The Ultimate Collection

The first track on this 4-CD set is “This Could Be the Start of Something Big,” and it sure is: here, at last, is the Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé collection all of their fans have been waiting for, the biggest and (by far) best-sounding set ever devoted to the pair of legendary pop vocalists. Under the supervision of their son David Lawrence (who contributes a personal note to the booklet), we’ve gone back to the original tapes for most of these 72 tracks; some of these have never appeared on CD, and, with Eric Boulanger’s new remastering, the ones that have come out sound much better than they did before. Disc One, “Duet Classics,” features such career touchstones for the couple as “Baby It’s Cold Outside,” “For Once in Your Life,” and “We Got Us.” Disc Two, “Steve Classics,” brings the hits with “Portrait of My Love,” “Footsteps,” and “Go Away Little Girl” along with such signature renditions as “I’ve Gotta Be Me” and “I Want to Be with You” and even an unreleased track, “You and I.” Eydie takes over (and how!) on Disc Three with such smashes as “Blame It on the Bossa Nova,” “What Did I Have That I Don’t Have,” “If He Walked into My Life,” “Tonight I’ll Say a Prayer, and her Spanish-language classic with Trio Los Panchos, “Sabor a Mí.” And Disc Four revels in the duo’s love of Broadway with songs like “Mama, A Rainbow,” “The Ladies Who Lunch,” “Two on the Aisle,” and the uproarious “The Honeymoon Is Over.” Like this collection, Joe Marchese’s liner notes follow Steve and Eydie’s career every step of the way, and we’ve included some rare photos courtesy of the estate. The ultimate collection indeed, the comprehensive, career-spanning collection these two icons have long deserved!

 

Track Listing:

This Could Be the Start of Something Big

Cheek to Cheek

We Got Us

I Want to Stay Here

Darn It Baby, That's Love

No Two People

Baby It's Cold Outside

Something's Gotta Give

Who Wouldn't Love You

True Love

A Lot of Livin' to Do

For Once in Your Life

Come Back to Me

Sunrise, Sunset

Through the Years

Hallelujah

That's What Friends Are For

Our Love Is Here to Stay

Pretty Blue Eyes

Portrait of My Love

Footsteps

There'll Be Some Changes Made

The Ballad of the Sad Young Men

Go Away Little Girl

More (Theme from Mondo Cane)

A Room Without Windows

I Want to Be with You

The Warm Hours

You and I

Bewitched

In the Still of the Night

Where Can I Go

My Heart Stood Still

I've Gotta Be Me

The Drifter

That's All

I'll Take Romance

Too Close for Comfort

Guess Who I Saw Today

When Your Lover Has Gone

The Gypsy in My Soul

I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues

Don't Get Around Much Anymore

Sabor a Mí

Blame It on the Bossa Nova

What Did I Have That I Don't Have

How About Me

Tonight I'll Say a Prayer

God Bless the Child

If He Walked into My Life

Softly As I Leave You

I Wanna Be Around

As Time Goes By

It Was a Good Time

Two on the Aisle

On a Clear Day

What I Did for Love

An Old-Fashioned Wedding

What Kind of Fool Am I

My Funny Valentine

The Honeymoon Is Over

Mama, A Rainbow

Johnny One Note

In My Own Lifetime

How Could I Be So Wrong

Once in a Lifetime

Small World

With So Little to Be Sure Of

The Ladies Who Lunch

Being Alive

Send in the Clowns

Together, Wherever We Go