Velvet Moods is a bit of an all-over-the-place compilation of 27 tracks
Mel Tormé recorded near the outset of his recording career between 1946-1955. But it does give a good idea of the singer's versatility during this period, encompassing crooned pop; jazz, including four 1950 recordings with
the Red Norvo Trio (who also had guitarist
Tal Farlow and bassist
Charles Mingus in their ranks); live performances; radio transcriptions; duets with
Mary Osborne; and his elaborate, orchestrated 11-part "California Suite," which was quite an adventurous construction for popular music in 1949. The jazziest recordings are the most interesting ones, and those who think of
Tormé as a stodgy crooner will be quite surprised by the dynamic numbers on which he really lets go with his scatting (like "Night and Day," and "That's Where I Came In"), which are downright thrilling and dynamic. Of course you do get some hokey, trivial period pieces like "On a Little Street in Singapore," as well as an early-'50s radio transcription of the holiday perennial "The Christmas Song" (which
Tormé co-wrote). "California Suite" (presented here in its original 1949 recording) is a bit over-the-top in both its lush orchestration and epic travelogue structure, but does demonstrate that the concept album/suite had been introduced into popular music long before the rock era. No doubt a compilation of
Tormé's early work with a more logical chronological flow could be assembled, but this CD does offer a lot of quality, diverse music. ~ Richie Unterberger