FS/FT: Singers Unlimited - Magic Voices (7 CD box set on MPS)

[Teasing the Korean]

22 minutes ago, sgcim said:

When I mention GP's name to musicians I play with, they have no idea who I'm talking about. Even when I post his name on a music forum, people have no idea who I'm referring to.

As I've mentioned elsewhere, my parents were professional group singers.  They were in the final lineup of the Pied Pipers, until Chuck Lowry became so incapacitated from drinking that they had to replace him and, with no original members, began using other group names.  So, I was steeped in this stuff from a young age, both through the records my parents played, and hearing then rehearse with other singers.  I learned the tricks of the trade: To be a group singer, you had to sing with zero vibrato and have a smile on your face. (It's a different sound; you can tell when Sinatra is smiling when he sings.)  After my parents retired and an old singer friend would visit us, we would sometimes sing arrangements.  I was the second voice, right below my Mom. I wish I would have recorded this stuff.  As a young person, I thought this would go on forever, and that I would have decades and decades to sing four-voice arrangements with my parents.  They both died when I was in my 20s. Both the Hi-Los and Singers Unlimited were part of the wallpaper when I was a kid.  So the name Gene Puerling was ubiquitous.

Edited March 17, 2023 by Teasing the Korean

[felser]

21 minutes ago, Teasing the Korean said:

As I've mentioned elsewhere, my parents were professional group singers.  They were in the final lineup of the Pied Pipers, until Chuck Lowry became so incapacitated from drinking that they had to replace him and, with no original members, began using other group names.  So, I was steeped in this stuff from a young age, both through the records my parents played, and hearing then rehearse with other singers.  I learned the tricks of the trade: To be a group singer, you had to sing with zero vibrato and have a smile on your face. (It's a different sound; you can tell when Sinatra is smiling when he sings.)  After my parents retired and an old singer friend would visit us, we would sometimes sing arrangements.  I was the second voice, right below my Mom. I wish I would have recorded this stuff.  As a young person, I thought this would go on forever, and that I would have decades and decades to sing four-voice arrangements with my parents.  They both died when I was in my 20s. Both the Hi-Los and Singers Unlimited were part of the wallpaper when I was a kid.  So the name Gene Puerling was ubiquitous.

Great story, thanks for sharing.  So sorry for the early loss of your parents.

[HutchFan]

45 minutes ago, JSngry said:

Hope it was the member (name long since forgotten) who once stated some discomfort about them being "too white"... 

I described them as "Wonderbread" when I first heard them. That was indeed my first impression. ... But my thinking about them has changed significantly over time. ... What can I say? Sometimes, first impressions are accurate; sometimes, they aren't. 

That said, I wasn't the person who bought felser's set. I have half a dozen of their LPs. That's (probably) enough for me.

 

1 hour ago, felser said:

Great story, thanks for sharing.  So sorry for the early loss of your parents

Yes. This.

 

[Teasing the Korean]

1 hour ago, felser said:

Great story, thanks for sharing.  So sorry for the early loss of your parents.

38 minutes ago, HutchFan said:

Yes. This.

Thank you both.

[jazzcorner]

On 3/17/2023 at 6:54 PM, Teasing the Korean said:

I find that I am less interested in particular albums by Singers Unlimited than I am by particular songs they sing.  While Gene Puerling's aesthetics with the Hi-Los were very much reflective of and applicable to Great American Songbook stuff, I find that his aesthetics with Singers Unlimited are much more aligned with what I would call the 60s-70s international jet set aesthetic, which would include that songs by composers such as Jobim, Legrand, Bacharach, Webb, Hatch, Lennon/McCartney, Paul Williams, and others.  The kind of set list that would comprise an Astrud Gilberto or Claudine Longet album.  One of the reasons I was tempted to get this box set is that digitally, I can sequence my own ideal Singers Unlimited albums.  With the LPs, I have to skip around a lot.

Well I have all the vinyls + the  7CD box + this one

 I do not classify  their music as jazz or not. It simply is a pleasant sound  I like. The 3  "a capella'  LP's are a bit special for me.  Saying this I should mention that I am also  beside  beeing a  jazzfan  a fan/ collector of the Four Freshmen and some Hi-Lo's.  One great CD is the one from Manhattan Transfer with the Manny Albam arrangement of the classic "Snowfall". Give it a listen if you can.