Search - Sam Butera :: Ultra-Lounge: Wild, Cool & Swingin' - Artist Series Vol 6

Like Butera but so-so on this particular compilation...

Eddie Landsberg | Tokyo, Japan | 09/17/2000

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Oh come on, Sammy had more swinging tracks that this ! ! ! I like Sammy Butera a lot... I mean, it was his unit that made PRIMA swing and jump, and I really like a lot of the Novelty tracks he did with Prima and the way he could sing R & B, blow and really get the sound (in an era when white musicians sounded white, and black musicians sounded black, and that was it.) PRIMA and BUTERA were the WILDEST. The thing is, this particular compilation didn't do a lot for me, even though there are a few good tracks (actually a GREAT one...All Night Long - - great vocals, some wailing tenor ! ! !) however I just can't feel that momentum throughough the compilation. I think if you're in the mood for that type of sound, you'd do much better off getting the stuff he did with Prima (actually Prima was standing over his shoulders on All Night Long), or an Earl Bostic compilation (the influence is aparent) or even a compilation of classic New Orleans R & B, or some classic Ray Charles.I'm not sure... but the arrangements just seem to lack the WILD feel he had on stuff like "There Will Be No Next Time" beyond maybe "Dig That Crazy Sound" - - some great blowing, but rarely is his ferver met with is sidemen... this music might work at at a Big Band Dance at Lodge, but on my own CD player, it didn't get me jumping.THUMBS up to Butera, but unless you have all his other stuff, I wouldn't grab this as a first choice."

Mamma Mia!

Ralph Quirino | Keswick, Ontario Canada | 09/07/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Look no further than Sam Butera to hear how Louis Prima put the cool in songs like "Jump Jive An'Wail" and "Just A Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody". Butera's solo stuff is just as much fun thanks to great, wild saxophones, thumping drums and fun-time lyrics. This set covers that side of him and the slow, romantic, candle-light & wine ballads as well. If you've got Louis Prima's Capitol Collectors Series set, then you'll know how important Butera was. It's great to see this anthology: it serves up great music that's been absent from store shelves for decades! Enjoy!"