Beauty and the Beat! [Bonus Tracks]

• Artist: Peggy Lee/George Shearing
• Rating:
• Release Date: May 20, 2003
• Genre: Vocal Music

Review

Originally recorded in 1959 upon its first release, Beauty and the Beat! was billed as a live recording from a Miami convention of disc jockeys. Though Peggy Lee and George Shearing did in fact perform there (and attempts were made to record them for later release), the songs heard on the subsequent LP were recorded in the studio and overdubbed with rather obvious canned applause, announcements, and even post-production echo. After one mostly faithful reissue on CD (with bonus tracks), the record reappeared in 2003 with all the offending chatter removed and a top-notch, live-in-the-studio session revealed. Lee and Shearing, who had never recorded before, conceived a set of completely new arrangements that played to their strengths: stately blues and effervescent swing. The best of the former comes on a pair of locale-referencing quasi-blues, "I Lost My Sugar in Salt Lake City" and "You Came a Long Way From St. Louis," both of which Lee and Shearing are able to transform into languorous, respectable torch songs. The usually downcast "Blue Prelude" is actually taken at a laissez faire tempo that Lee treats well, and the original set ends with "Get Out of Town" and "Satin Doll," a pair of bemused, affectionate performances that perfectly suit the pair. Lee and Shearing's only collaboration on record -- though both would occasionally perform together thereafter -- is a supremely chilled session of late-night blues from two masters of the form. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Do I Love You?	Cole Porter	Peggy Lee, George Shearing	(3:03)
I Lost My Sugar in Salt Lake City	John Lange, Leon René	Peggy Lee, George Shearing	(2:27)
If Dreams Come True	Benny Goodman, Irving Mills, Edgar Sampson	Peggy Lee, George Shearing	(2:19)
All Too Soon	Duke Ellington, Carl Sigman	Peggy Lee, George Shearing	(2:34)
Mambo in Miami	Armando Peraza	George Shearing	(1:42)
Isn't It Romantic?	Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart	George Shearing	(2:54)
Blue Prelude	Gordon Jenkins, Joe Bishop	Peggy Lee, George Shearing	(2:05)
You Came a Long Way From St. Louis	John Benson Brooks, Bob Russell	Peggy Lee, George Shearing	(2:51)
Always True to You in My Fashion	Cole Porter	Peggy Lee, George Shearing	(1:57)
There'll Be Another Spring	Peggy Lee, Hubie Wheeler	Peggy Lee, George Shearing	(2:24)
Get Out of Town	Cole Porter	Peggy Lee, George Shearing	(1:57)
Satin Doll	Duke Ellington, Johnny Mercer, Billy Strayhorn	George Shearing	(2:47)
Nobody's Heart [*]	Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart	Peggy Lee, George Shearing	(2:31)
Don't Ever Leave Me [*]	Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein II	Peggy Lee, George Shearing	(2:58)

Credits

Peggy Lee (Vocals), George Shearing (Piano), Armando Peraza (Percussion), Armando Peraza (Conga), Ray Alexander (Vibraphone), Michael Cuscuna (Reissue Producer), Will Friedwald (Liner Notes), Ron McMaster (Remixing), Ron McMaster (Mastering), Ray Mosca (Drums), Carl Pruitt (Bass), Eric Kohler (Reissue Design), Dave Cavanaugh (Producer)