Let's Misbehave! A Cole Porter Collection, 1927-1940

by Cole Porter

Overview

This album of vintage recordings of Cole Porter songs mixes eight of Porter's own performances of his compositions with renditions that were hits when the songs were new. The basic selection criterion is revealed in the album's title; there is an emphasis placed here on Porter's more risque and provocative numbers. Songs like "Let's Misbehave" (in a version by Irving Aaronson & His Commanders that was the equivalent of a Top Ten hit in 1928) and "Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love)" (even in this prim rendering by Rudy Vallee) leave nothing to the imagination, of course. "Love for Sale" (by Fred Waring & His Pennsylvanians) is clearly about prostitution, "Miss Otis Regrets" (by Ethel Waters) is a tale of jealousy and murder, and "Find Me a Primitive Man" (by Lee Wiley) is about the attraction of animal lust. In comparison, the witty double entendres of "The Physician" (sung by Porter) and "You've Got That Thing" (a hit for Leo Reisman & His Orchestra) may seem tame, but they were suggestive, too. Generally, Porter's performances are of relatively obscure tunes, but he also gives listeners his versions of the standards "Anything Goes" and "You're the Top." The album cover claims the collection features original cast recordings, which is not true, although Ethel Merman is heard singing "Down in the Depths (On the 90th Floor)," a song she sang in Red, Hot and Blue! This is a well-organized selection of Porter material, especially notable for containing so many recordings by the songwriter himself, even if it is not a comprehensive survey of his career. ~ William Ruhlmann

Product Details

Release Date:	03/19/2002
Label:	Naxos Nostalgia
UPC:	0636943253328
Rank:	166473

Tracks

1. Let's Misbehave (From "Paris")  -  Aaronson  - Cole Porter
2. Love for Sale (From "The New Yorkers)  - Cole Porter  -  Waring
3. You're the Top  - Cole Porter
4. Thank You So Much, Mrs. Lowsborough-Goodby  - Cole Porter
5. I'm in Love Again (From "Greenwich Village Follies of 1923" and ...)  - Cole Porter  - Ben Bernie  - Billy Hillpot  - Harold "Scrappy" Lambert
6. Miss Otis Regrets  - Cole Porter  - Ethel Waters  -  Young
7. Be Like the Bluebird (From "Anything Goes")  - Cole Porter
8. The Physician  - Cole Porter
9. You've Got That Thing (From "Fifty Million Frenchmen")  - Cole Porter  - Leo Reisman
10. Find Me a Primitive Man (From "Fifty Million Frenchmen")  - Cole Porter  - Lee Wiley
11. The Cocotte  - Cole Porter
12. I'm a Gigolo  - Cole Porter
13. They All Fall in Love  - Jack Hylton  - Cole Porter
14. Down in the Depths  - Ethel Merman  - Cole Porter  -  Fairchild & Carrol & Their Orchestra
15. Two Little Babies in the Wood (From "Paris)  - Cole Porter
16. Anything Goes (From "Anything Goes")  - Cole Porter
17. Waltz Down the Aisle (From "Anything Goes")  - Xavier Cugat  - Cole Porter
18. Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love)  - Cole Porter  - Rudy Vallee

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Cole Porter   Primary Artist,Vocals,Piano
Harold "Scrappy" Lambert   Primary Artist,Vocals
Billy Hillpot   Primary Artist,Vocals
Fairchild & Carrol & Their Orchestra   Primary Artist
Ben Bernie   Primary Artist,Vocals
Ethel Waters   Primary Artist
Irving Aaronson & His Commanders   Primary Artist
Fred Waring & His Pennsylvanians   Primary Artist
Jack Hylton   Primary Artist,Vocals
Ethel Merman   Primary Artist
Lee Wiley   Primary Artist
Leo Reisman   Primary Artist,Vocals
Xavier Cugat   Primary Artist
Rudy Vallee   Primary Artist
Victor Young & His Orchestra   Primary Artist
Three Waring Girls   Vocals
Phil Saxe   Vocals
Pat O'Malley   Vocals
Chappie Damato   Vocals

Technical Credits

Ron Hoares   Design
Lee Wiley   Performer
Ethel Waters   Performer
Peter Dempsey   Liner Notes
David Lennick   Transfers,Producer
Ethel Merman   Performer
Cole Porter   Composer
Graham Newton   Digital Noise Reduction