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When Matt Met Hoagy: Rare Monro LP Reissued in U.K.

February 3, 2011 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

The success story of Matt Monro is one unlike any other. The singer, born Terence Edward Parsons in London in 1930, had recorded for both Decca and Fontana, and sang regularly on the BBC, but the brass ring eluded him. Then, in 1960, EMI producer George Martin was seeking a voice to spoof Frank Sinatra’s on a Peter Sellers comedy album cheekily titled Songs for Swinging Sellers. Martin hired Matt Monro, and billed him under the very Sellers-esque pseudonym of “Fred Flange.” Well, the “Flange” recording of “You Keep Me Swingin’” was a hit with listeners, who naturally wondered just who this Flange fellow was. Sinatra himself, maybe? Or man-of-a-thousand-voices Sellers pulling one over? Martin revealed the man behind the curtain, and signed Matt Monro to Parlophone. His first release on the label was a recording of George and Ira Gershwin’s “Love is Here to Stay,” but it didn’t register. His next effort, though, was fellow Brit Cyril Ornadel’s “Portrait of My Love” (popularized in the United States by the young Steve Lawrence). “Portrait” was his breakthrough, and Monro was off and swinging.

Among his contemporaries, Monro recorded comparatively few American standards. He was most successful when tackling songs of European origin, and gave voice to the landmark James Bond theme song, “From Russia with Love.” The song, penned by Lionel Bart of Broadway’s Oliver! fame, was heard in the film as source music and then over the end titles, buoyed by John Barry’s lush orchestration. Monro became a soundtrack specialist, perhaps best remembered for his stirring rendition of Barry and Don Black’s “Born Free,” which Andy Williams covered in America. (Monro scored two American Top 40 hits: “My Kind of Girl” in 1961 and “Walk Away” in 1964.) Monro was a particularly fine interpreter of Barry’s work, and the two men remained close until the singer’s passing in 1985. He and George Martin continued their association, too, and Monro frequently tackled Beatles songs. He was one of the first performers to record Paul McCartney’s “Yesterday,” and did so with warmth and sophistication. He also recorded then-current American pop songs to generally wonderful results, avoiding kitsch territory. His American counterparts returned the favor, with Sinatra tackling a number of songs first associated with Monro, like Leslie Bricusse’s “My Kind of Girl” and the Italian import “Softly As I Leave You.” But Monro’s only LP dedicated to a classic Tin Pan Alley composer was 1962’s Matt Monro Sings Hoagy Carmichael. After a long absence from CD shelves, EMI Gold will next week reissue this classic LP tribute to the “Stardust” writer in an expanded edition as part of a unique package. Hit the jump for details and track listing!

For the Hoagy Carmichael project, Monro was accompanied by the Johnnie Spence Orchestra. He and Spence sensitively tackled some of the songwriter’s most famous tunes: “Stardust,” of course, but also “Georgia on My Mind,” “The Nearness of You” and “I Get Along Without You Very Well.” While it was included on a now-unavailable compilation disc, this album had never been reissued as a stand-alone CD until now. Its original 12 tracks have been augmented for this new edition with alternate versions of “The Nearness of You,” “Skylark” and “I Get Along Without You Very Well,” plus Monro’s recording of “Up a Lazy River” and a previously-unheard session outtake of “By the Way.”

Matt Monro Sings Hoagy Carmichael will be released in the U.K. on February 7 as part of the four-CD box set Words and Music. Disc One features the complete album, remastered from the original session tapes by Richard Moore, plus the aforementioned bonus tracks. Discs Two through Four comprise the abridged audiobook version of Michele Monro’s 2010 biography of her father, The Singer’s Singer, read by its author. Monro and Moore have been responsible for EMI’s excellent (and long-running) Monro reissue series; while this package may be unorthodox, it’s actually quite a bargain. The set is selling for £5.99 at Amazon U.K. which would make it a steal for the Carmichael CD alone. Essentially, the audiobook is a bonus.

