Jackie Gleason - Lover's Rhapsody

Styles: Easy Listening
Year: 1953
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 24:57
Size: 57,6 MB
Art: Front

(3:20)  1. Desire
(3:22)  2. Flirtation
(3:16)  3. Temptation
(3:13)  4. Enchantment
(2:54)  5. When Your Lover Has Gone
(2:36)  6. Tenderly
(3:06)  7. I'm Thru With Love
(3:07)  8. Dark Is The Night (C'est Fini)

Not only was he one of the finest comedians America has ever produced, Jackie Gleason applied his prodigious talents to music as well. With a strong jazz roots background (leaning to mesmerized idolatry when dealing with good trumpet players), Gleason developed a chart-topping series of mood music albums in the '50s, citing his reason for their existence: "Every time I ever watched Clark Gable do a love scene in the movies, I'd hear this really pretty music, real romantic, come up behind him and help set the mood. So I'm figuring that if Clark Gable needs that kinda help, then a guy in Canarsie has gotta be dyin' for somethin' like this!" Gleason began making films in the '40s, but he rose to stardom in the early '50s, thanks to the late '40s/early '50s television series The Life of Riley and Cavalcade of Stars. His television stardom led to a contract with Capitol Records, who released his first album, Music for Lovers Only, in 1953. As a musician, Gleason favored lush, dramatically orchestrated instrumentals, patterned after the mood music of Paul Weston. Gleason wasn't a trained musician, but he was responsible for the musical direction of his records; when he did write a piece, he would dictate to someone who could read and write music.  Music for Lovers Only was a surprise hit, selling over 500,000 copies. Every subsequent Gleason album was a major hit, reaching the Top Ten and selling a large number of copies. Gleason continued to release albums into the '60s, but his popularity dipped dramatically after 1957. After that year, he no longer was able to make it into the Top 15, even though his records continued to appear in the lower regions of the charts. Gleason's records have continued to be popular cult items and they have come to be regarded as definitive mood music albums. ~ Cub Koda https://www.allmusic.com/artist/jackie-gleason-mn0000781399/biography

Lover's Rhapsody

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The Jackie Gleason Trio - The Jackie Gleason Velvet Brass Collection: How Sweet It Is!

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 36:31
Size: 83.6 MB
Styles: Easy Listening
Year: 1957/1996
Art: Front

[2:44] 1. You're Driving Me Crazy
[2:46] 2. Skyliner
[2:03] 3. But Not For Me
[2:09] 4. The Man I Love
[2:58] 5. Cherokee
[2:47] 6. Me And My Shadow
[1:56] 7. Take The A Train
[2:26] 8. By The Beautiful Sea
[2:11] 9. Am I Blue
[2:05] 10. What's New
[2:07] 11. Girl Of My Dreams
[1:54] 12. My Buddy
[1:49] 13. I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me
[2:05] 14. September Song
[2:31] 15. Out Of Nowhere
[1:52] 16. Chinatown, My Chinatown

How Sweet It Is! The Jackie Gleason Velvet Brass Collection is a nice 20-track compilation of Gleason's easy listening brass records, containing lush, appealing versions of such standards as "You're Driving Me Crazy," "But Not for Me," "The Man I Love," "Me and My Shadow," "Take the 'A' Train," "Am I Blue," "What's New?," "Girl of My Dreams," "September Song" and "My Buddy." There's also a handful of fine original compositions, such as "Melancholy Serenade" and "To a Sleeping Beauty," that may not be as strong as the standards, but they're lovely songs nonetheless, and they add value to what already is the strongest compilation of Gleason's lush brass recordings yet assembled. ~Stephen Thomas Erlewine

The Jackie Gleason Velvet Brass Collection: How Sweet It Is! mc
The Jackie Gleason Velvet Brass Collection: How Sweet It Is! zippy

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Jackie Gleason - Champagne, Candlelight And Kisses

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 33:39
Size: 77.0 MB
Styles: Easy Listening
Year: 1963/2012
Art: Front

[3:43] 1. Theme From Bus Stop
[2:13] 2. Undecided
[2:49] 3. I Double Dare You
[3:17] 4. A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody
[1:46] 5. A Little Love, A Little Kiss
[2:08] 6. All By Myself
[2:30] 7. Keepin' Out Of Mischief Now
[3:31] 8. It's Been A Long, Long Time
[2:31] 9. That's A Plenty
[3:53] 10. Everything Happens To Me
[2:37] 11. Just You, Just Me
[2:34] 12. Fascinating Rhythm

