Anita O'Day Swings Cole Porter with Billy May in Bloomington, MN

This LP was taken from sessions in April 1959 on which
Anita O'Day
interprets
Cole Porter
songs while accompanied by some rather rambunctious
big-band
arrangements from
Billy May
. While her emotional range is wider than
Ella Fitzgerald
's (who had previously recorded her much better-known
Cole Porter Songbook
),
O'Day
's voice strangely does not sound as strong on the
set as it does on the six bonus tracks, which are
songs she recorded on other occasions (from 1952-1960). Still, the program does have its moments, with highlights including
"I Get a Kick Out of You,"
"All of You,"
"It's Delovely,"
"You're the Top"
and two versions of
"Love for Sale."
~ Scott Yanow