George Bugatti: Bugatti on the Strip

Brooklyn born George Bugatti took Horace Greeley's advice to heart and went West when he was a young man. Now firmly ensconced at the mammoth Hotel Bellagro in Las Vegas, the good looking singer has released his second album. Four square in the tradition of Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett (who has said nice things about Bugatti) and Bobby Darin, Bugatti enthusiastically delivers a program of 13 tunes, mostly traditional pop tunes which while not classic standards, are familiar to most listeners of this musical genre. And like these giants, especially Sinatra and Darin, Bugatti can be and is on this CD, lighthearted, sardonic, witty, romantic and street wise. Possessing a set of vocal chords with the essential elements of good range and diction, excellent phrasing and control over pitch. Bugatti also knows how to use his musicians to his advantage. Jerry Merra's tenor is sweet on "Angel Eyes" and raucous and hard driving on "I Can't Believe That You're in Love with Me", in synch with Bugatti's delivery of these tunes. Clyde Duell's drums add appropriate punctuation marks to the up tempo tunes and lays down a soft beat for the ballads. A highlight of the album is Steve Allen's sophisticated, cosmopolitan "The Usual Place" where George is joined by his wife Mary, whose voice is quite attractive indeed.

With the passing in recent years of so many of the great male singers, Mr. Bugatti, while perhaps never reaching the same level of stardom, nonetheless has the equipment to help fill this enormous void. There is one problem with this otherwise fine outing. There's less than 40 minutes of music on this CD, about the same length of time as his first album The Steve Allen Songbook.. Parsimonious playing time aside, this album is recommended.

Tracks:Angel Eyes; Medley: Cute/This Could Be the Start of Something; Sunday in New York; All My Tomorrows; Please Be Kind; The Best of Everything; Heart of Mine; I Miss Your Love; I Can't Believe that You're in Love with Me; Singin' in the Rain; Autumn Leaves; The Usual Place*; Fly Me to the Moon