Various Artists – The Wonderful Sounds Of Male Vocals

Twenty songs, many ways of telling a story

The Wonderful Sounds Of Male Vocals brings together twenty recordings in which male voices carry a story in markedly different ways. Dean Martin, Harry Belafonte, Willie Nelson and Elvis Presley share the programme with Amos Lee, J. D. Souther, Greg Brown and Willy DeVille. This Analogue Productions double LP is particularly appealing if you want to buy a vocal sampler on vinyl that reaches beyond a single period or musical style. Crooning, country, folk, soul and pop each have a place within the selection.

The title describes a collection rather than a competition. Its interest lies in individual musical personalities and the ways they inhabit a song. One singer may persuade through ease, another through the tension of a sustained syllable or the character of a rougher voice. Groups including Pure Prairie League and the Beach Boys broaden the perspective further, allowing singing to appear as the interaction of several voices. That makes the programme more open than a straightforward sequence of celebrated soloists might suggest.

Chad Kassem is the compilation’s executive producer and contributes accompanying notes alongside Michael Fremer. Issued in 2020, the selection combines studio recordings with two performances specifically identified as live at Carnegie Hall. Different recording situations therefore sit beside different voices. The collection can provide a relaxed evening’s listening while also encouraging closer attention to the relationship between singer, accompaniment and audience. There is room to approach it at either level, depending on what draws you into a particular performance.

Four record sides make the wide range easy to navigate. Each contains five tracks and can be heard as a short programme in its own right. Playing one side already provides several characteristic encounters; listening through both LPs reveals a broader sequence of moods. Familiar songs supply points of orientation. The less obvious names between them make the sampler useful for listeners interested in expanding a collection beyond the best-known classics and discovering another musical personality along the way.

From Dean Martin to Willie Nelson

Dean Martin opens with I’m Confessin’ (That I Love You). That choice immediately directs attention towards a singer’s ability to establish intimacy without needing an extravagant gesture. Amos Lee’s Arms Of A Woman and J. D. Souther’s Silver Blue follow. Their proximity connects different generations without reducing the recordings to a common style. Tennessee Ernie Ford adds another distinctive voice with Try Me One More Time, before Aaron Neville concludes side A with It Feels Like Rain.

This first sequence encourages attention to the beginning of a phrase and the way it comes to rest. How firmly is a word placed? How long is a note carried? How much space remains between the lines? Such differences can be as revealing as a voice’s sheer power. A thoughtfully assembled vocal programme offers opportunities to notice them without turning listening into an exercise. The songs remain the reason to continue, while the differences between performers provide another layer of interest.

Side B begins with Pure Prairie League’s Amie. Next come Tony Bennett’s I Left My Heart In San Francisco, accompanied by Ralph Sharon And His Orchestra, and Roy Orbison’s Blue Bayou. Bennett is represented by a live Carnegie Hall performance. That particular version is part of the compilation’s identity: recognising a song title does not necessarily tell you which performance is on the record. The tracklist therefore provides useful guidance even for listeners who already own other recordings of these songs.

Willie Nelson’s Georgia On My Mind and Willis Alan Ramsey’s Sympathy For A Train complete the side. The transition from a widely interpreted standard to a longer song with its own narrative direction opens another perspective on singing. These pairings can simply be enjoyed, or they can prompt exploration of other albums by the same performers. The compilation does not prescribe a particular route through record collecting. Instead, it makes several possible directions visible and leaves the listener free to follow whichever proves most rewarding.

Concert voices, harmony and individuality

The second LP begins with Pete Seeger and the Weavers in Ramblin’ Boy, another Carnegie Hall selection. The Beach Boys’ In My Room then introduces a different emphasis, drawing attention to the voice as part of a group identity. Greg Brown’s The Brand New ’64 Dodge follows with a title that already evokes a specific world. Harry Belafonte’s Scarlet Ribbons and Elvis Presley’s Peace In The Valley complete the side; the Presley selection is explicitly identified as take 3.

That mixture prevents the idea of male vocals from being confined to one conception of strength or scale. The programme accommodates storytelling, harmony, devotion and individual character. A singer does not need to behave like the preceding performer to belong in this company. Listeners interested in articulation and expressive stance can find plenty to follow in the changes between tracks. Those who prefer to begin with the songs themselves are equally well served by the variety of material and approaches.

