The Ultimate Collection (1998)

About this title: George Gershwin: The Ultimate Collection is a nice double-disc set that collects definitive performances of Gershwin standards from Rhapsody in Blue to Funny Face. It's a wildly eclectic collection, containing cuts from Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, Audrey Hepburn, Sarah Vaughan, Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, and the Boston Pops Orchestra, thereby offering a good portrait of the depth of Gershwin's material and the way it lends itself to so many different styles. It's not necessarily a definitive collection -- he wrote so much great music, it's nearly impossible to condense it ... read more

Tracks:

1. Strike up the Band [Gershwin/Gershwin]
2. Summertime [Gershwin/Gershwin]
3. The Man I Love [Gershwin/Gershwin]
4. Someone to Watch over Me [Gershwin/Gershwin]
5. Love Is Here to Stay [Gershwin/Gershwin]
6. They Can't Take That Away from Me [Gershwin/Gershwin]
7. Funny Face [Gershwin/Gershwin]
8. How Long Has This Been Going On? [Gershwin/Gershwin]
9. 'S Wonderful [Gershwin/Gershwin]
10. Oh, Lady Be Good [Gershwin/Gershwin]
11. A Foggy Day [Gershwin/Gershwin]
12. I Loves You, Porgy [Gershwin/Gershwin]
13. For You, for Me, for Evermore [Gershwin/Gershwin]
14. Who Cares? [Gershwin/Gershwin]
15. I've Got a Crush on You [Gershwin/Gershwin]
16. They All Laughed [Gershwin/Gershwin]
17. Embraceable You [Gershwin/Gershwin]
18. Rhapsody in Blue [Gershwin]
19. Cuban Overture [Excerpt] [Gershwin]
20. Suite [From Girl Crazy] [Gershwin]
21. Funny Face (Overture) [Gershwin/Gershwin]
22. An American in Paris [Excerpt] [Gershwin]
23. Second Rhapsody for Piano and Orchestra [Excerpt] [Gershwin]
24. Suite from Porgy and Bess [Gershwin]
25. Oh, Kay! (Overture) [Gershwin]
26. Piano Concerto in F [Excerpt] [Gershwin]
27. Lullaby [Gershwin]
28. Three Preludes [Gershwin]

Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is further described below.