Made up of two late-'60s LPs, this 22-track disc is a wonderful oddity in Ella Fitzgerald's career. Recorded in 1969, live in London's Olympic Sound Studio with pop wunderkind Richard Perry producing, ELLA was Fitzgerald's attempt at a rock & roll album. (Remember, jazz-rock fusion was very big at the time.) The results are more Blood Sweat and Tears than BITCHES BREW, but that's no bad thing. The songs are mostly quite strong, and unlike most jazz singers who tackle rock, Fitzgerald never condescends to her material. As a result, her versions of Motown standards "Get Ready", "The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game", and "Ooo Baby Baby"; Beatles tunes "Savoy Truffle" and "Got to Get You Into My Life"; and most bizarrely, Randy Newman's "Yellow Man", are surprisingly durable. The more jazz-oriented second album still focuses on pop tunes, with more variable but often exceptional results.|
Rovi