Helen Merrill - dream of you

Helen Merrills vocal tone was always warm and husky. She developed from an apprehensive, untried singer, wanting to be accepted, into a calm and competent performer who could use her voice as an instrument of mood.

Dream of You (#1-12) was one of her best albums and an arranging triumph for Gil Evans, who did all the scoring and conducting. Evans, an extraordinarily sensitive and supple colorist, wrote with particular care for the contours (linear and emotional) of each song, as well as a measured understanding of Helens texture and phrasing.

The second album included here, Merrill At Midnight (#13-22), was recorded six months after the first one, and was another smash hit for Helen. This time the backgrounds were tailored to her own approach by Harold Hal Mooney. For this collection, she harvested some of the better bits of romantic poetry that existed in wisps among the voluminous Tin Pan Alley melodies.

1. People Will Say Were In Love (Rodgers-Hammerstein II) 2:38
2. By Myself (Dietz-Schwartz) 3:26
3. Any Place I Hang My Hat Is Home (Arlen-Mercer) 4:13
4. I've Never Seen (Cochran-Marcotte) 3:36
5. He Was Too Good To Me (Rodgers-Hart) 3:05
6. A New Town Is A Blue Town (Adler-Ross) 3:12
7. Youre Lucky To Me (Blake-Razaf) 3:29
8. Where Flamingos Fly (Courlander-Teal-Brooks) 2:48
9. Dream Of You (Sy Oliver) 2:56
10. I'm Fool To Want You (Herron-Sinatra-Wolf) 4:09
11. I'm Just A Lucky So And So (Ellington-David) 3:11
12. Troubled Waters (Coslow-Johnston) 3:16
13. Soft As Spring (Alec Wilder) 3:17
14. Black Is The Color Of My True Loves Hair (Public Domain) 2:54
15. Lazy Afternoon (Latouche-Moross) 3:10
16. The Things We Did Last Summer (Styne-Cahn) 3:08
17. After You, Who? (Cole Porter) 3:06
18. If You Go (Parsons-Emer) 3:14
19. If I Forget You (Irving Caesar) 3:23
20. If Love Were All (Noel Coward) 3:00
21. Easy Come Easy Go (Green-Heyman) 3:46
22. I'll Be Around (Alec Wilder) 2:46