The song of the day for Friday, May 22, 2015 is “Some Other Time.”
About This Song
“Some Other Time” was composed by Leonard Bernstein with lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green in 1944 for the musical On The Town, the story of three sailors on leave in New York City and their romantic adventures. This song is sung at the end by two of the couples. Inexplicably, this beautiful song was cut from the 1949 film version.
About This Version
Tony Bennett recorded this song in 1975 with Bill Evans for The Tony Bennett Bill Evans Album. I love this album dearly and this recording most of all. The reviewer Steve Schwartz noted in his review on the Classical Net website:
The high point of the album for me is Leonard Bernstein’s “Some Other Time,” from his first show, On the Town. I can’t think of too many singers diligent enough to seek the song out or with the courage to perform it. Though gorgeous, this number has several land mines for the singer – unusual harmonic shifts and, most obviously, the climactic phrase “Oh well,” beginning on the highest note in the song and descending an octave. The snare usually results in either a constricted or falsetto’d “Oh,” and there’s no place for the singer to hide. Bennett carries it off.
Indeed he does.
“Some Other Time,” as well as The Complete Tony Bennett / Bill Evans Album Recordings, is available from iTunes. This set includes both of the albums that Bennett and Evans recorded: The Tony Bennett Bill Evans Album and Together Again, along with alternate versions for several songs.
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