Wolf Ricketts | San Jose, CA United States | 09/17/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Every note,every nuance is truly exquisite."Ballad of the sad
young men",is the only perfect rendering of a song,that I have
ever heard.(I've heard a few).I have to admit,that I find it
absurd that any jazz singer could finish higher than Mark
Murphy,in any Poll.Get this one!"
Mr Meij is a cretin
S. Subrahmanyam | 02/08/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Someone from Holland wrote a deeply stupid review of this album: "Being a Mark Fan for 30 years, I'm sorry to say I hate this album. You must be in suicide mood to like this kind of stuff. Why want anyone to take a poem on music or spoken words?" Well, my friend, if I were you, suicide might be the only option.
"Bop for Kerouac" is one of the finest jazz albums ever done. It exceeds the best of Kurt Elling by some distance. True, some of the ballads are a bit over the top. But what can one say about "Boplicity" or "Parker's Mood" or "You've Proven Your Point". Murphy in top form, with that erratic but superb blower Richie Cole too at the top of his game. If you cannot appreciate this album, forget it. You don't know what jazz is.
"
Why is this not available on CD?
Dunk Shin | Medford, OR 97501 | 07/22/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is one of the classic jazz vocal albums -- hard to believe it is not available on CD or MP3. "Ballad of the Sad Young Men" never fails to move me to tears -- being an old singer myself, I find it hard to believe anyone could sing that song better than Mark. (Hey Mark -- if you're out there -- how about re-releasing it?)"
The Cream of The Cream
Carlos from Rio | Rio de Janeiro, RJ Brazil | 01/29/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"
It's a rare opportunity to take this CD available, the best one from the best vocalist ever singing and scatting to a wonderful repertoire which ranges from jazz by Miles Davis (Boplicity) and Charlie Mingus (Porked-Pie Hat) to the beautiful David Raksin's movie theme The Bad and The Beautiful. If it's to be your first CD by Murphy, take this one. Pure Gold."
It's a shame they discontinued this one.
R. Norton | Fort Pierce, FL U.S.A. | 09/15/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Mark Murphy is hands down the best jazz singer in the world. No one else is even close. IMHO his best albums were when he was with Muse, "Mark Murphy Sings", "Satisfaction Guaranteed", "Stolen Moments" and this one, "Bop for Kerouac" is the best of the best.
His take on the Mingus tune (lyrics by Joni Mitchell) "Goodbye Porkpie Hat" is sublime, "Bongo Beep" is delightful, "Sad Young Men" is ethereal, I could go on, they are all great. The album is inspired, when I saw him live, he called it a labor of love and you can definitely hear that coming out of the speakers (or earbuds). The arrangements are superb. His interplay with saxophonist Richie Cole obviously inspired both of them, as they are both at their very best here. His poetry reading is magnificent. If I were to be forced to own only one Mark Murphy album, this would be it.
Unfortunately, when the Muse record label died, so did this album. Buy it used if you can. I won't part with mine. Hopefully, some day, somebody will get the rights and re-release it."