Carmen McRae (1955 album)

Carmen McRae
Studio album by Carmen McRae
Released	1955 (1955)
Recorded	October–December 1954 [1]
Genre	Jazz
Length	36:11
Label	Bethlehem
Carmen McRae chronology
A Foggy Day with Carmen McRae (1953) Carmen McRae (1955) By Special Request (1955)

Carmen McRae is a 1955 album by Jazz singer Carmen McRae. It was McRae's second album and was released on the Bethlehem label exclusively as 10" monoaural LP. ^{[2] [3]} The album was reissued on LP in 1976 as The Finest of Carmen McRae: You'd Be So Easy to Love, with an additional track, "Too Much in Love to Care". ^[4] In 1994 Betlehem had digitally remastered the recordings and released a CD with six additional tracks, alternate takes of songs from the original sessions. ^{[5] [6]}

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[6]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[7]
The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide	[8]

Scott Yanow reviewed the album for Allmusic and wrote of it"Overall the music is pleasing but not too memorable and one wishes there were more variety". ^[6]

Track listing

1. "You'd Be So Easy to Love" (Cole Porter) – 2:26
2. "If I'm Lucky (I'll Be the One)" (Chuck Darwin, Paulette Girard) – 3:17
3. "Old Devil Moon" (E.Y. "Yip" Harburg, Burton Lane) – 2:40
4. "Tip Toe Gently" (Mat Mathews, Girard) – 2:40
5. "You Made Me Care" (Darwin, Girard) – 2:09
6. "Last Time for Love" (Carmen McRae) – 3:05
7. "Misery" (Tony Scott) – 3:53
8. "Too Much in Love to Care" (Carroll Coates, James J. Kriegsmann) – 2:33

Alternate takes released on 1994 CD reissue

9. "Too Much in Love to Care" (Alternate take) – 3:19
10. "Old Devil Moon" (Alternate stereo) – 2:37
11. "You Made Me Care" (Alternate stereo) – 2:09
12. "Too Much in Love to Care" (Alternate stereo) – 2:20
13. "Last Time for Love" (Alternate stereo) – 3:03

Personnel

• Carmen McRae – vocals

Tracks 1–4

• Herbie Mann – flute, tenor saxophone
• Mat Mathews – accordion
• Mundell Lowe – guitar
• Wendell Marshall – double bass
• Kenny Clarke – drums

Tracks 5–8

• Tony Scott – clarinet, piano (on "Misery")
• Dick Katz – piano
• Skip Fawcett – double bass
• Osie Johnson – drums

References

1. "Carmen McRae — The 1940's & 50's". Jazz Discography. August 22, 2006. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
2. Carmen McRae 10" at Discogs
3. Bethlehem Records discography accessed September 26, 2015
4. The Finest of Carmen McRae: You'd Be So Easy to Love LP at Discogs
5. Carmen McRae CD at Discogs
6. Carmen McRae at AllMusic
7. Larkin, Colin (2011). "McRae, Carmen". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. ISBN   978-1561592371.
8. Swenson, John, ed. (1999). "Carmen McRae". The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide. Random House. pp. 470–471. ISBN   9780679768739.