Jackie Gleason's Lover's Portfolio

OK kids, here's a treat... I think...

Jackie Gleason was a very talented individual, and he would have been the first one to tell you so, and you would have laughed as you agreed with him. Seriously, I like Jackie. And I like his orchestral stuff.

This, however, is an extremely interesting 2 LP set, that Capitol released in an actual portfolio-type briefcase! And the liner notes, WOW (which I need to get scanned)!

Basically, this is a 4-sided seduction piece, with music for Sipping, Dining, Dancing, and...... stuff. The liner notes even go so far as to suggest what kinds of drinks (WITH RECIPES!) to serve your paramour-ette (object of your affections, dinner date, whatever).

We start with Side 1, an 18 minute solo piano medley (with occasional Bass and Drum), for the casual conversation as your date comes in and slips off her gloves. Nicely and tastefully done, yes, sir, and it is called "Music for Sipping". This was all one track, and the titles contained are in the MP3 ID3V2 tag. I'll post them here, too... they are:
Some Day I'll Find You
I Can't Get Started
I Remember It Well
I See You Face Before Me
Allez Vous En
Lovely To Look At
The Touch Of Your Hand
What Is There To Say
I'll Follow My Secret Heart
If I Didn't Care
Someday I'll Find You (reprise)

So, now it is on to the dinner. For that we have Jackie's Dixieland Orchestra and "Music for Dining", with a few numbers to help the digestion, and to lighten up the mood, but not TOO light, nudge nudge.... That would be Side 2.

Side 3 is for "Music for Dancing", and we get a 15 minute mish-mash medley I guess that one could dance to... it's again one single track, so here are the titles (also in the ID3v2 tag):
I Could Have Danced All Night
Love Is Here To Stay
C'est Magnifique
Mad About The Boy
It's All Right With Me
Just In Time
How High The Moon
Easy To Love
I Concentrate On You
All Of You
Our Love
On The Street Where You Live
I Love Paris
Come Rain Or Come Shine
It All Depends On You
So In Love
A Foggy Day
By Myself
The Party's Over

See what I mean? But it is nicely performed by the "Society Dance Orchestra", whomever that may be (probably whomever was in studio that day...)

Now, Side 4, the "Music for Loving" (actually, drop the final 'g' on all the Music For...). These are ALL Jackie Gleason compositions, and are performed by Jackie's "Music for Lovers" Orchestra. Now THIS is the Jackie Gleason sound we're all familiar with. Lush lushness of strings, and not a clanker or blatt in the bunch. I guess that 16 or so minutes was the expected time to do.....stuff back then, or at least 16 minutes was supposed to be enough to prepare for..... doing stuff. Seems like an awfully short evening to me. But, hey, what do I know... with all the drink recipes in the liner note booklet, maybe the amorous couple would have passed out after 16 minutes of Music for Lovers...

Anyway, I split this into 2 archives, sides 1 and 2 are here... and sides 3 and 4 are here.

I'll have the liner notes up in a couple of days, believe me, they're worth the wait.

Cheers, and remember, always practice safe...... stuff!