Who has a large 'Andy Williams' collection - some advice please

- Let us know what you think of it!

 

Do you have the Raindrops/Get Togther CD twofor?
Raindrops is my favorite Andy album and I am curious about the sound quality.

 

- I gotta say I completely disagree with the first paragraph here. I own all of Andy's music on vinyl, from Cadence onward, and it's just like any other musician. If you want nice vinyl, you have to search it out and buy what you find, then upgrade when you find a better copy. He's no more difficult to find on LPs in great shape than any other artist is, in my humble opinion. Just my two cents! But Andy will always sound better on vinyl!

 

I have a lot of his albums. I would suggest "Solitaire," "May Each Day," "Can't Get Used To Losing You," "Almost There" and the Hawaiian album. Without checking I think it's called "The Hawaiian Wedding Song." I go through stages with Andy Williams. I like him for awhile, then cool off, then rediscover him. I just got his "A Song For You" album and enjoyed it immensely... First heard it years ago and I was really indifferent to it.

 

Andy Williams!!! What a great singer he was. I love him. I'm most likely his greatest fan. So nice to hear from others who like him,too. He's so underrated today.
For a starter I would recommend a compilation Cd which came out in 1999 called "In the lounge with Andy Williams". Usually I don't like compilations but this one is a real masterpiece. Because it stays in that cool '60s lounge style all the way. The whole Cd feels like a classic secret agent movie from the 60s.
I love his albums, too. But I think to really appreciate his talents one must seek for his classic TV show from the 1960's. Unlike his albums, which were mostly aimed to the commercial market and were almost completely controlled by Columbia Records, Andy made sure that he had the last say on what music would be on his show. Remember he produced each episode. And he only chose the finest arrangers to work with. Most of all Dick Hazard, who wrote some of the best ballad arrangements I ever heard. And he fit with Andy like Sinatra with Riddle. Dave Grusin was his musical director. Other frequently featured arrangers were Johnny Mandel, Billy May, Jack Elliott, Bob Florence, Marty Paich to name just a few.
This was such a quality show. And his vocals were overwhelming. Andy was a true vocal virtuoso. Too bad his Tv show is almost forgotten and he's reduced to his commercial hits today, which is not fair against his great talent.
On his show he also sang duets with the greatest singers in the business. Ella,Peggy Lee, Bobby Darin, Eddie Fisher, Sammy Davis, Tony Bennett, Crosby,Judy Garland etc. Always choosing his guests key! And still he usually was the better part of these duets. Well I could go on with praises forever.
Please check out theses videos to get the idea:



Andy Williams - We Can Make Believe »

 

Music-making rarely gets better than this:



Best Wishes,
David

 

For 75 cents, I just scored a pristine mono copy of To You Sweetheart, Aloha on Cadence. I am listening now and drinking a Shrunken Skull - one part fresh-squeezed lime, one part Demerara rum, one part Puerto Rican gold, one part grenadine (the real grenadine, not the corn-syrup swill).

I feel like Dr. Jacoby.

 

I couldn't resist...

 

He does a great version of God Only Knows.