Published on Aug 27, 1999
It’s a sad irony that
Mel Tormé At The Movies, a compilation disc featuring
some of his contributions to films (as well as some personal
favorites), came out around the time of Tormé’s death
earlier this year. By no means was this disc released to capitalize
on his death; rather, this compilation was planned far in
advance… and it shows.
This 20-song collection shows the progression of Tormé
from a Sinatra-like crooner to the glory days where he became one
of jazz’s best-known vocalists due to his free-flowing scat style.
But it also shows Tormé at the end of his career, when his
work almost became a parody of what he once did – and that’s a sad
legacy to leave behind.
The first part of this disc tends to drag a bit, as songs from
classic movie musicals of the ’40s are featured (
Good News from 1947 in particular, which has five songs
featured). At this time, you could hear how Tormé was being
sculpted as the next Sinatra, something which just didn’t seem to
sit right on my ears. At times, it sounded like Tormé was
forcing himself to perform numbers like “Be A Ladies’ Man” and
“Lucky In Love”. It just didn’t always seem like his heart was in
the material – and after hearing his jazz numbers later on the
disc, who could blame him?
One other thing I found difficult about these tracks was that
you often had about three vocalists working on the same number at
the same time. “Mrs. Whippen (Outtake)” and “Be A Ladies’ Man” are
two examples of tracks that I thought sounded very cluttered. Of
course, if you’re an afficionado of these types of movies, your
opinion of these songs will undoubtedly be skewed in the opposite
direction.
By the time Tormé moved into the ’60s, his distinctive
style had been established, and he uses it with great relish.
Tracks like “Love Is Just Around The Corner (Live)”, “These
Desparate Hours” and”The Lady’s In Love With You” all have an air
of happiness about them, and are genuinely fun to listen to. The
only exception to this is “All That Jazz,” another number which I
thought sounded cluttered with the additional vocals.
For all the star power and draw that Tormé had, it seems
sad to see that the last two tracks on
Mel Tormé At The Movies fail to utilize his
distinctive gift with any honor. I don’t know how Warner Brothers
got him to do a two-minute croon of “Monsters Lead Such Interesting
Lives,” and after listening to it, I wish he had turned down the
gig. Simply put, it’s a waste of his talent. Likewise, hearing
“Live Alone And Like It” from
Dick Tracy makes me wonder why Tormé’s talents were
being underutilized for numbers like this when he still had
everything it took to belt out the scat.
Mel Tormé At The Movies is definitely geared towards
the person who spends their free time re-living what some consider
to be the golden age of the cinema. Chances are the younger kids
(especially those who only knew Tormé from his guest
appearances on Night Court) won’t be willing to take a chance with
this disc. Too bad; there are many moments which could show them
just how interesting and how much fun the world of jazz could be.
At the best, this is a fitting tribute to one of America’s premier
vocalists. At worst, it highlights both the positive and negative
of a career that deserves to be remembered better.