Sing a Song with Riddle

Sing a Song with Riddle
Studio album by Nelson Riddle
Released	1959
Recorded	1959
Genre	Traditional pop
Length	29:18 [1]
Label	Capitol TAO-1259
Nelson Riddle chronology
The Joy of Living (album) (1959) Sing a Song with Riddle (1959) Music of the Motion Picture "Can Can" (1960)

Sing a Song with Riddle is the seventh studio album by American composer and arranger Nelson Riddle, released in 1959. ^{[1] [2]} The album consists of arrangements for a vocalist but without a singer; a lyric sheet was supplied with the original album package for buyers to sing along with at home. ^[3] The inspiration for the release was a series of albums for amateur instrumentalists called Music Minus One on Command Records. ^[4]

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

Reviewing the album for AllMusic, William Ruhlmann writes:

As mere listening experiences, many of these tracks are not actually recognized as the songs listed on the LP jacket, but no doubt they would be if Sinatra was singing over them. Sometimes, Riddle uses a bit of the melody, but much of the time, this remains background music that needs to be completed by someone else. It's a clever gimmick and a bit of joke, and it shows how far Riddle's treatments can stray from the lead sheets on occasion.

Ruhlmann concludes that "unless the buyer is standing by with the sheet music ready and a good voice to add on top", the album is an "incomplete experience". ^[1]

Track listing

Side 1

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Little White Lies"	(Walter Donaldson)	1:47
2.	"Darn That Dream"	(Eddie DeLange, Jimmy Van Heusen)	2:54
3.	"Near You"	(Craig Francis, Kermit Goell)	2:49
4.	"Day In, Day Out"	(Rube Bloom, Johnny Mercer)	2:05
5.	"The More I See You"	(Mack Gordon, Harry Warren)	2:51
6.	"My Baby Just Cares for Me"	(Donaldson, Gus Kahn)	2:05

Side 2

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Everywhere You Go"	(Mark Fisher, Joe Goodwin, Larry Shay)	2:07
2.	"I Had the Craziest Dream"	(Gordon, Harry Warren)	2:51
3.	"Fools Rush In"	(Bloom, Mercer)	3:03
4.	"You Make Me Feel So Young"	(Gordon, Josef Myrow)	2:08
5.	"It's a Sin to Tell a Lie"	(Billy Mayhew)	2:51
6.	"You're Driving Me Crazy! (What Did I Do?)"	(Donaldson)	1:47

Personnel

• Nelson Riddle – arranger

References

1. Sing a Song with Riddle at AllMusic
2. "Nelson Riddle - Sing a Song with Riddle at Discogs". discogs.com. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
3. Colin Larkin (27 May 2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. p. 23. ISBN   978-0-85712-595-8.
4. Peter J. Levinson (2005). September in the Rain: The Life of Nelson Riddle. Taylor Trade Publications. p. 188. ISBN   978-1-58979-163-3.

External links

• Sing a Song with Riddle at Discogs (list of releases)