Not only was he one of the finest comedians America has ever produced, Jackie Gleason applied his prodigious talents to music as well. With a strong jazz roots background (leaning to mesmerized idolatry when dealing with good trumpet players), Gleason developed a chart-topping series of mood music albums in the '50s, citing his reason for their existence: "Every time I ever watched Clark Gable do a love scene in the movies, I'd hear this really pretty music, real romantic, come up behind him and help set the mood. So I'm figuring that if Clark Gable needs that kinda help, then a guy in Canarsie has gotta be dyin' for somethin' like this!" Gleason began making films in the '40s, but he rose to stardom in the early '50s, thanks to the late '40s/early '50s television series The Life of Riley and Cavalcade of Stars. His television stardom led to a contract with Capitol Records, who released his first album, Music for Lovers Only, in 1953. As a musician, Gleason favored lush, dramatically orchestrated instrumentals, patterned after the mood music of Paul Weston. Gleason wasn't a trained musician, but he was responsible for the musical direction of his records; when he did write a piece, he would dictate to someone who could read and write music.

Music for Lovers Only was a surprise hit, selling over 500,000 copies. Every subsequent Gleason album was a major hit, reaching the Top Ten and selling a large number of copies. Gleason continued to release albums into the '60s, but his popularity dipped dramatically after 1957. After that year, he no longer was able to make it into the Top 15, even though his records continued to appear in the lower regions of the charts. Gleason's records have continued to be popular cult items and they have come to be regarded as definitive mood music albums. ~ Cub Koda & Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Champagne, Candlelight And Kisses mc
Champagne, Candlelight And Kisses zippy

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Jackie Gleason - Lonesome Echo

Styles: Easy Listening
Year: 1955
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 58:50
Size: 137,1 MB
Art: Front

(3:02)  1. I'm Always Chasing Rainbows
(2:53)  2. Dancing On The Ceiling
(3:25)  3. Darling, Je Vous Aime Beaucoup
(3:45)  4. Speak Low
(2:38)  5. Someday I'll Find You
(2:42)  6. Remember
(3:15)  7. Come Rain Or Come Shine
(3:21)  8. A Garden In The Rain
(3:18)  9. Mad About The Boy
(3:15) 10. The Thrill Is Gone
(3:05) 11. I Wished On The Moon
(3:07) 12. I Still Get A Thrill
(3:20) 13. Deep Purple
(2:58) 14. There Must Be A Way
(3:00) 15. I Don't Know Why (I Just Do)
(3:34) 16. How Deep Is The Ocean?
(2:59) 17. After My Laughter Came Tears
(2:16) 18. Can This Be Love?
(2:48) 19. Down Among The Sheltering Palms

Gleason's 1955 chart-topper Lonesome Echo features more lush interpretations of standards such as "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows," "The Thrill Is Gone," "Deep Purple," and "How Deep Is the Ocean." The album also features striking cover artwork by surrealist master Salvador Dali; Collector's Choice's 2000 reissue also includes three bonus tracks, "After My Laughter Came Tears," "Can This Be Love," and "Down Among the Sheltering Palms." ~ Heather Phares http://www.allmusic.com/album/lonesome-echo-mw0000116396

Lonesome Echo

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Jackie Gleason - Music, Martinis And Memories

Styles: Jazz
Year: 2001
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:59
Size: 112,8 MB
Art: Front

(3:14)  1. Once In a While
(3:24)  2. I Can't Get Started
(3:25)  3. I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)
(2:30)  4. My Ideal
(3:02)  5. Yesterdays
(3:15)  6. I Love You (Je T'Aime!)
(3:15)  7. Unforgettable
(2:10)  8. How High the Moon
(3:02)  9. I'll Be Seeing You
(3:28) 10. Shangri-La
(3:11) 11. I Remember You
(2:51) 12. It Could Happen To You
(2:58) 13. Somebody Loves Me
(3:08) 14. Time On My Hands
(3:37) 15. The Nearness of You
(2:21) 16. The Song Is Ended

The arrangements on Music, Martinis, and Memories are really very simple: massed violins play the melody while Bobby Hackett's trumpet flits around the edges, or sometimes Hackett takes the lead over a bed of swelling strings. The music sets a romantic mood, but compared to the arrangements of Percy Faith or Les Baxter, Gleason is plain vanilla. Many of the orchestral pop leaders made a point of boiling down their music to its essentials without fancy flourishes, and their success proves the mainstream appeal of such an approach. 

But if you're looking for depth, you won't find much of it here. Music, Martinis, and Memories is fine dinner music, and Hackett's technique is superb, but the album fails to hold the listener's attention when brought to the foreground. ~ Greg Adams  http://www.allmusic.com/album/music-martinis-and-memories-mw0000193416

Music, Martinis And Memories

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