‘Ella’ is an album that sadly often finds itself relegated to dollar bins, while it’s on your turntable where it belongs.
By 1969, Ella Fitzgerald is older but with an undiminished talent. If her earlier album — ‘Sunshine of Your Love,’ also released in 1969 — could be considered the closest thing to an Ella Fitzgerald psychedelic album, ‘Ella’ takes a step backward from acid rock to a less trippy, more poppy but still 60s mod atmosphere. Standout tracks include her take on Smokey Robinson’s “The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game,’ while the low point (very low) is a cringe-worthy cover of Randy Newman’s ‘Yellow Man,’ which has not aged well.
‘Ella’ was released in an era when jazz and soul artists were encouraged (if not required) by their record companies to include covers of Beatles songs on their albums with the aim of reaching wider audiences. The concept itself is restrictive if not outright heinous in retrospect. As a result, ‘Ella’ includes two Beatles covers, but it’s her version of ‘Got to Get You Into My Life’ that makes this record something that must be heard to be believed.
The Beatles’ original is one of the more jazzy big band sounding songs in the Beatles catalog, and Paul McCartney sings it with tongue firmly planted in cheek. It’s an amazing McCartney vocal, but the subtext is that it’s not about a new relationship but rather about his introduction to the herb also known on the street as Mary Jane. Ella Fitzgerald interprets the song literally — as a love song about someone new coming into your life and the pure joy it brings. It’s a buoyant and bubbly performance made even more endearing coming from a singer the age of a grandma. It shows she’s still got it and a rare case in which a Beatles cover song might surpass the original.
Get this record into your life.
As of this writing, Sandbar Sounds has a very clean vinyl copy of Ella ($15) and — surprise! — a used CD copy ($6) for sale. Stop by soon! If by chance you discover this record in a dollar bin, consider it your lucky day!
