Ultimate Collection (Box)

The first track on this 4-CD set is "This Could Be the Start of Something Big," and it sure is: here, at last, is the Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé collection all of their fans have been waiting for, the biggest and (by far) best-sounding set ever devoted to the pair of legendary pop vocalists. Under the supervision of their son David Lawrence (who contributes a personal note to the booklet), we've gone back to the original tapes for most of these 72 tracks; some of these have never appeared on CD, and, with Eric Boulanger's new remastering, the ones that have come out sound much better than they did before. Disc One, "Duet Classics," features such career touchstones for the couple as "Baby It's Cold Outside," "For Once in Your Life," and "We Got Us." Disc Two, "Steve Classics," brings the hits with "Portrait of My Love," "Footsteps," and "Go Away Little Girl" along with such signature renditions as "I've Gotta Be Me" and "I Want to Be with You" and even an unreleased track, "You and I." Eydie takes over (and how!) on Disc Three with such smashes as "Blame It on the Bossa Nova," "What Did I Have That I Don't Have," "If He Walked into My Life," "Tonight I'll Say a Prayer, and her Spanish-language classic with Trio Los Panchos, "Sabor a Mí." And Disc Four revels in the duo's love of Broadway with songs like "Mama, A Rainbow," "The Ladies Who Lunch," "Two on the Aisle," and the uproarious "The Honeymoon Is Over." Like this collection, Joe Marchese's liner notes follow Steve and Eydie's career every step of the way, and we've included some rare photos courtesy of the estate. The ultimate collection indeed, the comprehensive, career-spanning collection these two icons have long deserved!