Words and Music shouldn’t be confused with a public domain release on the REX label of the same title which consists of Monro’s pre-Parlophone recordings for Decca. Barring any troubles thanks to the tumultuous events currently occurring at EMI, Michele Monro and Moore plan on continuing the campaign in September with the reissue of the limited edition (now out-of-print) four-CD box set devoted to her father, also entitled The Singer’s Singer.

Words and Music, containing the entirety of Matt Monro Sings Hoagy Carmichael, is set for release on Monday, February 7 and is available here from Amazon U.K and here from Amazon U.S. !

Matt Monro, Words and Music (EMI Gold 720922, 2011)

Disc 1

  1. Stardust
  2. Small Fry
  3. How Little We Know
  4. The Nearness of You
  5. Georgia on My Mind
  6. Skylark
  7. One Morning in May
  8. I Get Along Without You Very Well
  9. Memphis in June
  10. I Guess It Was You All the Time
  11. Blue Orchids
  12. Rocking Chair
  13. Up a Lazy River (Duet with Cleo Laine)
  14. The Nearness of You (Version 2)
  15. Skylark (Alternate Take)
  16. I Get Along Without You Very Well (Alternate Take)
  17. By the Way (Outtake)

Discs 2-4

  1. The Singer’s Singer (as read by Michele Monro)

Disc 1, Tracks 1-12 from Matt Monro Sings Hoagy Carmichael, Parlophone LP PMC-1185, 1962
Disc 1, Tracks 13-17 previously unreleased

Categories: News Formats: CD Genre: Popular Standards/Vocal Tags: Matt Monro

Joe Marchese

JOE MARCHESE (Editor) joined The Second Disc shortly after its launch in early 2010, and has since penned daily news and reviews about classic music of all genres. In 2015, Joe formed the Second Disc Records label. Celebrating the great songwriters, producers and artists who created the sound of American popular song, Second Disc Records, in conjunction with Real Gone Music, has released newly-curated collections produced by Joe from iconic artists such as Johnny Mathis, Bobby Darin, Laura Nyro, Melissa Manchester, Chet Atkins, and many others. He has contributed liner notes to reissues from a diverse array of artists, among them Nat "King" Cole, Paul Williams, Lesley Gore, Dusty Springfield, B.J. Thomas, The 5th Dimension, Burt Bacharach, The Mamas and the Papas, Carpenters, Perry Como, Rod McKuen, Doris Day, Jackie DeShannon, and Andy Williams, and has compiled releases for talents including Robert Goulet and Keith Allison of Paul Revere and the Raiders. Over the past two decades, Joe has also worked in a variety of capacities on and off Broadway as well as at some of the premier theatres in the U.S., including Lincoln Center Theater, George Street Playhouse, Paper Mill Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, and the York Theatre Company. He has felt privileged to work on productions alongside artists such as the late Jack Klugman, Eli Wallach, Arthur Laurents, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. In 2009, Joe began contributing theatre and music reviews to the print publication The Sondheim Review, and in 2012, he joined the staff of The Digital Bits as a regular contributor writing about film and television on DVD and Blu-ray. Joe currently resides in the suburbs of New York City.

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Comments

  1. Will says

    February 4, 2011 at 3:57 am

    Bargain is the word – thank you for the tip

    Reply
    • Richard Moore says

      February 4, 2011 at 4:37 am

      Just a minor correction

      Disc 1, Track 13 from The Rare Monro, EMI Gold CD 0946 3725582-7, 2006)

      This is incorrect. The version of Lazy River included here is a previously duet with CLeo Laine.

      Reply
      • Richard Moore says

        February 4, 2011 at 5:16 am

        Sorry that should say “previously unreleased duet”

        I should also add that all these recordings are directly from the original session tapes. apart from Lazy River and The Nearness of You (Piano Version) which come from Acetates.

        Reply
      • Joe Marchese says

        February 4, 2011 at 11:59 am

        Fantastic news, Richard! It’s nice to see you here. Thanks for clarifying, and please accept our continued congratulations on the remarkable work you and Michele have done with this series! Mr. Monro’s outtakes and rarities seem to outshine much of the released output of so many others.

        Reply

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