Lorelei
Lorelei (1960) Being the sheltered, ignorant lass that Mojo has always been, it turns out I don't think I've ever heard of the Lorelei until I first heard this song and looked 'em up. Which I believe was THIS version, since I don't think I sprung for the voluminous Gershwin collection until slightly later in life. The Lorelei is both a giant rock in the middle of the Rhine River, and a legendary Siren-type lady who would sit upon said rock and lure sailors to their watery graves. (Although, to be perfectly honest, a shipwreck on a river just

I am in Love
I am in Love (1956) Ya know, with all the painful metaphors songwriters have used through the ages to convey the process and sensation of being in love, it's somehow refreshing to have a song with a single declarative sentence for its premise: I Am in Love. Sure, people use it as an excuse for all sorts of wacky things, but I much prefer people just shrugging and saying "I am in love" than some of the cringe-worthy whining that is meant to convey the same thing. Especially the men. Perhaps I am showing my age and

By Strauss
By Strauss (1959) Just a short while ago I reviewed this song's CD neighbor, Just Another Rhumba, and I referred to it as being somewhat "gimmicky". And I warned you--didn't I?-- that we were in for a rush of gimmicky songs, with By Strauss being next in line. And here it is. According to Wikipedia--if anything this massive project is forcing Mojo to learn all sorts of vaguely interesting things; if she were ever one to enter a trivia c

Applause and Fanfare Interlude
Applause and Fanfare Interlude II (1960) Okay, so early last week I peeked ahead and counted and determined THIS was gonna be Friday's "song". And I was all like, yuck, do I really want to end the week in that boring fashion? And then I thought, well, do I want to START a new week in that fashion? I was all agog. Yes, this is the exciting soap opera that is Mojo's life. And then, as things turned out, it was decided for me, as I had some unscheduled connectivity issues for most of last week encompasing Friday

Get Out of Town
Get Out of Town (1956) Sigh. Okay, so Mojo's not that keen on ultra-slow dirgey sort of songs. If it wasn't Ella singing, I probably wouldn't bother with this song. As it is, if I am listening to hours and hours of Ella, I'll frequently skip this one. There. I said it. I'm not that keen on the song, but if you focus on Ella's technical prowess it's almost bearable. First is the "glowing lower register" I bring up so often. Also present here is Cole Porter's comment when presented with this album: "My, what marvellous diction that