Como Swings/For the Young at Heart

Perry Como

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Como Swings/For the Young at Heart Review

by William Ruhlmann

Como Swings and For the Young at Heart are chronologically consecutive albums in Perry Como's discography, not counting the holiday collection Seasons Greetings, so it makes sense for Collectables Records to have combined the 1959 and 1961 releases on one CD in its series of Como two-fers. But stylistically they are very different records. Como Swings was the singer's attempt to make an album like one of Frank Sinatra's popular up-tempo LPs of the 1950s, such as Songs for Swingin' Lovers. Arrangers Joe Lipman and Jack Andrews wrote a bunch of charts that aped the sound Billy May got for Sinatra, full of blaring horn fanfares and loud percussion. Song after song features these aggressive orchestrations, which push Como to assert himself more than usual. Arranger O.B. Masingill, on the other hand, takes a different tack for the 12 songs that make up For the Young at Heart, all of which have the word "young" in the title. The strings are gone, a prominent chorus sings along with Como, and the horns are frequently muted or just restrained, as Masingill imposes a lightly swinging style on the Mitchell Ayres Orchestra. The approach is more conducive to the singer, who turns in characteristically warm and easy interpretations. The big changeover on the CD occurs between track 12, "Begin the Beguine," and track 13, "When You and I Were Young, Maggie," when things suddenly calm down considerably. Both albums have their virtues, but this CD should really be thought of as two separate collections that happen to have been run together.

Track Listing

	Title/Composer	Performer	Time	Stream
1	St. Louis Blues W.C. Handy	Perry Como	02:57	Spotify Amazon
2	I've Got You Under My Skin Cole Porter	Perry Como	02:12	Spotify Amazon
3	Route 66 Bobby Troup	Perry Como	03:51	Spotify Amazon
4	Dear Hearts and Gentle People Sammy Fain / Bob Hilliard	Perry Como	02:49	Spotify Amazon
5	Mood Indigo Barney Bigard / Duke Ellington / Irving Mills	Perry Como	03:12	Spotify Amazon
6	The Donkey Serenade George Forrest / Rudolf Friml / Herbert Stothart / Robert Wright	Perry Como	02:43	Spotify Amazon
7	To Know You (Is to Love You) Robert Allen / Ray Henderson / Allan Roberts	Perry Como	02:17	Spotify Amazon
8	You Came a Long Way from St. Louis John Benson Brooks / Bob Russell	Perry Como	03:07	Spotify Amazon
9	Honey, Honey (Bless Your Heart) Dominick Belline / Larry Stock	Perry Como	02:00	Spotify Amazon
10	Let a Smile Be Your Umbrella (On a Rainy Day) Sammy Fain / Irving Kahal / Francis Wheeler	Perry Como	03:03	Spotify Amazon
11	Linda Jack Lawrence	Perry Como	02:46	Spotify Amazon
12	Begin the Beguine Cole Porter	Perry Como	03:27	Spotify Amazon
13	When You and I Were Young, Maggie James Austin Butterfield / George Washington Johnson	Perry Como	02:18	Spotify Amazon
14	Young at Heart Carolyn Leigh / J.R. Richards / Johnny Richards	Perry Como	02:54	Spotify Amazon
15	I Was Young and Foolish Dick Manning	Perry Como	02:41	Spotify Amazon
16	Too Young Sylvia Dee / Sidney Lippman	Perry Como	02:34	Spotify Amazon
17	You Make Me Feel So Young Mack Gordon / Josef Myrow	Perry Como	02:33	Spotify Amazon
18	Like Young André Previn / Paul Francis Webster	Perry Como	02:52	Spotify Amazon
19	Hello, Young Lovers Oscar Hammerstein II / Richard Rodgers	Perry Como	02:46	Spotify Amazon
20	Especially for the Young M.P. Curtis	Perry Como	02:13	Spotify Amazon
21	Too Young to Go Steady Harold Adamson / Jimmy McHugh	Perry Como	02:27	Spotify Amazon
22	While We're Young William Engvick / Morty Palitz / Alec Wilder	Perry Como	02:56	Spotify Amazon
23	Young Love Rick Cartey / Carole Joyner	Perry Como	02:41	Spotify Amazon
24	When Hearts Are Young Sigmund Romberg / Hayden Wood	Perry Como	02:18	Spotify Amazon

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Como Swings/For the Young at Heart Review

Track Listing

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