Route 66: That Nelson Riddle Sound

Route 66: That Nelson Riddle Sound

The "Riddle sound" was a launching pad for the most popular singers of the 1950s and early 60s--Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Judy Garland, and Nat "King" Cole. Like the Eisenhower era from whence it came, Riddle's arrangements were brash but breezy, brimming with an amiable optimism and sense of adventure. Though they were considered music for "swingers," they remained a bit square and sweetly string driven for maximum commercial viability. On <I>Route 66</I>, with horn solos replacing the vocal parts, Riddle's charts fit nicely with the middlebrow savoir faire of Erich Kunzel's Cincinnati Pops. Shiny melodies like "Night and Day" and "Let's Face the Music and Dance" billow and compress with good-natured gusto, while Riddle's dynamic treatments of "I've Got You Under My Skin" and "Get Happy" are given their full range of expression. Listeners familiar with the material will inevitably miss the singers (particularly Sinatra on "Summer Wind"), but the horns nearly compensate, led by former Woody Herman trombonist Jim Pugh and supple tenor saxophonist Ken Peplowski. Finally, Will Friedwald's liner notes eloquently state the case for Riddle's mostly unsung artistry. <I>--Britt Robson</I>