Anita O'Day: Lover

Track

Lover

Artist

Anita O'Day (vocals)

CD

Anita O'Day and Billy May Swing Rodgers And Hart (Verve 000 235 30 2)

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Musicians:

Anita O'Day (vocals), Conrad Gozzo (trumpet), Pete Candoli (trumpet), Ted Nash (alto sax), Ralph Peņa (bass),

Uan Rasey (trumpet), Bill Schaeffer, Eddie Kusby, Murray McEachern, Tommy Pederson, Tommy Shepard (trombone); Wilbur Schwartz (alto sax), Fred Falensby, Justin Gordon (tenor sax); Chuck Gentry (baritone sax), Joe Castro (piano), Al Hendrickson (guitar), Irving Cottler or Stan Levey (drums)

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Arranged and conducted by Billy May. Composed by Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart

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Recorded: Los Angeles, June 6, 1960

Albumcoveranitaodayandbillymayswingrodgersandhart

Rating: 86/100 (learn more)

For the first 45 seconds of this 2-minute track, Anita O'Day treats her "Lover" as tenderly as, well, "Tenderly." Then arranger Billy May loses patience, and it's off to the races for a familiar sprint to the finish. Too bad. Anita was onto something. "Lover," a pretty Cinderella grown haggard from too many frantic pumpkin rides tempting midnight's last stroke, might indeed fare better as a ballad. But Billy May won't give her a chance. While Anita is certainly up to an up-tempo gallop, it's dismaying how a tried- and-true treatment can become a straightjacket for even the most creative interpreters.

Reviewer: Alan Kurtz

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