Strange Enchantment
| Strange Enchantment | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 1962 | |||
| Genre |
| |||
| Length | 29:59 | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Producer | Jack Marshall | |||
| Vic Damone chronology | ||||
| ||||
Strange Enchantment is the fourteenth studio album by American singer Vic Damone, released by Capitol Records in March 1962, and was available both in stereo and mono.[1] It was produced by Jack Marshall.
The album was released on compact disc by EMI Music Distribution on May 31, 1999, as a double album pairing it with Damone's 1962 album, The Lively Ones.[2] Strange Enchantment was included in a box set entitled Seven Classic Albums Box Set, which contains all 7 of his studio albums, and was released on February 5, 2016.[3]
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | [4] |
| New Record Mirror | [5] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [6] |
| Billboard | [7] |
| Disc | [8] |
Giving it four stars to indicate "strong sales potential", Billboard believed it "Here's the rich-voiced Vic Damone in a selection of moody, haunting, far-away type songs, an exotic set full of the percussion and flavor of the islands.[7]
Cash Box called it "a powerful follow-up LP. and stated that "a dozen tropical-flavored tunes, in good strad as he offers extremely listenable renditions of "Poinicana", "Beyond The Reef" and "Ebb Tide"[9]
Record Mirror raved, "The cool and thoroughly professional voice of Vic Damone wend its way easily through this ballad set."[5]
Hunter Nigel of Disc notes "He moves between Hawaii and Latin America with able assistance from Billy May's orchestra"[8]
In A Biographical Guide to the Great Jazz and Pop Singers, Will Friedwald called it "the most ballady of the bunch is the exotic.[10]
American Record Guide referred to it as "a pleasant album"[11]
The Courier Journal stated that "He illustrates with an excellent program of South Seas songs that he is long overdue for a hit. He is backed by strings and percussions conducted by Billy May."[12]
Life claimed "it offers a pleasant Polynesian numbers like "Bali Hai".[13]
Track listing
Side one
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Strange Enchantment" | Frank Loesser, Frederick Hollander | 2:49 |
| 2. | "Hawaiian Wedding Song" | Al Hoffman, Charles E. King, Dick Manning | 2:41 |
| 3. | "Shangri-La" | Matty Malneck, Carl Sigman, Robert Maxwell | 2:42 |
| 4. | "Humming Waters" | Al Stillman, Guy Wood | 2:47 |
| 5. | "Poinciana" | Nat Simon, Buddy Bernier, Manuel Lliso | 2:27 |
| 6. | "Flamingo" | Ted Grouya, Edmund Anderson | 1:59 |
Side two
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Beyond the Reef" | Jack Pitman | 2:26 |
| 2. | "You're Lovable" | Ian Bernard, Vic Damone | 2:37 |
| 3. | "The Moon of Manakoora" | Frank Loesser, Alfred Newman | 2:12 |
| 4. | "Bali Ha'i" | Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II | 2:07 |
| 5. | "Dry Your Eyes" | Charles King, Milt Raskin | 2:21 |
| 6. | "Ebb Tide" | Carl Sigman, Robert Maxwell | 2:38 |
References
- ^ Kinslow, Chris (2015). Goldmine Record Album Price Guide 2015. Penguin. p. 140. ISBN 9-781440-243721. Retrieved March 6, 2026.
- ^ Vic Damone – The Lively Ones/Strange Enchantment at AllMusic. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
- ^ 7 Classic Albums - Vic Damone | Album | AllMusic, retrieved April 29, 2025
- ^ "Vic Damone – Strange Enchantment: Review - Album Ratings". Allmusic. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
- ^ a b "LP Reviews By Jimmmy Watson" (PDF). Record Mirror. February 16, 1963. p. 10.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. p. 392. ISBN 9781846098567. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
- ^ a b "Review of New Albums: Strange Enchantment". Billboard. Vol. 74, no. 14. April 14, 1962. p. 44.
- ^ a b Hunter, Nigel (December 29, 1962). "Disc Date Reviews LPs with Nigel Hunter :Nat King Cole-old style and new - VIC IS A REAL CLASSY SINGER" (PDF). Disc. No. 249. p. 10. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
- ^ "Cashbox Album Poupler Pick of The Week Reviews: Strange Enchantment". Cash Box. Vol. 23, no. 23. April 7, 1962. p. 28.
- ^ Friedwald, Will (2010). A Biographical Guide to the Great Jazz and Pop Singers. Pantheon Books. p. 133. ISBN 9780375421495.
- ^ "Unlikely Corners". American Record Guide. Vol. 28, no. 11. July 1962. p. 898.
- ^ "SPINNING THE POPS 32 Astaire Tunes Collected In Album". Courier Journal. May 6, 1962. p. 118. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
- ^ "Pop Records". Life. May 11, 1962. p. 21.