Disc 1, Track 6, "I Get a Kick Out of You" This is an odd one. Porter was known for adding or changing words and lines in a song long after it was written, so there are no doubt more comprehensive versions of "Anything Goes" available somewhere. Listen too for his wonderful reversal-of-fortune line, written at a time when many wealthy Americans lost everything they had ("and that gent you gave a cent today once had several chateaux"). Alternate take: Nancy Harrow, 1978, in CD Anything Goes Accompanied by just a plucked double-bass, Harrow does the song with a light, slyly wicked touch, perfect for Porter's naughtier laugh lines ("If Mae West you like, if me undressed you like, well no one will oppose"). But in this version the strings add needless weight and Porter's bawdy, laugh-out-loud lines have been excised, presumably in the name of 1950's propriety. This is a lighthearted, funny song, written in 1934, about permissiveness gone awry and lives upturned by The Great Depression. Disc 1, Track 2, "Anything Goes" Here the Fitzgerald-Bregman team falls flat. The line now reads "in the chill, still of the night." You can feel it in your bones. Notice too how Porter, in a quiet touch of genius, adds just one extra word at the end of the song, the one that clinches the dark mood. Then doubt settles in ("Do you love me as I love you"), and finally the singer's thoughts turn dark ("Or will this dream of mine fade out of sight"). At first the singer is hopeful, reaching out to the loved one ("my thoughts all stray to you"). Although the lyrics are brief, notice how Porter evokes three successive moods using just a few phrases. Given the words, the arrangement, the strings (yes, the strings) and Fitzgerald's voice, this is the best version of the song you're likely to hear. But, as you'll hear in this track, he could evoke the pangs of love and longing like no one else. The songs Disc 1, Track 5, "In the Still of the Night" Porter, an Ivy-educated son of privilege and lifelong member of the transatlantic smart set, is best remembered for sophisticated, urbane, witty songsfor cleverness above all. So use this Fitzgerald compilation as a must-have primer on Cole Porter, but also as a jumping off point for exploring the songs further. I'll note those in some of the track descriptions below, and suggest a few "alternate takes"different singers, different circumstancesthat you may find more satisfying and that you can sample on YouTube. Although Bregman's violin-laden treatment works with some of the songs, it has a numbing effect on others. The CD This classic 2-disc set is an aural encyclopedia of Porter's songs, beautifully performed in 1956 by singer Ella Fitzgerald when her voice was at its best, with slick orchestral arrangements by Buddy Bregman. In listening to jazz, a good rule of thumb is "Know the song and you're halfway there." So for jazz newcomers unfamiliar with the Songbook, here's an introduction to the work of composer-lyricist Cole Porter. Background The Great American Songbooksongs written from the 1920's to the 1950's by giants such as Cole Porter, Rogers & Hart, Duke Ellington and the Gershwin brothershas inspired jazz musicians and singers for generations, supplying the raw material for endless improvisation.
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Getting Started If you're new to jazz, go to our Getting Into Jazz primer for some hints on how to listen.
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