Dream a Little Dream of Me / Can Anyone Explain? (No, No, No!) - Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong
Why included: 3rd in RYM's Top 10 singles of 1950
A-side: Dream a Little Dream of Me
Apple Music link: https://music.apple.com/us/album/dream-a-little-dream-of-me/1359340014?i=1359341569
I'm not a fan of vocal jazz truth be told: being too repetitive and too clean-cut is not a combination that will gel with a grit-lover like me. Yet, it is still a genre that can be very respectable in the right hands, and this lovely duet of Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong works splendidly here. The composition itself isn't spectacular and perhaps a bit overly sentimental, but the immaculate, subtly assertive phrasings of Ella and the lovable charm of Louis Armstrong play off each other beautifully, providing an organic balance of seriousness and playfulness. Really, this was a perfect match of charismas to make the experience endearing instead of merely pleasant like most other vocal jazz recordings. And isn't it nice when someone scats and it doesn't sound forced?
B-side: Can Anyone Explain? (No, No, No!)
Clearly the B-side here: Ella still gives a great performance here, but it's much more generic compositionally. Regardless, the actual singing is solid and the interplay between them is still fresh, so this is quite entertaining all the same. That little spoken word section towards the end is a cute touch as well.
Verdict: Recommended
As much as find the professionalism of most vocal jazz suffocating, only a heartless bastard could not be seduced by the charm of the duo. Indeed, in a genre like this where exploring sharper emotional territories is difficult, settling for "adorable" and "pleasant" are fair options, and while these sorts of songs can be pretty underwhelming in the grand scheme of things (do people feel these sorts of love songs as deeply as those by Marvin Gaye or Al Green?), I can say quite confidently that they succeed at being adorable and pleasant like few others in the genre can. All and all, a pretty successful duet, even if my heart I am more well-attuned to the Tammi-Gaye combo or even the Redding-Thomas combo (I can't help it that I'm a soul guy at heart!).
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