Tonstudio, Munich

Arrangements: Nelson Riddle
Produced by Walt S. Heebner and Gerhard Narholz

The CD has a different running order than what appears here:

http://discogs.com/Nelson-Riddle-And-His-Orchestra-Romance-Fire-And-Fancy/release/6645912

 

Is this as good as his MPS albums? I am obsessed with some of those tracks, including this one:

 

That's sort of a tough question... It's sometimes more electrified; Chemise Noir and Dancing Shadows are actual beat music, with prominent electric guitar and relatively heavy drums. Costa Mesa seems much more in the style of some of the MPS tracks. An intriguing slower track I like, called Talk About Music, has sparse wah-wah guitar riffs with echo.

The LP back cover on discogs shows Norman Candler as co-producer, also the credited author of two ballads, Twilight Romance and Beautiful Sunrise (which has a good intro and coda).

On the whole, probably the MPS albums are more consistent, but a few tracks and moments on Romance, Fire and Fancy are just as good. I enjoy Night Winds as much as anything on the MPS albums (I'm a big fan of Time and Space on Communication). Fireflies sounds very much like one is setting sail on The Love Boat; Riddle scored a single episode in 1977.

I might like Romance, Fire and Fancy more than Changing Colors, but not as much as Communication.

 

Thanks. I will keep my eyes open for this.

Have you heard his 101 Strings album? I believe it pre-dates the MPS albums. It is not consistent - the covers are not very good, but the originals are on par with the best MPS material.

 

I just finished it myself and it certainly inspires one to dig deeper into Sinatra's catalogue. (wish he had covered the Jobim sessions though) Some of Sinatra's best performances (arranged by Riddle as well as Billy May) are relatively obscure, or at least not as well known as they should be. Granata really has a gift for explaining the technical aspects of arranging, so you appreciate Riddle and his contemporaries all the more.