Upon its first release Beauty and the Beat! was billed as a live recording from a Miami convention of disc jockeys.
Though Peggy Lee and George Shearing did in fact perform there (and attempts were made to record them for later release), the songs heard on the subsequent LP were recorded in the studio and overdubbed with rather obvious canned applause, announcements, and even post-production echo.
Lee and Shearing, who had never recorded before, conceived a set of completely new arrangements that played to their strengths: stately blues and effervescent swing.
The best of the former comes on a pair of locale-referencing quasi-blues, "I Lost My Sugar in Salt Lake City" and "You Came a Long Way From St.
Louis," both of which Lee and Shearing are able to transform into languorous, respectable torch songs.
The usually downcast "Blue Prelude" is actually taken at a laissez faire tempo that Lee treats well, and the original set ends with "Get Out of Town" and "Satin Doll," a pair of bemused, affectionate performances that perfectly suit the pair.
Lee and Shearing's only collaboration on record -- though both would occasionally perform together thereafter -- is a supremely chilled session of late-night blues from two masters of the form.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | If Dreams Come TrueBenny Goodman, Irving Mills, Edgar Sampson | Peggy Lee, George Shearing | Play | 02:51 | 6 MB | 16 MB |
| 2 | All Too SoonDuke Ellington, Carl Sigman | Peggy Lee, George Shearing | Play | 03:19 | 7 MB | 17 MB |
| 3 | Blue PreludeJoe Bishop, Gordon Jenkins | Peggy Lee, George Shearing | Play | 02:26 | 5 MB | 13 MB |
| 4 | Always True to You in My FashionCole Porter | Peggy Lee, George Shearing | Play | 02:19 | 5 MB | 12 MB |
| 5 | Get Out of TownCole Porter | Peggy Lee, George Shearing | Play | 02:32 | 5 MB | 14 MB |
| 6 | Don't Ever Leave MeOscar Hammerstein II, Jerome Kern | Peggy Lee, George Shearing | Play | 02:59 | 6 MB | 11 MB |
| 7 | Nobody's HeartLorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers | Peggy Lee, George Shearing | Play | 02:30 | 5 MB | 11 MB |
| 8 | Do I Love You | George Shearing, Peggy Lee | Play | 03:53 | 8 MB | 22 MB |
| 22 mins | 52 MB | |||||
| 22 mins | 118 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ray Alexander | Vibraphone |
| 2 | Joe Bishop | Composer |
| 3 | Jimmy Bond | Bass |
| 4 | John Benson Brooks | Composer |
| 5 | Dave Cavanaugh | Producer |
| 6 | Warren Chiasson | Vibraphone |
| 7 | Michael Cuscuna | Producer |
| 8 | Duke Ellington | Composer |
| 9 | Will Friedwald | Liner Notes |
| 10 | Benny Goodman | Composer |
| 11 | Oscar Hammerstein II | Composer |
| 12 | Lorenz Hart | Composer |
| 13 | Roy Haynes | Drums |
| 14 | Gordon Jenkins | Composer |
| 15 | Jerome Kern | Composer |
| 16 | John Lange | Composer |
| 17 | Peggy Lee | Composer, Primary Artist, Vocals |
| 18 | Ron McMaster | Remastering |
| 19 | Johnny Mercer | Composer |
| 20 | Irving Mills | Composer |
| 21 | Ray Mosca | Drums |
| 22 | Armando Peraza | Composer, Congas |
| 23 | Cole Porter | Composer |
| 24 | Carl Pruitt | Bass |
| 25 | Leon René | Composer |
| 26 | Richard Rodgers | Composer |
| 27 | Bob Russell | Composer |
| 28 | Edgar Sampson | Composer |
| 29 | George Shearing | Performer, Piano, Primary Artist |
| 30 | Carl Sigman | Composer |
| 31 | Billy Strayhorn | Composer |
| 32 | Toots Thielemans | Guest Artist, Guitar |
| 33 | Hubie Wheeler | Composer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |