On the Swingin' Side
| On the Swingin' Side | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | December 19, 1960 | |||
| Genre | Traditional pop, vocal pop, standards | |||
| Length | 28:01 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer | Jack Marshall | |||
| Vic Damone chronology | ||||
| ||||
On the Swingin' Side is the twelfth studio album by American singer Vic Damone, released on December 19, 1960, by Columbia Records. It was produced by Jack Marshall.
The album was released on compact disc by EMI Music Distribution in 2000, as tracks 13 through 24 on a pairing of two albums on one CD with tracks 1 through 12 consisting of Damone's 1956 Columbia debut, That Towering Feeling!.[1] Collectables included this CD in a box set entitled Only the Best of Vic Damone, which contains six of his studio albums and one compilation and was released on November 27, 2007.[2]
On the Swingin' Side was included in a box set entitled Seven Classic Albums Box Set, which contains all 7 of his studio albums, and was released on February 5, 2016.[3]
Reception
[edit]| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [4] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |  [5] |
| Billboard | [6] |
| Disc | [7] |
| New Record Mirror | [8] |
William Ruhlmann of AllMusic said that On the Swingin' Side "is an unadulterated up-tempo delight that deserves to be rediscovered."[4]
Giving it four stars to indicate "strong sales potential", Billboard notes "He Lends his superior vocal talents to a flock of great standards - eschewing his usual sweet ballad groove in favor of a swinging beat. It's a highly effective change of pace for the warbler and fine wax for jocks."[6]
Cash Box claimed "Jack Marshall's arrangement keep the pace on the easy swing side, sympathetic to the singer's style".[9]
Jimmy Watson of New Record Mirror described the album as "One of Vic's Best to date" and notes "The album swings easily along from start to finish.[8]
Nigel Hunter of Disc believed "Their presentation has been brought right to date by high-class arranging and accoimpaniments from Jack Marshall.[7]
In A Biographical Guide to the Great Jazz and Pop Singers, Will Friedwald writes "He knows his own strengths and weakness enough to stick to doing ballads with a beat, as opposed to out and up-tempo singing in the Sinatra Swingin' Lover tradition.[10]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music described the album as "well-regarded"[5]
Track listing
[edit]Side one
[edit]| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Falling in Love with Love" (from the Broadway musical: The Boys from Syracuse) | Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart | 1:37 |
| 2. | "It's All Right with Me" | Cole Porter | 2:56 |
| 3. | "When My Sugar Walks Down the Street" | Gene Austin, Jimmy McHugh, Irving Mills | 2:51 |
| 4. | "Cry Me a River" | Arthur Hamilton | 3:12 |
| 5. | "Home (When Shadows Fall)" | Harry Clarkson, Geoffrey Clarkson, Peter van Steeden | 1:57 |
| 6. | "Swingin' Down the Lane" | Isham Jones, Gus Kahn | 2:19 |
Side two
[edit]| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I Cried for You" | Gus Arnheim, Abe Lyman, Arthur Freed | 2:19 |
| 2. | "Speak Low" | Kurt Weill, Ogden Nash | 2:19 |
| 3. | "It's a Wonderful World" | Jan Savitt, Jan Savitt, Johnny Watson | 1:49 |
| 4. | "Girl of My Dreams (I Love You)" | Sunny Clapp | 2:21 |
| 5. | "Deep Purple" | Peter DeRose, Mitchell Parish | 2:09 |
| 6. | "Toot, Toot, Tootsie (Goo' Bye!)" | Gus Kahn, Ernie Erdman, Danny Russo | 2:01 |
References
[edit]- ^ "That Towering Feeling!/On the Swingin' Side". AllMusic. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
- ^ "Only the Best of Vic Damone". AllMusic. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
- ^ 7 Classic Albums - Vic Damone | Album | AllMusic, retrieved April 29, 2025
- ^ a b "Vic Damone – On the Swingin' Side: Ratings". Allmusic. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
- ^ a b Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. p. 392. ISBN 9781846098567. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
- ^ a b "Pop LPs Strong Sales Potential: On The Swingin' Side". Billboard. December 31, 1960. p. 24.
- ^ a b Hunter, Nigel (July 29, 1961). "LPs reviewed by Nigel Hunter, A SWINGING BEAT FROM SHEARING, LP Jazz for popsters... Ray Martin gimmick...mellow Damone: On the Swingin; Side" (PDF). Disc. No. 175. p. 13. Retrieved February 22, 2025.
- ^ a b "POP STAR LP. LINE-UP... VIC, AIMA, BRENDA, FATS, BUZZ, etc" (PDF). Record Mirror. No. 19. July 22, 1961. p. 10.
- ^ "Album Reviews". Cash Box. Vol. 22, no. 22. January 28, 1961. p. 30.
- ^ Friedwald, Will (2010). A Biographical Guide to the Great Jazz and Pop Singers. Pantheon Books. p. 132. ISBN 9780375421495.