Music reviews | Dave Matthews Band, Cole Porter

By Patrick MacDonald
Seattle Times music critic

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"The Gorge," Dave Matthews Band (RCA CD and DVD)

This is the one fans have been waiting for, around the world and especially here (because Matthews now calls Seattle home). The three-disc set, recorded and filmed at the band's Gorge concerts in 2002, is released today on RCA. DMB's fans are going to love it, and it's going to make the Gorge as famous and beloved worldwide as it already is here in the Northwest.

Matthews and the Gorge are synonymous because the DMB has made it a tradition to play multiple dates at the amphitheatre in George, Grant County, every summer, as it will again this year, on Sept 3, 4 and 5.

The concert footage is superb, because it was filmed in Hi-Def with more than 20 cameras. You see the show from every angle, by way of cameras onstage, in the audience and even overhead. Because of the ever-changing perspectives, the concert footage never gets boring. And the sound is perfect.

The DVD extras are what are going to make the Gorge more famous than it already is. A documentary on the spectacular site on the Columbia Gorge in Eastern Washington, narrated by Matthews and with comments from band members, is stunning, because the terrain is so spare and beautiful. Helicopter shots capture its remoteness and breathtaking scenery. Another DVD feature shows the concert being set up, including interviews with the "family" of crew and band members, as well as awe-filled comments about the site from concertgoers arriving for the shows from throughout the country.

The DVD has a set list section, where you can go to any song in the show. And you can select a number of camera angles for two songs, "Ants Marching" and "What Would You Say."

The two CDs are also first-rate, with great sound. You can actually hear the venue's amazing natural acoustics. And the audience reaction puts you right there at the concert.

For those who have seen DMB at the Gorge — especially two years ago — this is a great souvenir. And the DVD is one of the best concert films ever.

"De-Lovely (Music From the Motion Picture)," Various (Columbia CD)

"It's De-Lovely: The Authentic Cole Porter Collection," Various (Bluebird/BMG CD)

"Ultra Lounge: Cocktails With Cole Porter," Various (Capitol/EMI CD)

"De-Lovely," the Cole Porter biopic starring Kevin Kline, which opens Friday, has renewed interest in the great songwriter, whose heyday was in the 1920s through the '40s, and who died in 1964.

The movie soundtrack features contemporary artists interpreting Porter classics, in the film and on the CD. While you can't go wrong singing Porter, the interpretations don't fit the era. No matter how much the singer/actors try to be authentic, they all sound contemporary. Director Irwin Winkler apparently feared that today's movie audience would not accept Porter's music as he and his contemporaries played it. This punched-up, fast-paced, over-produced and over-orchestrated soundtrack does not serve Porter well. If you really want to hear what he sounded like singing his own songs, as well as legendary artists who knew and worked with him, get one of the newly-released collections, on Bluebird or Capitol.

There are some fine performances on the soundtrack, especially Diana Krall's cool and jazzy "Just One of Those Things," Vivian Green's torchy "Love for Sale," the unrecognizable Sheryl Crow's breathy and evocative "Begin the Beguine" and Natalie Cole's pure and dramatic "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye."

To hear the authentic Porter, as well as recordings from his era, get Bluebird's excellent, 19-cut "It's De-Lovely: The Authentic Cole Porter Collection." You'll hear Porter singing "Anything Goes" and "You're The Top," as well as great versions of his songs by great artists, including Frank Sinatra, Lena Horne and Fred Astaire. Dinah Shore, Rosemary Clooney and Roy Rogers (!) all do Porter proud, and there are some outstanding jazz instrumentals by Sonny Rollins, Paul Desmond and Shorty Rogers. It's a lot more substantial and fun than the movie soundtrack.

So is "Ultra Lounge: Cocktails With Cole Porter" on Capitol, including such classic cuts as Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald's "Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love)," Fitzgerald's "It's De-Lovely," Nat King Cole's "Just One of Those Things" and Sarah Vaughan's "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye."

Among other artists on the 20-song CD are Louis Armstrong, Judy Garland, Tony Bennett, Sammy Davis Jr., Julie London and Peggy Lee. Now those are folks who understood what Porter was all about.

Patrick MacDonald: 206-464-2312, pmacdonald@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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