"Vegas Baby!"
Various Artists, 2002
During
the 1960's, Vegas was the heart of lounge music. Any swinger worth their
salt longed to be a casino headliner. The Rat Pack owned the town just
as much as any high roller. For many lounge music fans, this was the golden
age. The good folks at Ultra-Lounge have raided the Capitol Records archives
again to put together their latest collection "Vegas Baby!" This disc features
A-list Vegas performers such as Dean Martin, Tom Jones, Louis Prima, Sammy
Davis Jr., and Wayne Newton. The only noticeable absence is the "Chairman
of the Board," Frank Sinatra, but this is just one small fault to a very
solid album. Instead of being a tired "Best of Vegas" disc,
Vegas
Baby! crackles with blackjack energy and jackpot excitement. Some
of the real gems include Nat King Cole's "I'm Shooting High," Count Basie
& Tony Bennett performing "With Plenty of Money and You," and Peggy
Lee doing a killer version of "Big Spender."
It's been a few years since
Ultra-Lounge has released a CD and during that time lounge fans have been
chomping at the bit. Many will argue that without the Ultra-Lounge collection,
there would have been no lounge revival. Their discs covered everything
from exotica to crime jazz to bossa nova to bongo music. They were able
to make lounge music hip again. Vegas Baby! continues the
great tradition while at the same time making us hungry for more.
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