Very Best Of Mel Torme, The

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Liner Note Author: Keith Shadwick. Recording information: The Crescendo, Hollywood, CA; The Maisonette, New York, NY. Although on the surface it doesn't look very different from the dozens of Mel Torme compilations available at any one time, the Rhino U.K. release The Very Best of Mel Torme is easily the best single volume on Torme ever done. Spanning the '40s to the '80s (which is a real rarity in the world of Torme), it balances his hits and his best material, adds in the best of his live performances, and appropriately, spends the most time on his career-defining work of the '50s and '60s (when he was recording for Bethlehem, Verve, and Atlantic). The major chart entries of his career, "Careless Hands" and "Comin' Home Baby," are here, as are the best inclusions from iconic LPs like Lulu's Back in Town and fantastic live set pieces like "Mountain Greenery" and "It's Delovely." A bit of his '70s material is also included to show that Torme was still doing great work during his forgotten decade, and his renaissance of the '80s is covered with "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" (featuring George Shearing). If there's one caveat, it's that Rhino focused more on his Atlantic catalog than the Verve years (which would have required more licensing), but it's a small one -- this is an excellent look at Mel Torme, and the only better career-spanning compendium is the massive four-disc box The Mel Torme Collection. ~ John Bush