7 Classic Albums

While it is good to have these albums back in circulation, the sound is not great. Was she recorded two inches from the microphone? If so, why? Sound is sometimes blurry and never great. She has such a unique style but it is poorly served by this current album. . If in fact she insisted on being close mic'd then there wasn't much they could do. It she wasn't, then this is a too faithful reproduction. I do not remember the original LPs being this bad. Has my memory failed? Were the engineers at Mercury different than those at EmArcy? Same company so they should have been just as careful. Accompaniments are great, however. These recordings are unique (I thin) because the musical accompaniment is just as important as the vocal lines. Too bad that such a great artist is treated to such poor sound. Is Real Gone Jazz an offshoot of UMG? There is no indication on the box or booklet of any parent company. I have other recordings by this label and they are fairly decent although not great, either. It appears as though they used LPs as the masters for this album instead of the original master tapes.

I was curious about Ms Merrill because my aunt Ñico's record collection had quite a few excellent recordings that I noticed were on the Mercury label especially with the likes of Dinah Washington and Sarah Vaughan. When the stores were deleting their vinyl collection and selling their record albums at $3 and $4 a pop I spied Helen Merrill's first disc at the now defunct Tower Records on East 4th Street in the East Village and snatched it up. When I played it at home I was surprised at how sweetly understated Ms Merrill's delivery was and how the late, great Clifford Brown seemed to "sing" a duet or clever response to Helen's phrasing. She is in a category of her own and had enough props to be up there with the best of the best and in a private recording of a party held by the equally iconic Leonard Feather Ms Merrill holds her own singing a duet with Billie Holiday ("You Go To My Head") with Mr Feather playing the piano.This is a great collection of a great, highly underrated artist.

The value for the low price is quite exceptional but the recording quality could be richer. I have heard better remastering on older recordings. I first heard Helen Merrill as a vocalist on some of my other CDs in the real gone series and was mesmerized. These albums highlighting her performances are do not show as much feeling and expression as on some those other recordings that feature her as a backup performer. I particularly did not like the last disc which features an annoying introduction or commentary on each song in expressionless Italian. These spoken words destroy the mood of the songs especially since I enjoy relaxing to jazz vocals and found the frequent voice introductions distracting from the smooth sound of Helen Merrill. The musicians throughout these CDs are quite good and competent. If you can find this disc inexpensively on Amazon or Ebay it is a worthy addition to any jazz collection and a great way to sample this underplayed jazz vocalist.

I would describe it as irratating muffled scratchiness, not a pleasant sound. Not worth listening to.

very underappreciated singer,really good collection,she lets the sidemen play somewhat like anita oday

Excellent condition

A strikingly beautiful voice and a deep emotional connection to the touching lyrics rates Helen Merrill as one of the most outstanding vocalists of any era.

Five stars！A very good collection.

Helen Merrill (b.1930), started her recording career in 1952 and continued into the twenty first century. She lived and recorded for some years in Italy and Japan before returning for good to the U.S.This compilation is from her early years and feature the following albums:Helen Merrill 1954With Strings 1955Dream of You 1957Merrill At Midnight 1957The Nearness of You 1958I`ve Got`a Date With the Blues 1958Parole E Musica 1960The first album, "Helen Merrill" with Clifford Brown on trumpet, has become a classic, earning a spot on The Penguin Jazz Guides "1001 Best Albums."The last album, "Parole E Musica" recorded in Italy, is unique in that prior to each of the eleven standards, a male voice recites the lyrics in Italian!While Real Gone does not provide liner notes, (who reads them anyway?) the names of all accompanying musicians and arrangers are given. The sound is excellent for this package of exemplary jazz singing.

vhttps://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51+vVyh7WtL._SR120,120_.VERY good supert classic jazz album off 7 disk cd by HELEN MERRILL AND YES I DO RECOMAND THAT COLECTION OFF JAZZ AND IT IS VERY CHIP FOR THE QUALATY OF THAT COLLECTION

à écouter pour savourer les débuts d'Helen Merril accompagnée par Clifford Brown sur des arrangements de Quincy Jones, ou accompagnée par Gil Evans et ses arrangements merveilleux.

DOMMAGE DANS LE LOT IL Y DES ALBUMS AVEC UNE PRISE DE SON DEPLORABLE

Excellent .

Another wonderful singer and collection!

Aweseome collection of songs by highly accomplished jazz singer

An excellent example of one of the best jazz singers of the 1950's

本当に最高のCDです　甘い歌声は心地よく和みます

Merci à France Musique de m'avoir fait découvrir la voix sublime d'Helen Merrill il y a deux semaines seulement. Avoir vécu aussi longtemps dans l'ignorance, quelle infamie ! Dès la fin de la première heure de la quinzaine qui lui a été consacrée, j'ai passé commande. L'album de 4CD réunissant ses premiers disques est arrivé ce matin. La meilleure façon possible de terminer l'année.Quel bonheur !

BGM用として購入しましたが、魅力的な歌唱・楽曲については思わず手を止め聞き入ってしまいます。音質についてはもっと良いものもあると思います。

ニューヨークのため息と言われたヘレンの魅力が存分に味わえます。

やはりこのハスキーな声には魅了されます。あえて余りに有名な曲は聞き飽きてしまったのか飛ばして聞いています。ただ録音レベルが違う盤があり　このシリーズの欠点ですね！値段からしてしかたないとは思いますが商品として出すのであれば改善して欲しいものです。

with Clifford Brownしか聴いたことがなかったが、その他のLPもどれもが高水準、改めて才能の深さを再認識しました

良い曲がたくさんで嬉しいです。ありがとうございました。値段も良いです。