New review found

The very latest release from the Odeon camp this showcases 23 of Matt's greatest television performances including the shows of Tony Bennett, Liberace, Jimmy Tarbuck, Dave King and David Frost
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Michele Monro
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New review found

Post by Michele Monro » Sun Feb 07, 2010 6:12 pm

Russell's Reviewbeat - posted by Kingsley on 26/06/09

Matt Monro - The Ultimate Performer
Odeon Entertainment
Matt Monro - At the BBC EMI

Some marvellous retro TV is the crowning glory in an abundance of recently discovered material reflecting the masterly talent of Matt Monro.

Both the DVD and CD packages feature a peerless singer equally as adept taking on songs asso-ciated with other artists as he was performing great live versions of his own best-loved recordings.

The Odeon release has an 85-minute sequence of diverse performances filmed in colour and b&w, full of period charm – with Matt captured in the bewilderingly varied company of Tony Bennett, Liberace, Roger Whittaker, Bernard Manning, Tony Hatch, David Frost, Jimmy Tarbuck, Sandie Shaw and Mary Hopkin.

An ever-smart and dapper Matt - his sartorial attire included a richly brown and beige ensemble, black shirt and yellow cravat, and many other 60s and 70s favourites – unfailingly delivers his songs with a sense of real meaning, even when he’s appearing in front of a blankly sedate audience that only stirs to offer a round of polite applause.

These performances – from “Stars on Sunday”, “The Wheeltappers’ and Shunters’ Social Club”, and a number of other programmes – include several of his own hits and a range of other compositions that’s wide enough to incorporate ‘Don’t Sleep In The Subway’, ‘Hava Nagila’, and one of the more obscure of his Beatles-related cover versions, George
Harrison’s ‘Isn’t It A Pity?’ Linking introductions come from the singer’s son Matt Jnr, a striking look-alike – and whose sister, Matt’s daughter Michele, is a driving force behind these releases. The package also includes two ingredients which were separately issued not long ago.

A DVD presentation of ‘An Evening With Matt Monro’, which comprised a 1967 show in Australia, now has some technically enhanced sound and picture quality, and there’s a CD of a performance given in Manila the previous year.

A collection of Matt Monro appearances on BBC TV and radio programmes is on a “rival” release made up of a DVD running for nearly an hour, and a 73-minute CD. Half the DVD features a string of his own favourites, performed on a 1975 TV show called “Matt Sings Monro” (his repertoire here also includes a song titled ‘And You Smiled’, which gives lyrics to the theme from the telly series “Van der Valk”). Elsewhere, Matt’s good humour is evident in a self-deprecating 1978 interview with Pebble Mill’s Bob Langley which is both entertaining and amusing, and sandwiched by a hits medley and a very moving rendition of ‘If I Never Sing Another Song’. There’s also a 1973 comedy-singing performance alongside Leslie Crowther and Cilla Black.

The accompanying CD is of carefully restored archive recordings. It’s based on shows for overseas broadcast, on which the consummate all-rounder largely concentrates on warm middle-of-the-road ballads and is supported by the big band sound of the Ted Heath Orchestra.

These performances are nearly all from 1963, with a couple from 1961. Three final tracks have accompaniment from Johnnie Spence and his Orchestra and date from later in the 60s.

http://www.kingsleyhousepublishers.com/ ... storyid=57

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john
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Re: New review found

Post by john » Sun Feb 07, 2010 10:47 pm

Great review! :D

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Marian
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Re: New review found

Post by Marian » Sun Feb 07, 2010 10:57 pm

That was a very nice find! :D
Marian :D

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