[78-L] Gordon Jenkins question

[Jeff Sultanof]

Seven Dreams is actually quite good, not great, but good, in my opinion.

So far no one's brought up "The Future," which was the third LP of Frank
Sinatra's "Trilogy." The reviews of this piece were terrible, and Sinatra
was angry, as (the way I understand it) Gordon was ill and this was
Sinatra's way to keep him occupied. I haven't heard it in years, and don't
have the time to re-evaluate it now, but I don't expect to like it more.
However, there are beautiful things in it if you take the time to dig
through it.

Gordon also wrote shows performed in Las Vegas that are probably long
forgotten. Some years ago, there was a bio of Gordon by his son Bruce
Jenkins, which is still in print. It is an excellent book, as it digs up a
lot of facts about Gordon that were not previously known, even to Bruce
until he began his research.

And David, I understand your reaction to Judy Garland, but I must say that
she was in particularly good voice during that period, and "Judy in Love"
arranged by Nelson Riddle is perhaps the best album she made. Nelson told
me that he really enjoyed working with her, conducting for her during a
short tour in addition to the recordings.

Jeff Sultanof


On Wed, Jul 24, 2013 at 8:23 AM, David Lennick <dlennick at sympatico.ca>wrote:

> There was "California", which was the flip to the original Manhattan Tower
> on
> Decca, and the expanded "Tower" gave us "Married I Can Always Get" which
> wasn't
> a bad little tune. Some people went nuts over "Seven Dreams". I've never
> heard
> "The Letter" and hope I never have to, but for reasons related to the
> performer
> and not Mr. Jenkins.
>
> dl
>
> On 7/24/2013 1:14 AM, Randy Watts wrote:
> > Out of curiosity, how many "Manhattan Tower"-like extravaganzas did
> Gordon Jenkins come up with over the years?  I just finished transferring
> his 1959 Capitol album "The Letter," with Judy Garland and John Ireland,
> for someone and thought his songs were pretty awful.
> >
> > Randy
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