EDDIE FISHER – ‘Outside Of Heaven’
(30th January 1953)
Not that sounding ‘modern’ is always great. Eddie Fisher’s tear-clogged crooning style is thoroughly, slickly pre-modern and all the more mysterious for it. Enveloped by trilling strings and cooing singers, he sounds as fallen and un-manned as the song suggests: ‘On your wedding day I stood in the crowd / I could hardly keep from crying out loud’. The finality of her marriage is the clang as the pearly gates shut on poor, hopeless Eddie. Musically we’re back in Al Martino territory ‘ crash, bang, orchestra, wallop ‘ but there’s a little less bludgeon and a tremulous piano break to give the song some colour and subtlety. It’s a good song but it doesn’t bear too many listenings ‘ Fisher’s mannerisms and the arrangement just emphasise what a gulf there is between then and me; the codes he’s singing in cannot be entirely broken. 5
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FT's Doctor Mod on October 23rd, 2006
No, Tom, you were NOT too cruel to Eddie. No one can be too cruel to Eddie–not even Liz.
To the best of my recollection, Eddie was a little dweeb, and songs like this made the fifties the slough of mediocrity it truly was, at least most of the time.
FT's belrimusic on February 3rd, 2007
Eddie Fisher was the most popular singer in America, if not the world, from 1950 through 1956, had a twice-a-week very popular television show called Coke Time, and a Saturday night hour-long show called the Chesterfield Show. He was the selling recording star for RCA, and had 22 hits in a row. He performed for presidents, the Queen of England and the Kremlin to name a few. He had 65,000 fan clubs in the U.S. and more throughout the world. He was a very talented and loved performer in his day. He was also loved by many of the most beautiful woman in the world. They certainly did not think he was a dweeb. Hollywood marriages come and go, as his did, but you have to be pretty handsome and charming for 3 of the most beautiful actresses in Hollywood to fall for you. End of story.
FT's belrimusic on February 3rd, 2007
Correction on above comments: Second sentence should read “He was the top selling recording star for RCA”, etc.
Al Ewing on February 3rd, 2007
THREE beautiful women, Dr Mod. THREE. Not one. Not two. THREE.
Hah? HAH?
How… how DARE you. That’s all I’m saying. End of story. Finito. We’re done here. It’s a wrap, people. Over and out.
Also HE SANG FOR THE KREMLIN!
intothefireuk on November 3rd, 2007
Oh dear - come back Al Martino - all is forgiven. Well not quite. I love the fact that he starred in a show called ‘Coke Time’ & availed himself of beautiful women - his behaviour seemingly more modern than his fairly irritating vocal styling. The rest of the recording doesn’t really amount to much either with a very heavy handed piano break and some unnecessarily intrusive backing vocals.