We Got Us/Steve & Eydie Sing the Golden Hits in Bloomington, MN

Married couple and singing partners
Steve Lawrence
and
Eydie Gorme
launched their duo on records with two LPs released in 1960 by
ABC-Paramount Records
,
We Got Us
Eydie and Steve Sing the Golden Hits
; the albums are combined on this CD, albeit in reverse order of their initial appearance.
(tracks 13-23) finds
Lawrence
Gorme
hunting through then-recent film theme songs and among standards for some classic duets, and presenting their versions of them. Numbers like
"Side by Side"
are naturals, but anything requiring something in the way of characterization tends to be beyond vocalists who are most concerned with the sound of their voices, not the meaning of the lyrics. They do fine with
"No Two People,"
a
Frank Loesser
composition from Hans Christian Andersen in which two lovers trip over themselves to express their sweet devotion. But the erotic undercurrent of
Loesser
's
"Baby, It's Cold Outside"
is not something they choose to express, and there's no bite to
"I Remember It Well"
from
Gigi
, in which
Alan Jay Lerner
's lyrics are supposed to express a gentle joisting between the old lovers.
are much better on the songs from
Golden Hits
(tracks 1-12), which, by the way, are not their golden hits. This album was not a best-of, it was the two singers (separately and together) reviving a bunch of songs from the swing era. They had a natural affinity for these songs, since they could concentrate on the rhythms and act like band singers. ~ William Ruhlmann