Moonlight Becomes You

After two unusual and delightfully rewarding excursions into new areas in mood music, Paul Weston and his Music From Hollywood return to more familiar fields and present another lovely program of nostalgic and romantic melodies. In both Mood for 12 and Solo Mood, the conductor presented fine arrangements of popular standards which spotlighted solos by a group of outstanding jazz musicians; the result was a series of performances of rare character and wide appeal. Equally wide in appeal, and equally characteristic, are these Weston offerings, arranged and played in the style he has made all his own.

While the Weston settings of songs such as these are appropriately full-bodied and sonorous, the arrangements are never allowed to obscure the melodies. All the scope and versatility of the orchestra is brought into play, but effects for the sake of effects are never used; the music is allowed to flow evenly and romantically along, conjuring up its own mood without externals. This is not as easy as it sounds, by any means, and in less perceptive hands could become monotonous. Paul Weston, however, supplies in his arranging and conducting the propulsive force, and gives a memorable demonstration of the fact that mood music need not be moody.

Indeed, it was Paul Weston who began the trend toward mood music, with his collections of superior songs some ten years ago. Since that time, he has offered a series of treasurable programs, consisting of first-rate songs by first-rate composers, etched out in romantic settings and all containing a slight but definite dancing beat. In this program, he presents music by such favored writers as George Gershwin, Richard Rodgers, Arthur Schwartz, Sammy Cahn, Frederick Loewe, Jule Styne and Jimmy van Heusen, composer of not only the title song, but also of It Could Happen to You. It may be worth noting that these composers are especially well-known for their music for stage and screen, and that most of the songs in this collection come from those sources.

Moonlight Becomes You was sung by Bing Crosby in “The Road to Morocco” of 1942; the stage production of “Girl Crazy” in 1930 brought But Not for Me. One of the last Rodgers and Hart collaborations, “Higher and Higher” of 1940, was the source of It Never Entered My Mind, and If There Is Someone Lovelier Than You is from the 1934 musical comedy, “Revenge with Music.” The 1945 film “Thrill of a Romance” brought I Should Care, and two years later “Brigadoon” presented Almost Like Being in Love. “It Happened in Brooklyn” was the source of Time After Time, and It Could Happen to You is from the 1944 movie “And the Angels Sing,” while Gershwin’s They Can’t Take That Away from Me is from the 1937 “Shall We Dance?” with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.

These, and the other fine numbers in the collection, are played by Paul Weston and his Music From Hollywood with all the familiar suavity and richness. The smooth polish of the performances, the nostalgic warmth of the arrangements and the slight but perceptible beat that pervades the program are all Weston hallmarks, and offer the promise of endlessly enjoyable listening throughout the program.

Track Listing

1. Moonlight Becomes You
2. But Not for Me
3. It Never Entered My Mind
4. I Remember You from Somewhere
5. If There Is Someone Lovelier Than You
6. Through
7. I Should Care
8. Almost Like Being in Love
9. Time After Time
10. Just a Memory
11. It Could Happen to You
12. They Can’t Take That Away from Me

Album Information

• Artist: Paul Weston and His Music From Hollywood
• Catalog Number: CL 909
• Catalog Numbers: CL 909
• Label: Columbia
• Source: CL-909
• Sound Format: Guaranteed High Fidelity in “360” Hemispheric Sound
• Cover Photograph: Hal Reiff
• Tagline: Mood Music in Hi-Fi
• Records Sound Best On: Columbia Phonographs
• Recommended Needle Life Chart: Osmium (metal) tip: not over 20 hours; Sapphire (sy. jewel): not over 65 hours; Diamond (genuine): not over 800 hours