Search - Nelson Riddle :: The Wonder Of You

THE WONDER OF RIDDLE

Giovanni | Chicago, IL | 10/25/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Nelson Riddle was one of the most talented individuals to every grace the music industry. A master at his craft, he was one of the most sought - after arrangers in Hollywood from the early 50's until the end of his life, capping off his wonderful endeavours with the wildly successful torch song collections he did with Linda Ronstadt (something the world bet against would work but happily ate crow when it did) He worked with everyone who was anyone, from the obscure chanteuse from Samoa Mavis Rivers to some of Capitol Records' stars like Nat King Cole, Peggy Lee, Dean Martin and one Francis Albert Sinatra, an association that skyrocketed Riddle's already soaring stock.
He wrote for orchestras and TV shows with equal flair. There was a time, however, when music tastes were changing and Nelson found himself with a little free time. This CD encompasses one such time, and considering the lack of any of Nelson's more marketed LPs (although they are starting to trickle out little by little; EMI has two CDs out now that have two of Nelson's great albums on each that I highly reccomend) this is a wonderful bit of Nelson Riddle in a lush, easy setting, taking on some contemporary tunes of the era. His gentle strings and perfect accents with brass (Riddle started in the music business as something of a trombone player in the 40's) make these songs really work. The overall theme is easy listening, but Nelson always finds a way to swing even if its covertly. The title track, THE WONDER OF YOU, used as an overblown flag waver by post-60's Elvis in his shows, gets a royal treatment here as it glides on strings over trademark Riddle trombone work. The poignant MY ELUSIVE DREAMS, builds to dramatic heights, accented by a vocal choir. A particularly nice reading of the Andy Williams hit, IN THE ARMS OF LOVE finds Riddle and orchestra sounding like Bert Kaempfert's band, but it's still recognizably Riddle. My favorite track is the French-based STAY. Nelson's wistful chart is a real heartstring tugger, and the song seems to have been written for someone like Riddle to arrange, with its sweeping chorus and climactic ending. Not easy to find, but this CD is definitely worth the search for Riddle fans, or a nice way to introduce someone to what Nelson could do when he wasn't backing some of the biggest names in the business. Hope to find more of his stuff out there soon!"