Belafonte returns on side D with Losing Hand. He is followed by Willy DeVille’s Spanish Jack, Elvis Presley’s Fever, Tony Joe White’s Did Somebody Make A Fool Out Of You and Harry Nilsson’s Coconut. The collection therefore ends with a particularly varied sequence. Two singers make a second appearance while further personalities enter the programme. A sampler can use repetition in this way to suggest that no performer is completely defined by a single carefully chosen song.

When comparing the tracks, it is worth treating them as distinct productions. The distance between voice and accompaniment, the apparent size of the space and the emphasis placed on rhythm may all change from one recording to the next. Those differences belong first to the recordings themselves. Heard through a familiar system, they can make it easier to notice the choices that bring a sung story closer or give it more surrounding space. Musical interest and attention to sound can remain comfortably connected throughout.

The Analogue Productions double LP

This is AAPP 131, the stereo double LP playing at 33⅓ RPM. Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound is credited for mastering, Gary Salstrom for plating and Quality Record Pressings for pressing. The documented edition includes a Stoughton gatefold and QRP inner sleeves. It is historically listed as a 200-gram pressing; that information is not presented as an unchecked guarantee for every subsequent delivery batch. The SACD carrying the same programme is a separate product and should not be confused with this vinyl edition.

Four sides of five tracks each create an agreeable listening rhythm. There is ample variety without having to choose another record after every song. At the same time, the individual sections remain manageable when you want to revisit a particular singer or hold two interpretations alongside each other in memory. For a collection in which voices occupy an important place, this is both a practical arrangement and a musically productive one. It encourages listening beyond the opening track without demanding an uninterrupted evening.

The complete tracklist and performer overview appear below the story. Group credits and specific versions remain identifiable there, making the selection easier to explore. The Wonderful Sounds Of Male Vocals is consequently aimed at listeners who care about both the programme and the particular edition: twenty recordings, several traditions and numerous opportunities to turn a familiar name into the beginning of a new discovery. Its appeal lies in how much individuality can fit within a clearly defined musical theme.

You order from Michael 45 in Germany. We arrange the US import and dispatch from Hilden.

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Musicians

Participants and documented credit status. Track references correspond to the tracklist.

• Dean MartinExisting illustration; not a session depictionperformerParticipation: A1
• Amos LeeperformerParticipation: A2
• J. D. SoutherperformerParticipation: A3
• Tennessee Ernie FordPortrait reference: 1958performerParticipation: A4
• Aaron NevilleperformerParticipation: A5
• Pure Prairie LeagueensembleParticipation: B1
• Tony BennettperformerParticipation: B2
• Ralph Sharon And His OrchestraensembleParticipation: B2
• Roy OrbisonperformerParticipation: B3
• Willie NelsonExisting illustration; not a session depictionperformerParticipation: B4
• Willis Alan RamseyperformerParticipation: B5
• Pete SeegerperformerParticipation: C1
• The WeaversensembleParticipation: C1
• The Beach BoysensembleParticipation: C2
• Greg BrownperformerParticipation: C3
• Harry BelafontePortrait reference: 1963performerParticipation: C4, D1
• Elvis PresleyPortrait reference: 1957performerParticipation: C5, D3
• Willy DeVilleperformerParticipation: D2
• The Jordanairescredited groupParticipation: D3 · Credit der Tracklist / tracklist credit
• Tony Joe WhiteperformerParticipation: D4
• Harry NilssonperformerParticipation: D5

Chad Kassem: executive producer and notes; Michael Fremer: notes; Ryan K. Smith / Sterling Sound: mastering; Gary Salstrom: plating; QRP: pressing; Stoughton: gatefold. Historically documented as a 200 g edition; current stock batch not physically checked. Tony Bennett with Ralph Sharon And His Orchestra (B2) and Pete Seeger with The Weavers (C1): live Carnegie Hall recordings. Elvis Presley: Peace In The Valley, take 3 (C5). The Jordanaires appear in the pressing tracklist at D3; this is not treated as confirmation of audible backing vocals.