Harold Sings Arlen (With Friend)
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| Harold Sings Arlen (With Friend) | |
|---|---|
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| Studio album by | |
| Released | 1966 |
| Recorded | 1966 |
| Genre | Traditional pop, jazz |
| Label | Columbia OL 2920[1] |
| Producer | Thomas Z. Shepard |
Harold Sings Arlen (With Friend) is a 1966 vocal album by the composer Harold Arlen with arrangements by Peter Matz. Arlen is accompanied on two songs by Barbra Streisand.[2] This was Arlen's only album on which he performed as a singer.[3]
Chris Colfer and Lea Michele performed Matz's arrangement of "Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead" from the album in a 2011 episode of Glee.[4]
Reception[edit]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [2] |
The initial Billboard review from April 16, 1966 said that Arlen "...has a way with a vocal that's quite winning" and that "his manner is soft but persuasive". The album was one of Billboards 'Pop Special Merit Picks' for the week.[5]
William Ruhlmann reviewed the album for Allmusic and wrote that Arlen "proves he can carry a tune" on the album but "Arlen's modest singing voice doesn't quite justify the treatment" of a fully orchestrated album though he sings the lyrics with "feeling and understanding".[2]
Streisand's vocal on "House of Flowers" has been particularly praised; Arlen's biographer Edward Jablonski described it as a "classic" and Billboard wrote that it was a "knockout".[3]
Track listing[edit]
- All songs composed by Harold Arlen, with lyricists indicated
- "Blues in the Night" (Johnny Mercer) – 3:55
- "Little Biscuit" (E.Y. "Yip" Harburg) – 3:54
- "Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead" (Harburg) – 1:54
- "A Sleepin' Bee" (Truman Capote) – 3:39
- "In the Shade of the New Apple Tree" (Harburg) – 4:02
- "Hit the Road to Dreamland" (Mercer) – 2:35
- "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive" (Mercer) – 2:37
- "My Shining Hour" (Mercer) – 3:21
- "Today I Love Everybody" (Dorothy Fields) – 2:08
- "House of Flowers" (Capote) – 2:43
- "For Every Man There's a Woman" (Leo Robin) – 2:25
- "That's a Fine Kind O' Freedom" (Martin Charnin) – 2:39
Personnel[edit]
- Harold Arlen – vocals
- Barbra Streisand – vocals on "Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead" and "House of Flowers"
- Peter Matz – arranger
- Thomas Z. Shepard – production
References[edit]
- ^ "Harold Arlen – Harold Sings Arlen (With Friend) (Vinyl, LP)". discogs.com. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
- ^ a b c Harold Sings Arlen (With Friend) at AllMusic
- ^ a b Edward Jablonski (September 1998). Harold Arlen: Rhythm, Rainbows, and Blues. University Press of New England. ISBN 978-1-55553-366-3.
- ^ Danielle Birkett; Dominic McHugh (4 December 2018). The Wizard of Oz: Musical Adaptations from Baum to MGM and Beyond. Oxford University Press. p. 226. ISBN 978-0-19-066317-9.
- ^ "Special Merit Picks: Pop Special Merit". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 16 April 1966. p. 42.