Search - Jimmy Scott :: Falling in Love Is Wonderful

Beyond Wonderful!

Jett McRae | United States | 04/07/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Finally, this great lost LP is now on CD, and everyone can hear the artistry that is Jimmy Scott. It's a tragedy that due to tangled legal issues, "Falling In Love Is Wonderful" was quickly pulled in 1963 shortly after it's initial release. ... Jimmy's career was frustrated by this, and so one of the greatest jazz vocal LPs became something of a Holy Grail for those discriminating listeners determined to find a rare copy in music stores or online. But now all the legal issues are resolved and everyone can enjoy this remarkable record on CD. To think of the lost opportunities to Scott's career could make one weep. And to listen to Scott's mesmerizing vocals could bring a tear to one's eye on classic tracks like "They Say It's Wonderful" and "Someone To Watch Over Me". I can't recommend this CD enough!"

Not actually his best, but very good

PH-50-NC | Southeast USA | 10/05/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This album has the best back-story of all of Jimmy Scott's albums: Ray Charles plucks Scott from a downward career slide and gives him a first-class orchestral pop treatment--only to see the evil Herman Lubinsky (Savoy Records' owner) ruin the whole thing with a threatened lawsuit (the record was pulled from the racks).



(Context: In the 1950s, Jimmy Scott evidently carelessly signed all manner of contracts put before him by Lubinsky; Joel Dorn has called Lubinsky "a hemorrhoid of a human...whom even the worst record business golems of the era shunned.")



Okay, so all of that is interesting, and the album does hold up. But does it surpass his first two Warner Bros. records, or his Atlantic sessions from 1969 and 1972 (scattered over "Lost and Found" and "The Source")? In my opinion, no, it doesn't surpass those works. Scott isn't allowed to stretch out quite as fully here (most of the tracks clock in at 3:30-4:00), and the orchestral arrangements aren't quite as tasty as the sonic divans created for his subsequent pop masterpieces. This record is one of his best, make no mistake, but not the holy grail of legend, the greatest thing he ever did.



So start with the first two on Warner Bros. and the Atlantic Records stuff, and then get this record, the Savoy stuff, his recent series on Milestone, and the Decca sides. Then choose very carefully among what's left--there are a couple of sessions that aren't worth purchasing.



BTW, the liner notes hint that Ray Charles (who, to be fair, put out a lot of cash and time to make this record happen in the first place) was acting a little Lubinsky-like after Scott's ship finally came in in the early 1990s:



"Only one question remains: Why did the producer [Charles] wait so long to finally release the record? After all, when Lubinsky died in 1985, the threat of lawsuits died along with him.



"Timing is everything," says Brother Ray. "And right now, it's Jimmy Scott's time."



Ray allowed Rhino handmade a limited domestic release which carried premium price around the time that David Ritz's authorized biography came out. Now one must pay import prices to get this album. The indignities never end..."

"Falling in Love..." is Wonderful

J. Bellin | Salem MA | 03/12/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Ray Charles wanted to highlight Jimmy Scott's ballad ability, and he does here. What keeps this CD from being rated 5 stars is that there is not much variation in tempi. Otherwise, Scott's ability to get inside a ballad and make it his own is exemplary. The title cut, for example, is the most moving version of this song I have ever heard and I think is the strongest cut. Charles' piano complements and, in fact, comments a bit on the lyrics and there is some great byplay between the vocalist and pianist. The stereo mix is a bit extreme (The mono mix might present a more coherent image, but you might lose Charles' piano, by himself, out in the left channel).This is thoroughly enjoyable and it's great to see it re-released."