''Love Words'' (subtitled ''Ken Nordine Speaks Lyrically of Love'') is an album by

voice-over Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique used in radio, television, filmmaking, theatre, and other media in which a descriptive or expository voice that is not part of the narrative (i.e., non- ...

and recording artist

Ken Nordine Ken Nordine (April 13, 1920 – February 16, 2019) was an American voice-over and recording artist, best known for his series of Word Jazz, word jazz albums. His deep, resonant voice has also been featured in many advertising, commercial advertis ...

, which was released on the Dot label in 1958.Edwards, D. and Callahan, M
Dot Album Discography Part 2: LPs 3000-3250/25000-25250
accessed August 14, 2015 The album featured Nordine's

spoken word Spoken word is an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a 20th-century continuation of an oral tradition, ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetic ...

interpretations of love songs, a departure from his previous work which featured his surreal or humorous monologues.

Reception

The

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

site rated the album 3 stars stating "The idea of taking '' Word Jazz'' weirdo Ken Nordine and having him perform several romantic jazz standards in a beatnik-esque spoken-word style sounds like it would either be awfully fantastic or fantastically awful. Perhaps the worst thing that can be said about the result is that it's neither. Even though he's not able to pull this off in its entirety, this is the sort of thing that would make you smile if someone dropped one of the tracks onto a mixtape or into an eclectic radio set".

Track listing

# "

All the Things You Are "All the Things You Are" is a song composed by Jerome Kern with lyrics written by Oscar Hammerstein II. The song was written for the musical '' Very Warm for May'' (1939)Oscar Hammerstein II Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II (; July 12, 1895 – August 23, 1960) was an American lyricist, librettist, theatrical producer, and director in musical theater for nearly 40 years. He won eight Tony Awards and two Academy Award ...

Jerome Kern Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over ...

) – 2:52 # "

Midnight Sun Midnight sun, also known as polar day, is a natural phenomenon that occurs in the summer months in places north of the Arctic Circle or south of the Antarctic Circle, when the Sun remains visible at the local midnight. When midnight sun is see ...

" (

Sonny Burke Joseph Francis "Sonny" Burke (March 22, 1914 – May 31, 1980) was an American musical arranger, composer, Big Band leader and producer. Early life and career Born in Scranton, Pennsylvania to Francis P. Burke and Rhoda Nihany, Burke grew up in D ...

Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, percussionist, and bandleader. He worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles Mingus, an ...

Johnny Mercer John Herndon Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Wallichs Music Cit ...

) – 2:30 # " You Do Something to Me" (

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became Standard (music), standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway the ...

) – 2:34 # " These Foolish Things" (

Harry Link Harry Link (born John Harry Linkey, January 25, 1896, Philadelphia – July 5, 1956, New York City) was an American vaudeville actor and songwriter. He wrote and co-wrote several well-known jazz standards. Career Link studied at the Wharton S ...

Holt Marvell Albert Eric Maschwitz OBE (10 June 1901 – 27 October 1969), sometimes credited as Holt Marvell, was an English entertainer, writer, editor, broadcaster and broadcasting executive. Life and work Born in Edgbaston, Birmingham, England, the so ...

Jack Strachey Jack Strachey (25 September 1894 – 27 May 1972) was an English composer and songwriter. Born John Francis Strachey in London on 25 September 1894, he began writing songs in the 1920s for the theatre and the music hall, scoring his first succes ...

) – 3:05 # " All of You" (Porter) – 2:37 # " I'll Be Seeing You" (

Sammy Fain Sammy Fain (born Samuel E. Feinberg; June 17, 1902 – December 6, 1989) was an American composer of popular music. In the 1920s and early 1930s, he contributed numerous songs that form part of The Great American Songbook, and to Broadway theatr ...

Irving Kahal Irving Kahal (March 5, 1903, Houtzdale, Pennsylvania – February 7, 1942, New York City) was a popular American song lyricist active in the 1920s and 1930s. He is best remembered for his collaborations with composer Sammy Fain which started in ...

) – 2:35 # "

I'm Glad There Is You "I'm Glad There Is You (In This World of Ordinary People)" is a song written by Jimmy Dorsey and Paul Madeira (sometimes credited as Paul Mertz) first published in 1941. It has become a jazz and pop standard. Original recording The song was rele ...

" (

Jimmy Dorsey James Francis Dorsey (February 29, 1904 – June 12, 1957) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer and big band leader. He recorded and composed the jazz and pop standards " I'm Glad There Is You (In This World of Ordinary Peopl ...

, Paul Mertz) – 2:19 # " The Touch of Your Lips" (

Ray Noble Raymond Stanley Noble (17 December 1903 – 3 April 1978) was an English jazz and big band musician, who was a bandleader, composer and arranger, as well as a radio host, television and film comedian and actor; he also performed in the United S ...

) – 2:31 # "

My Funny Valentine "My Funny Valentine" is a show tune from the 1937 Rodgers and Hart coming of age musical ''Babes in Arms'' in which it was introduced by teenaged star Mitzi Green. The song became a popular jazz standard, appearing on over 1300 albums performed ...

" (

Lorenz Hart Lorenz Milton Hart (May 2, 1895 – November 22, 1943) was an American lyricist and half of the Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart. Some of his more famous lyrics include "Blue Moon"; " The Lady Is a Tramp"; "Manhattan"; " Bewitched, Bo ...

Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway theatre, Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers wa ...

) – 2:40 # " Don't Take Your Love from Me" (

Henry Nemo Henry Nemo (June 8, 1909 – November 26, 1999) was an American musician, songwriter, and actor in Hollywood films who had a reputation as a hipster. Band leading In 1941, Nemo formed his own 19-piece band. The group featured four Chinese women ...

) – 2:07 # "When I'm With You" (

Mack Gordon Mack Gordon (born Morris Gittler; June 21, 1904 – February 28, 1959) was an American lyricist for the stage and film. He was nominated for the best original song Oscar nine times in 11 years, including five consecutive years between 1940 and 1 ...

, Harry Revel) – 1:33 # "

There Will Never Be Another You "There Will Never Be Another You" is a popular song with music by Harry Warren and lyrics by Mack Gordon that was written for the Twentieth Century Fox musical ''Iceland'' (1942) starring Sonja Henie and John Payne. The songs in the film featur ...

" (Mack Gordon,

Harry Warren Harry Warren (born Salvatore Antonio Guaragna; December 24, 1893 – September 22, 1981) was an American composer and the first major American songwriter to write primarily for film. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song ...

) – 2:20

Personnel

–

narration Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deliver information to the ...

* Fred Katz –

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

Dick Marx Richard Henry Marx (April 12, 1924 – August 12, 1997) was an American jazz pianist and arranger. He also composed for film, television, and commercials. Personal life Marx and wife Ruth (née Guildoo) had a son, Richard Marx, pop singer, s ...

–

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

Johnny Frigo Johnny Frigo (December 27, 1916 – July 4, 2007) was an American jazz violinist, bassist and songwriter. He appeared in the 1940s as a violinist before working as a bassist. He returned to the violin in the 1980s and enjoyed a comeback, recordin ...

–

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

*Red Holt –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

References

{{Authority control Dot Records albums Ken Nordine albums 1958 albums