Very Best Of - Matt Monro LP

Matt Monro never received the accolades he should have received here in the States. That's unfortunate. He was truly an excellent singer who had a knack for choosing excellent material and using his fine voice to do every song justice.

I have always loved Mat Monroe, as I listened to his songs over BBC radio. His voice is very smooth and some of his songs are my very favorite, like Walk Away, Portrait of My love, etc. To me the recording sound was not the best and that is the reason for four stars. The album took me back to the days of radio when you were just so focused on every bit of the song.

I bought the CD for my Mom and she really enjoys it.

Bought it to get just one song

Recording was remastered to perfection.

Recently I watched "The Italian Job," the one with Michael Caine, and the intro song was sung by Matt Monro, the same man who sang From Russia With Love for the Bond film of the same name. Not only was the opening sequence brilliant, but Monro's singing made it spectacular. This guy could sing! He had breath control that Sinatra envied. And an unforgetable voice and impeccable diction. Terrific music. If anybody out there loves music that has a melody and voices which can hold a note on pitch and the wonderful freedom of the music that is the mark of a unique singer, this is it.

Received CD in excellent condition. This CD is remastered very well. Great songs with quality sounds, just as good or even better than the original vinyl record album. I enjoy very much listening to Matt Monro, who's songs are nice, soft, easy-listening music. This CD was a very good purchase and very satisfied with it.

Every song is good unlike most CDs

Matt Monro was rather unfairly labelled "The poor man's Frank Sinatra" by detractors but he was so much more than that, being alternatively styled "The Man with the Golden Voice" by supporters. Monro's lovely lilting voice has a unique timbre which made him an international star in the 1960's and 1970's, and I only had to look at many of the track selections in this excellent value 20 track compilation to immediately realise he had made many tracks I remembered. Kicking off with a sublime performance of "Born Free" which graced the film of the same name in 1966, incredibly this well-known track wasn't a hit in his native UK. Film music is a theme on this collection, with Monro's superb rendition of one of the James Bond film's most recognisable themes "From Russia With Love" included, as is his excellent rendering of "On Day's Like These" which opened 1969's major film "The Italian Job" to great effect.Monro's Top 10 UK hits are all present and correct too: first hit "Portrait Of My Love", a UK No.3; follow up "My Kind Of Girl" which reached No.5; "Walk Away" which split the difference at No.4, and a cover of The Beatles' much-covered "Yesterday". Monro also covers a further Beatles track "Michelle" on this compilation and makes something of it. Other famous tracks include "Softly As I Leave You", "The Impossible Dream", and "On A Clear Day You Can See Forever", tracks which any fan of easy listening will know well and which Monro does justice to.This is a nice round-up and a fair representation of Monro's best work and should serve equally as an excellent introduction for anyone unfamiliar with his recording career, or act as well as a great pick of the best for those who remember him with fondness. Listening to Monro's laid back stylings is a good way to unwind after a busy day, he always sounds like he has nailed the essence of a song whilst giving it his own little twist to make it his own. At just £4.95 if easy listening is your thing you won't go far wrong here.

Mister Terry Parsons Became Much-Better-Known As Matt Monroe....Born On 01-December-1930, It Seems That Everybody Was Aware Of His Short Tenure As A Bus Driver / Conductor....He Began Singing With Various Bands ( Including The Cyril Stapelton Orchestra As " Al Jordon " )Going Solo, Matt Had Five Top-10 Hits In The U.K. Between 1960 And 1965: (* Indicates Inclusion On This CD )" Portrait Of My Love " ( 1960 ) *" My Kind Of Girl " ( 1961 ) *" Softly As I Leave You " ( 1962 ) *" Walk Away " ( 1964 ) *" Yesterday " ( 1965 ) * ( Matt Monroe Was The First Recording Artist To ' Cover ' That Tune - He Would Also Record " Michelle " )It Is Interesting To Note That One Of His Producers Was In-Fact George Martin At PARLOPHONE Along With David Cavanaugh And John Burgess For Other Labels...Matt Did Okay In The USA As Well, With Two Top-30 Entries:" My Kind Of Girl " From 1961 In At Number 18 ( WARWICK # 636 )" Walk Away " From 1964+ In At Number 23 ( LIBERTY # 55735 )Some Radio Stations Did Give Matt Some Exposure With Lower-Charting Recordings In The USA.Matt Also Became Known Through Some Of His Recordings From Films:" Born Free " ( From The Like-Named Film ) *" From Russia With Love " ( From The Like-Named Film ) *" On Days Like These " ( From " The Italian Job " ) *" Somewhere " ( From " West Side Story " ) *" Gonna Build A Mountain " ( From " Stop The World-I Want To Get Off " ) *" Speak Softly Love " ( From " The Godfather " ) *Matt Had A Popular Show On T.V. And Eventually Moved To The USA Where He Often Worked As A Popular Cabaret Singer...His Recorded Work Can Be Found On CAPITOL, COLUMBIA, RCA VICTOR, And As Mentioned, PARLOPHONE, WARWICK ( USA ) And LIBERTY ( USA )This CD Contains Twenty ( 20 ) Tracks From EMI ( MFP ) Of Which Many Of Them Will Be Familiar To Fans And Or Those Who Remember Those Times...An Enjoyable Listen From A Man That Frank Sinatra Had Noted As " A Good Singer "OBIT: Matt Monroe Was Diagnosed With Liver Cancer And Died On 07-February-1985...

As a single disc overview of Matt Monro's career, this album is great.It is packed with classic songs such as "from Russia with love", "Born Free" and "On Days Like These" (the later of which appears to be missing from many later compilations).Unfairly described as the "poor mans Sinatra", this album proves that Monro was up there with the great singers. Each track is excellent and showcases what a great singer and interpreter of songs he was. His timing was impeccable and at times the vocal delivery appears almost effortless.Although many of the tracks contain "syrupy" strings, the arrangements compliment the vocals and there is a lot of variety between songs keeping the album interesting.Standout tracks include "softly as I leave you", "Somewhere", "Portrait of My Love" and "Walk Away"The 4 disc "singers singer" compilation probably offers better value (based on the prices at the time of writing this review), but for a single disc career overview you cannot go wrong here.

It is now well over 50 years since Matt Monro came into the public eye with `Portrait Of My Love`, followed by `My Kind Of Girl`. The songs differed from each other to sufficiently show his versatility. Through the 60`s Matt was frequently in the Charts and on TV.This is a collection of his better known successes, 20 tracks in all. As well as the earlier mentioned songs, there are `From Russia With Love`, `On Days Like These`, `Walk Away`, Softly As I Leave You`, plus two Lennon and McCartney tracks, `Michelle` and `Yesterday`, plus many more. Matt Monro was undoubtedly a class act, very professional and he had a great voice too. He was not only highly regarded in Britain but in the USA as well. In fact, after Nat King Cole died, Capitol Records signed Matt Monro to `fill the gap`, as they put it. A very enjoyable CD indeed.

I bought this CD a couple of weeks ago - it is a lovely collection of Mr Monro's work. What a fantastic voice he had - and the songs on this CD - from Born Free to The Impossible Dream and We're Gonna Change The World - really showcase his vocal skills. I like the cheeky grin picture of him too. A good buy - I'm off to play my cd once again! A fabulous voice truly showcased.