Vinyl plays nicely, except for slight-crackles during the first two songs on side 2 (play-graded). Gate-fold cover looks great; light scuffing, a few tiny surface impressions, discoloration spots and general discoloration (front/back/inner-gate)); running times written next to track listings in inner-gate. Inner-sleeve is original (generic white); two sides partially split. Spine is easy-to-read with mild wear and discoloration spots. Minor shelf-wear along top/bottom-edge and corners. Opening is crisp with signs of use. (Not a cut-out.)
Mel Torme was always at his very best in a live setting and this 1982 set is no exception, as he covers a number of favorites from the Great American Songbook, joined by pianist Mike Renzi, bassist Jay Leonhart, and drummer Donny Osborne. His weaves a bit of playful scat into Lulu's Back in Town. He only adds slight embellishments to a lush treatment of Sophisticated Lady, using Duke Ellington's ballad in a medley with two Harold Arlen gems (Stormy Weather and When the Sun Comes Out). Torme's pseudo-French accent at the beginning of Autumn Leaves is riotous, then he works his way into Ellington's It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) in the midst of the performance. He uses a scatted take of Manteca to introduce Day In, Day Out. He also revisits his emotional original ballad I'm Gonna Miss You, which he had written in 1945 for Vic Damone, though neither Damone's record nor the composer's earlier version ever gained much notice.