This recording could be considered a near-sibling to
April in Paris, since several of its tracks date from sessions recorded the same month. Others overlap with material cut for
The Greatest!! Count Basie Plays, Joe Williams Sings Standards, and aren't as compelling, either as
Joe Williams vehicles or
Basie showcases. As either of those, though, it does have its moments, most notably the original finale, arranger
Ernie Wilkins' "From Coast to Coast," an eight-and-a-half-minute blow-out, the
Ella Fitzgerald-
Joe Williams duet on "Too Close for Comfort," and the title track, rearranged by Wilkins but close to the classic rendering, which features lively solos by
Frank Wess,
Benny Powell,
Frank Foster, and (especially)
Joe Newman and
Henry Coker.
Williams is the dominant presence on the album, singing on seven of the original ten tracks, and his presence is a bit of a drag on some of the proceedings, especially "Only Forever." His work with
Basie from this era is better represented on
Count Basie Swings, Joe Williams Sings, although he and the band acquit themselves very well here on "Stop, Pretty Baby, Stop," where all hands are firing on all cylinders at once. ~ Bruce Eder