This outstanding 2CD set, the first of Fitzgerald's Song Book series, should be at the top of any aspiring jazz singer's listening pile. Recorded over four days in February/March 1956, and featuring an orchestra conducted and arranged by Buddy Bregman, the Cole Porter Song Book presents two hours of sublime, note-perfect singing. From the insistent repetitions of what is often cited as Porter's finest song, ‘Night and Day’, to the effervescent swing of ‘Too Darn Hot’, Fitzgerald sings throughout with compelling clarity and impeccable timing. CD2 also includes three alternative takes – ‘You’re the Top', ‘I Concentrate on You’ and ‘Let's Do It' – that went unreleased until 1993. A live version of ‘Love for Sale’, recorded in Stockholm in 1957 and featuring pianist Don Abney, guitarist Herb Ellis, bassist Ray Brown and drummer Jo Jones, is included as a bonus track. The 20-page CD booklet includes original liner notes by Don Freeman and Norman Granz, Fred Lounsberry's insightful essay ‘What is this thing called Porter?’, plus a new introduction to the Song Book by Alan Guntry. The album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2000, a special award honouring recordings that have “qualitative or historical significance”, and in 2003 was one of 50 recordings chosen by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry. As far as vocal jazz goes, this is utterly essential.