Let's Misbehave! A Cole Porter Collection, 1927-1940 by Cole Porter (CD, Apr-2001, Naxos Nostalgia)

Album Features
UPC:	636943253328
Artist:	Cole Porter
Format:	CD
Release Year:	2001
Record Label:	Naxos Nostalgia
Genre:	Classic Pop Vocals, Pop Vocal

Track Listing
1. Let's Misbehave (From "Paris")
2. Love for Sale (From "The New Yorkers)
3. You're the Top
4. Thank You So Much, Mrs. Lowsborough-Goodby
5. I'm in Love Again (From "Greenwich Village Follies of 1923" and ...)
6. Miss Otis Regrets
7. Be Like the Bluebird (From "Anything Goes")
8. Physician, The
9. You've Got That Thing (From "Fifty Million Frenchmen")
10. Find Me a Primitive Man (From "Fifty Million Frenchmen")
11. Cocotte, The
12. I'm a Gigolo
13. They All Fall in Love
14. Down in the Depths
15. Two Little Babies in the Wood (From "Paris)
16. Anything Goes (From "Anything Goes")
17. Waltz Down the Aisle (From "Anything Goes")
18. Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love)

Details
Playing Time:	58 min.
Producer:	David Lennick
Distributor:	Naxos (Distributor)
Recording Type:	Studio
Recording Mode:	Mono
SPAR Code:	n/a

Album Notes
Full title: Let's Misbehave: A Cole Porter Collection 1927-1940.LET'S MISBEHAVE features Cole Porter performing his own material, original cast recordings and other rarities.Personnel: Cole Porter (vocals, piano); Harold "Scrappy" Lambert, Three Waring Girls, Jack Hylton, Billy Hillpot, Leo Reisman, Pat O'Malley, Phil Saxe, Ben Bernie, Chappie Damato (vocals).Liner Note Author: Peter Dempsey.Recording information: Berlin, Germany (1927-1940); Los Angeles, CA (1927-1940); New York, NY (1927-1940).This album of vintage recordings of Cole Porter songs mixes eight of Porter's own performances of his compositions with renditions that were hits when the songs were new. The basic selection criterion is revealed in the album's title; there is an emphasis placed here on Porter's more risqué and provocative numbers. Songs like "Let's Misbehave" (in a version by Irving Aaronson & His Commanders that was the equivalent of a Top Ten hit in 1928) and "Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love)" (even in this prim rendering by Rudy Vallée) leave nothing to the imagination, of course. "Love for Sale" (by Fred Waring & His Pennsylvanians) is clearly about prostitution, "Miss Otis Regrets" (by Ethel Waters) is a tale of jealousy and murder, and "Find Me a Primitive Man" (by Lee Wiley) is about the attraction of animal lust. In comparison, the witty double entendres of "The Physician" (sung by Porter) and "You've Got That Thing" (a hit for Leo Reisman & His Orchestra) may seem tame, but they were suggestive, too. Generally, Porter's performances are of relatively obscure tunes, but he also gives listeners his versions of the standards "Anything Goes" and "You're the Top." The album cover claims the collection features original cast recordings, which is not true, although Ethel Merman is heard singing "Down in the Depths (On the 90th Floor)," a song she sang in Red, Hot and Blue! This is a well-organized selection of Porter material, especially notable for containing so many recordings by the songwriter himself, even if it is not a comprehensive survey of his career. ~ William Ruhlmann