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By Special Request (Carmen McRae album)

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By Special Request
Studio album by
Carmen McRae
Released1956 (1956)
RecordedJune 14 and 16, 1956[1]
GenreVocal jazz
Length33:05
LabelDecca
Carmen McRae chronology
Carmen McRae
(1955) 		By Special Request
(1956) 		Torchy!
(1956)

By Special Request is a studio album by American jazz singer Carmen McRae, released in 1956 and became her first release on Decca Records. In some songs, McRae is joined by the Matt Matthews quintet, while others feature pianist Dick Katz, guitarist Mundell Lowe, bassist Wendell Marshall and her ex-husband Kenny Clarke on drums. MacRae plays the piano in "Supper Time".

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[3]

Scott Yanow of AllMusic wrote in his review that "although MacRae's voice is higher than it would be and her style is not as recognizable, she was already a top-notch singer at this early stage."[2] Music critic Gary Giddins also noted that when he first heard the album in the 1970s, he could hardly believe it: "a whole other Carmen, from the supper-club era, singing in a lilting, oddly sweet, even buttery voice."[4]

Track listing

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  1. "Give Me the Simple Life" (Rube Bloom, Harry Ruby) – 2:20
  2. "Sometimes I'm Happy" (Irving Caesar, Vincent Youmans) – 2:30
  3. "Love Is Here to Stay" (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin) – 2:38
  4. "Something to Live For" (Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn) – 3:11
  5. "I Can't Get Started" (Vernon Duke, Ira Gershwin) – 3:16
  6. "Yardbird Suite" (Charlie Parker) – 1:56
  7. "Just One of Those Things" (Cole Porter) – 2:38
  8. "This Will Make You Laugh" (Irene Higginbotham) – 3:21
  9. "My One and Only Love" (Robert Mellin, Guy Wood) – 3:08
  10. "I'll Remember April" (Gene de Paul, Patricia Johnston, Don Raye) – 2:36
  11. "Supper Time" (Irving Berlin) – 2:57
  12. "You Took Advantage of Me" (Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers) – 2:34

Personnel

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References

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  1. ^ "Carmen McRae – The 1940's & 50's". Jazz Discography. August 22, 2006. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  2. ^ a b Yanow, Scott. "By Special Request Review". AllMusic. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  3. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). "McRae, Carmen". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-1561592371.
  4. ^ Giddins, Gary (2004). "31. Young and Verbal (Carmen McRae)". Weather Bird: Jazz at the Dawn of Its Second Century. Oxford University Press. p. 123. ISBN 9780195348163.
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