Ella Mae Morse – Rocks
Bear Family BCD 16672
Money Honey – Have Mercy Baby – Rock Me All Night Long – Daddy, Daddy – The House Of Blue Lights – 5-10-15 Hours – It’s Raining Tears From My Eyes – How Can You Leave A Man Like This – Lovey Dovey – Get Off It And Go – Oakie boogie – False Hearted Girl – Greyhound – ump Back, Honey – A Little Further Down The Road A Piece – Bouncin’ Ball – Big Mamou – Forty Cups Of Coffee – Give A Little Time To Your Lover – The Blacksmith Blues – Won’t You Listen To Me Baby – Oakie boogie – Smack Dab In The Middl – Yes, Yes I Do – Razzle Dazzle – Ain’t That A Shame – Piddilly Pitter Patter – Seventeen – When Boy Kiss Girl (It’s Love) – Give Me Love – Rockin’ And Rollin’ – Rock And Roll Wedding – Cow Cow Boogie – Mr. Anthony’s Blues
Versatile seems to be the most fitting adjective to describe Ella Mae Morse.
Discovered in 1942 with the superb “Cow Cow Boogie,” on which, despite her young age, she displays remarkable ease, Morse continued to explore different genres, navigating effortlessly from one to another. Recording primarily for Capitol Records, she tackled genres such as torch songs and sensual jazz (the sublime “Sensational,” on which she rivals Ella Fitzgerald), but also more rhythmic pieces. It is to this second category of songs that the tracks gathered on this compilation belong. Listening to this album, it is Morse’s vocal ease and her effortless transition from one genre to another that truly impresses the listener. Thus, across the 34 tracks of this album, we move from Boogie Woogie (House of Blue Light, A Little Further Down the Road A Piece) to Hillbilly Boogie (Okie Boogie, False Hearted Girl, a duet with Tennessee Ernie Ford) to Rhythm and Blues (Smack Dab In The Middle), to Rock and Roll (Razzle Dazzle, Greyhound, Money Honey), not forgetting Hot Jazz (Get Off It And Go) or exotic pop (the dispensable Rock and Roll Wedding).
Each time, her clear and powerful voice, tinged with bluesy accents, works wonders. Proof of this is the singer’s ability to convince us with a Mambo/pop version of Link Davis’s Big Mamou.
Of course, one might regret, mainly on the more Rock and Roll sides, the systematic use of a large orchestra instead of a smaller ensemble that would be better suited to the genre. Despite this, there’s always room for exciting solos, with Morse often accompanied by the cream of Capitol’s musicians, whether it’s the saxophone on Jump Back Honey, Barney Kessel’s guitar on Razzle Dazzle, or the Speedy West and Jimmy Bryant team on Okie Boogie.
Perhaps this versatility ultimately hindered Ella Mae Morse’s career, as audiences and labels don’t like artists that are hard to pigeonhole, but in the end, it’s what makes her career and this compilation so rich.
Fred “Virgil” Turgis
Available here.
