My Kind of Music in Bloomington, MN

If
Verve
needed a concept for
Mel Torme
's last album on the label, there were certainly a few available. For one thing,
My Kind of Music
features five of
Torme
's own songs, including chestnuts like
"The Christmas Song,"
"A Stranger in Town,"
and
"County Fair,"
as well as lesser-knowns like
"Welcome to the Club."
The other half-dozen compositions are by the underrated songwriting team of
Howard Dietz
Arthur Schwartz
, creators of the '50s Broadway hit
The Bandwagon
. Though they're rarely spoken of in the same breath as
Rodgers & Hammerstein
or
Lerner & Loewe
-- could it have anything to do with the lack of smoothness in pronouncing their names? --
Dietz
Schwartz
wrote many standards, including
"You and the Night and the Music,"
"I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan,"
"Dancing in the Dark,"
"By Myself."
Also,
was the second LP
recorded in Britain, the home of his most devoted audiences. The mellow arrangements -- by Brits
Wally Stott
,
Geoff Love
, and
Tony Osborne
-- wrapped
in soft strings, but also allowed for many individual voices, including guitar and trumpet. It's a style of arranging that perfectly suited
's growing inclination toward breezy, contemplative adult-pop during the '60s. And
Stott
's arrangement for the musically varied six-minute showtune
"County Fair"
captured a quintessentially American musical composition with flair. Call it whatever you want --
Torme Sings Torme
Torme Sings Dietz & Schwartz
Torme in London
-- but
is a solid album that only suffers in comparison to his masterpieces of the previous few years. ~ John Bush