CD Review – Scene One / We Speak the Same Language – James Shigeta

SCENE ONE / WE SPEAK THE SAME LANGUAGE – James Shigeta (Stage Door Records – STAGE 2460)

Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Not many people nowadays would instantly know who James Shigeta was. Cited as one of the most pioneering and groundbreaking actors of his generation, he was one of the first Asian-American actors to play leading roles in Hollywood in the late 1950s. He had starring roles in Bridge to the Sun, The Crimson Kimono, Flower Drum Song and Lost Horizon. Towards the end of his career, he had a featured role in the 1988 action film Die Hard.

His first album, Scene One, was recorded in 1960 and used orchestrations and musical directions by Axel Stordahl, Frank Sinatra’s regular arranger – and it shows. That recording was a collection of standards and some original compositions. After his role in the film version of Flower Drum Song he was signed to the Choreo label (later Ava Records) and issued his next album We Speak the Same Language with most of the tracks coming from Broadway shows.

Tracks on this lushly remastered CD include: ‘Too Young to Go Steady’; ‘You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To’; ‘Dreamin’ Chair’; ‘Hold Me’; ‘They Can’t Take That Away From Me’; ‘My Ship’; ‘Autumn Rain’; ‘Soon It’s Gonna Rain’; ‘This Funny World’, plus another 14 from the albums and two bonus tracks: ‘You Are Beautiful’ (from the film soundtrack of Flower Drum Song and a Japanese version of ‘Tara’s Theme – Gone With the Wind’.

Okay, so Shigeta isn’t the most fantastic of singers but there is something special in his voice and he draws you in – with the help of some amazing orchestrations and accompaniment. The albums are very much of their era and for someone like me, who grew up in a household of Sinatra, Julie London, Paul Anka, Perry Como etc, it brings back many happy memories and I could listen to it all day and never get tired.

Again, Stage Door Records have scored a hit.

Nick Wakeham