Sammy Davis Jr. - Sammys Swinginest Sides '2009

Tracks list

Whatever the word swinginest means, MicroWerks here licenses 14 tracks by Sammy
Davis, Jr. originally released on singles by Decca Records between 1954 and
1958, including all of his singles chart entries except Ill Know (which only got
to number 87). Davis found early success as a record-seller on Decca, reaching
the Top Ten with his version of Somethings Gotta Give and the Top 20 with Hey
There, Love Me or Leave Me, and That Old Black Magic. His performances are full
of his extroverted stage personality and even some of his act, as he spends his
cover of Because of You imitating other singers, including Nat King Cole, Tony
Bennett, and Frankie Laine, then presents his impressions of a raft of movie
stars -- James Cagney, James Stewart, Cary Grant, Lionel Barrymore, and Edward
G. Robinson -- before declaring, This is me, and singing straight for a chorus,
only to morph into Jerry Lewis before the end. Davis also takes a shot at
becoming a rhythm & blues singer, making like the Coasters in Get Out of the Car
(Uh, Oh!) and channeling Ray Charles in Hallelujah, I Love Her So. But he is
most comfortable doing show tunes and standards, and he has to camp up the
material at least a little. Although she isnt mentioned in the album credits,
Carmen McRae joins the fun on a duet of A Fine Romance that rewrites the lyrics
slightly to more congenial effect.

Tracks:

01. Hey There (2:51)
02. Because of You (5:31)
03. Glad to Be Unhappy (3:07)
04. Birth of the Blues (3:20)
05. Love Me or Leave Me (3:00)
06. Somethings Gotta Give (2:08)
07. That Old Black Magic (3:22)
08. A Fine Romance (2:55)
09. Too Close for Comfort (2:23)
10. Get Out of the Car (Uh, Oh!) (2:55)
11. Youre Sensational (3:00)
12. Earthbound (3:13)
13. New Yorks My Home (3:15)
14. Hallelujah, I Love Her So (2:39)

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