Pan Am: Music From And Inspired By The Original Series

By Melissa Bratcher

I love a good soundtrack, even for things I’ve not seen. I love the way that carefully chosen songs can convey a feeling and even a look, and that the use of music in a show or movie can make or destroy a moment.

I’ve not seen the series Pan Am, although I know it’s a show set in the early 1960s about a flight crew. I know that they have stylish clothes and those really cute little blue bags that I see reproductions of and think that maybe, just maybe, this time I’ll buy one and I never do. I know that the music from that time includes some of my absolute favorites.

Pan Am: Music From And Inspired By The Original Series is a mix of classic artists and songs from the Verve catalog, and some newer artists doing covers. The latter part seems unnecessary. In fact, the only two tracks that don’t give me a rush of giddy gooseflesh are the two covers: Grace Potter’s version of “Fly Me To The Moon” and Nikki Jean’s cover of the Beatles’ “Do You Want To Know A Secret.”

Much of the problem with Potter’s take is the retro pastiche flavor of the production. There are swelling strings, a muted trumpet, and Potter’s undeniably pretty, smoky voice. These things somehow don’t come together well. It sounds just . . . off. And the fact that it is preceded by a classic song, as well as followed by one, just highlights it even more. Perhaps the production has too much high end, too much treble. It’s too bright and doesn’t feel like a lived in song. Nikki Jean fares a bit better with a light version of “Do You Want To Know A Secret.” It’s pleasant, but adds nothing terribly interesting to the song. I know it’s difficult to add your own stamp to a Beatles song, but this is so bloodless and sweet it makes my teeth hurt.

The things that are good on this album are not merely good, they are brilliant. All of the other tracks are just sublime; they are classics for a reason. Buddy Greco leads off with the irrepressible, hopeful “Around The World.” Bobby Darin’s “Call Me Irresponsible” is always welcome, and such a sexy song. (Growing up. I never realized how damn sexy these songs were!)

Is there anyone who ever scatted better than Ella Fitzgerald? Her version of “Blue Skies” is a tour de force combination of her exquisite voice and her amazing scatting, like some sort of exotic instrument.

Exotica is well represented here with Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66 “Mais Que Nada,, and “The Girl From Ipanema” by Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto (an example of a lived in song). There’s a space around the notes and a sparseness to the production that make it feel exactly right, as does Astrud Gilberto’s singular voice. “Quando Quando Quando” by Connie Francis is fun, a maraca fueled bossa nova mover.

Fantastic vocalists abound here. Billie Holiday and her wonderful phrasing plead for “Just One More Chance.” Peggy Lee with her sly, winking songs, turns up with “New York City Blues,” such a jazzy treat to listen to. Shirley Horn’s “The Best Is Yet To Come” is an alluring delight. Brenda Lee’s yearning version of “Break It To Me Gently” has a beautiful honesty to it and her voice is so pure. Dinah Washington rounds out the album with a swinging “Destination Moon.”

Pan Am: Music From And Inspired By The Original Series would be a perfect record to listen to on vinyl, on a record player in an enormous wooden cabinet with a cocktail in your hand. If you skip the modern covers, it is a sublime experience and a lovely trip into the Verve Record vaults. I can’t say anything about the television show, but if it is half as good as the soundtrack, it must be charming.

Pan Am: Music From And Inspired By The Original Series was released January 17 through Verve Music Group and is available from their website.