Mel Tormé - Swingin' On The Moon (1960) CDRip

Swingin' on the Moon marks a bridge between Mel Tormé's excellent jazzy outings of the 1950s and the generally pop-oriented, novelty recordings of the '60s. Recorded over three days in August 1960, the album contains few standards, substituting instead lesser numbers which all contain the word "moon" in the title (including Tormé's own title song, which opens the set). Though he is in fine voice and the arrangements by Russ Garcia are solid, Tormé just can't come to grips with the lesser material, and the album is quite forgettable. It was released on Verve, which made it a jazz LP in theory, but Swingin' on the Moon can be consigned to the section of pop history which includes novelty "theme" albums arranged around a usually simple subject. This album should not be confused with the LaserLight collection titled Swinging on the Moon.