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The Atomic Mr. Basie

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The Atomic Mr. Basie
Studio album by
Count Basie and his orchestra
ReleasedJanuary 1958 (1958)
RecordedOctober 21–22, 1957
StudioCapitol (New York)[a]
GenreSwing, big band
Length39:30[2]
56:34 (1994 Reissue)
LabelRoulette
ProducerTeddy Reig
Count Basie and his orchestra chronology
Count Basie at Newport
(1957) 		The Atomic Mr. Basie
(1958) 		Count Basie Presents Eddie Davis Trio + Joe Newman
(1957)

The Atomic Mr. Basie (originally called Basie, also known as E=MC2 and reissued in 1994 as The Complete Atomic Basie) is a 1958 album by Count Basie, featuring the song arrangements of Neal Hefti and the Count Basie Orchestra. It is included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, Will Fulford-Jones calling it "Basie's last great record."[2] It was voted number 411 in the third edition of Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000).[3]

Recording

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The tracks were recorded October 21–22, 1957. The tracks on the original release were all composed and arranged by Hefti. Part of the second day was used for recording tracks by Jimmy Mundy - "Silks and Satins" and "Sleepwalker's Serenade". It also featured recordings of "The Late, Late Show", which had been a hit for Dakota Staton that year, also likely arranged by Mundy. These additional tracks were released in 1994 on The Complete Atomic Basie.[4]

Release

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This was the first Basie album released by Roulette Records.[4]

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStarStarStar[5]
DiscStarStarStarStarStar[6]
The Encyclopedia of Popular MusicStarStarStarStarStar[7]
The Penguin Guide to JazzStarStarStarStar[8]

The album won Best Jazz Performance, Group and Best Performance by a Dance Band awards at the 1st Annual Grammy Awards.[9] AllMusic gave it 5 stars, reviewer Bruce Eder saying: "it took Basie's core audience and a lot of other people by surprise, as a bold, forward-looking statement within the context of a big-band recording."[5]

The success of the album led to Basie, Hefti and producer Teddy Reig collaborating again six months later to record Basie Plays Hefti.[4]

Track listing

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All tracks composed and arranged by Neal Hefti, except where indicated.

Original Release (1958)[10]
No.TitleLength
1."The Kid from Red Bank"2:38
2."Duet"4:10
3."After Supper"3:22
4."Flight of the Foo Birds"3:21
5."Double-O"2:45
6."Teddy the Toad"3:40
7."Whirlybird"3:46
8."Midnite Blue"4:25
9."Splanky"3:35
10."Fantail"2:50
11."Li'l Darlin'"4:47
The Complete Atomic Basie Bonus Tracks (1994)[10]
No.TitleLength
12."Silks and Satins" (Jimmy Mundy)4:05
13."Sleepwalker's Serenade (Alternative Take)" (Mundy, Hefti)3:37
14."Sleepwalker's Serenade" (Mundy, Hefti)3:39
15."The Late, Late Show" (Roy Alfred, Murray Berlin)2:52
16."The Late, Late Show (Vocal Version)" (Alfred, Berlin)3:02

Personnel

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Bibliography

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Annotations

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  1. ^ Basie's session for the Atomic album was at Capitol Studios Studio A (Capitol Records, Inc.), located in the Theater District, Midtown Manhattan, on the first floor (one floor up) in the Eaves Building at 151 West 46th Street. The Eaves Costume Company occupied the ground floor. (see Capitol Studios § 151 West 46th Street, New York)[1]

References

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  1. ^ Sterne, Jonathan (1970–2025), ed. (2012). The Sound Studies Reader (1st ed.). Routledge. pp. 310–311 – via Google Books (limited preview).{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: editors list (link) LCCN 2011-52981; ISBN 978-0-4157-7130-6, 0-4157-7130-7 (hardcover), ISBN 978-0-4157-7131-3, 0-4157-7131-5 (paperback); OCLC 916524063 (all editions)
  2. ^ a b Fulford-Jones, Will (2008) [2005, 2007]. Robert Dimery [at Wikidata] (ed.). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. "1950s": "Count Basie – The Atomic Mr. Basie (1957)". Preface by Michael Lydon (né Michael Clery Lydon; 1942–2025). London: Octopus Books. p. 31 – via Internet Archive. LCCN 2005-930000 (2006 ed.), LCCN 2009-936357 (2010 ed.); ISBN 978-1-8440-3624-0, 1-8440-3624-3, ISBN 978-0-7893-1371-3, 0-7893-1371-5, ISBN 978-0-7893-2074-2, 0-7893-2074-6; OCLC 63515375 (all editions), OCLC 558738692 (all editions).
  3. ^ Colin Larkin, ed. (2006). All Time Top 1000 Albums (3rd ed.). Virgin Books. p. 153. ISBN 0-7535-0493-6.
  4. ^ a b c Cuscuna, Michael (1994). The Complete Atomic Basie: Liner Notes – via Internet Archive. Free access icon
  5. ^ a b AllMusic. OCLC 49375880 (all editions).
      1. ID: r203799. Elder, Bruce. The Atomic Mr. Basie (album review) at AllMusic. Retrieved 13 December 2010.
  6. ^ Hall, Tony (June 7, 1958). "Hall Marks – The Best in Jazz" (column). "Reviews" – "Best Basie". Disc (Columbia 33SX1084). "The Top Record & Music Weekly". No. 18. London: Charles Buchan's Publications (see Charlie Buchan). p. 14. LCCN 66-99817; OCLC 987303918 (all editions), 977080825, 795165476.
      1. Via WorldRadioHistory.com (PDF). World Radio History; David Eduardo Frackelton Gleason (né David Frackelton Gleason; 1946), Cleveland. Free access icon
  7. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0857125958.
  8. ^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2006). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. Penguin Books. pp. 91–92.
  9. ^ "1958 Grammy Winners". Grammy.com. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
  10. ^ a b Discogs. OCLC 49375880 (all editions).
      1. Release ID: 1207884. Basie – E=MC² = Count Basie Orchestra + Neal Hefti Arrangements → The Atomic Mr. Basie at Discogs (1958 vinyl LP). Retrieved 30 June 2012.
      2. Release ID: 5060989. Basie – The Complete Atomic Basie at Discogs (1994 CD). Retrieved 30 June 2012.
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