Search - Nelson Riddle :: Write on White and Other Hits of 64

NELSON RIDDLE ON REPRISE

Giovanni Marra | Lockport, IL | 08/17/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Recorded during a peak (there weren't many lows) of the world's greatest arranger/conductor's career, this album "covers" songs of the day in the typical stylish fashion of Nelson Riddle and his orchestra. While utilizing his keen sense of the "now" sound, he interweaves it with the unmistakeable stamp of his own sound, which, at the risk of sounding redundant, was usually the "now" sound anyway! Hits of 1964 abound here, including the runaway pop tune WHITE ON WHITE, we can only assume usual suspects of Nelson's orchestra (limited liner notes were on the original, and this label releases these things with the original liner notes) Plas Johnson did the fine saxophone work on this, with Harry "Sweets" Edison giving an assist here (as on this entire album). Riddle's orchestra makes a beautiful standout of BEAUTIFUL OBSESSION, a sweeping melody handled in a dreamy tempo with room for strings and brass alike. There are some real swingin' moments here, for instance, HELLO, DOLLY!, which is done straight through in Dixieland style, and the Al Hirt immortalized instrumental JAVA is done tastefully as well without borrowing (read:stealing) from the original. (Most all other arrangers at some point or another "borrowed" from Riddle though, and have admitted to doing so) Riddle's jots at the Beatles' I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND and the contemporary KISSIN' COUSINS are not without some interest, and one gets the feeling that Riddle was almost mocking the Fab Four Sound with his use of many instruments but uses a majestic tag on the end to "right the ship" in his usual classy way.The urgency of CHARADE captures the emotion of the successful movie it came from that year, and I WISH YOU LOVE, a song for which Riddle wrote the definitive arrangement for Keely Smith some years earlier, is also a grand arrangement here. Riddle tips his hat to fellow Reprise star Sammy Davis Jr. with a reading of Sammy's smash hit THE SHELTER OF YOUR ARMS rather plainly, but it's as good as any of the tunes here, and they're all wonderful. Collectables has already released two of Riddle's other albums from his Reprise tenure on one CD (soundtrack for "Paris When It Sizzles" and "Great Music, Great Films, Great Sounds") and plans to release his tribute to the immortal Nat "King" Cole (aptly titled "NAT") in October. It's great to see someone getting Riddle's Reprise label works out on the market for us to enjoy. There weren't many solo albums he did so any of them you can lay your hands on, do yourself a favor and grab them as they come out and enjoy!"