EXCELLENCE FROM ENGLAND!
Giovanni | Chicago, IL | 10/04/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Matt Monro puts the "great" in GREAT Britain that's for sure. Hs easy vocal style earned him the dubious title of the British Sinatra. The good people at EMI have given us two glowing examples on one CD to listen for ourselves. The "THESE YEARS" sides teamed Matt with two great arranger/conductors, Billy May and Sid Feller. Billy handles the uptempo tunes (obviously) while Sid Feller, well known for his lush arrangements with Ray Charles and several other projects with Monro, takes the ballads on with class. From the start, Matt and Sid team up on The Carpenters' hit THERE'S A KIND OF HUSH. Matt takes it slower than the usual tempo and the strings really support him well. It's Billy May's turn next, and he and Matt torch their way through the Englebert Humperdinck smash RELEASE ME in swingin' style, modulating to a great ending. Billy May also wrote a most creative chart for the Supremes' hit THE HAPPENING that puts a new spin (and perhaps even updates?) the already great song. Matt really swings on this tune. Sid Feller's heartfelt arrangement of the lovely torch song WHAT TO DO is another standout here, a forgotten song by great songwriters Al Stillman and Riz Ortolani. (my favorite track on the entire disc).
The obvious theme of THESE YEARS is a selection of popular songs of the day (1967) and it comes off without a hitch, thanks to spectacular arangements and equally wonderful vocals. THE LATE LATE SHOW gives us a handful of standards, arranged and conducted by the cream of the British bandleaders' crop including the Kurt Weill masterpiece SEPTEMBER SONG, the charming I'VE GROWN ACCUSTOMED TO HER FACE, and a shining reading of the Jules Styne classic THE PARTY'S OVER, as well as lesser known (but nevertheless beautiful) songs, most notably IF SHE SHOULD COME TO YOU, which was arranged by the producer of these sides, none other than George Martin (yes, the same George Martin who worked so well with The Beatles!) Once again, EMI has continued to set the standard for these wonderful "2fers" and this album is proof."
An excellent twofer from Britain's finest balladeer
Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 09/26/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Matt Monro was Britain's main answer to Andy Williams, Perry Como, Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra. He had competition in his homeland from such as Ken Dodd and Ireland's Val Doonican. He was as good as any of them but he is the forgotten one among them, although Ken Dodd is primarily remembered as a comedian and Val Doonican as a TV host. Matt's reputation, like those of the four Americans named, rests on his legacy of recorded music.
Matt had a string of UK hits between 1960 and 1965, five of which made the UK top 10, after which Matt only had one more (minor) UK hit - 1973's And you smiled. So this twofer, comprising albums from 1967 and 1968, contains none of Matt's own hits but it contains plenty of exquisite covers. Matt was a brilliant interpreter of other people's songs as he had proved when taking Yesterday into the UK top ten in 1965, easily winning a fierce battle against several other versions after it became clear that the Beatles' own version was not going to be released as a UK single.
The first of these albums (These years) is primarily made up of covers of contemporary hits, so here you get a chance to hear Matt's versions of There's a kind of hush (Herman's Hermits), Release me (Engelbert Humperdinck), Don't sleep in the subway (Petula Clark), The happening (Diana Ross and the Supremes), You don't have to say you love me (Dusty Springfield), Music to watch girls by (Andy Williams) and Here there and everywhere (Beatles). Yes, some of the names in brackets are not the original artists, but they are the people that had the big sixties hits in the UK except for the Beatles track, which was not a UK hit for anybody in the sixties.
The second album (The late late show) contains songs of an earlier vintage. Here you will find a selection of standards from the fifties and earlier including When I fall in love, Maria, September song, I've grown accustomed to her face, Days of wine and roses, The shadow of your smile and Autumn leaves.
Perhaps this is not the obvious album to begin a collection of Matt's music with but it is certainly worthy of a listen if you like any of the singers I mentioned at the beginning of my review."
Track Listings (23) - Disc #1