Music: New Pop Records, Dec. 31, 1956

George Gershwin's Porgy & Bess was intended to be an American folk opera, with jazz as the lifeblood of its score. But, as a musical show, it had to be all written down, could not take chances with improvisation, and thus lacked the prime ingredient of jazz. Now Bethlehem Records has taken a daring step: with an impressive concentration of forces—including Duke Ellington's band, the Australian Jazz Quintet, a vocal group and ten leading singers—it has recorded the famed work in a real jazz spirit. Each selection is accompanied by a different combo, e.g., Duke Ellington for a highly charged version of Summertime, a creative trumpet backing for I Got Plenty of Nuthin', and plenty of improvised solos are sprinkled throughout. To keep the spirit of improvisation intact, Bethlehem indulged in some offbeat casting, with surprising results. Frances Faye's bone-dry, heart-of-gold style is strangely apt as the voice of the inconstant Bess, and Mel Tormé's smoky tones give a proper touch of pathos to the part of the crippled Porgy. The oily voice of Al ("Jazzbo") Collins fills in narrative gaps between tunes. This procedure dilutes some of Porgy's dramatic excitement, but musically it is an exhilarating affair.

Baby Doll (Andy Williams; Cadence). This ditty, from background music for the controversial film (TIME, Dec. 24), begins with vocal leers, groans and gasps, but deteriorates into a fairly commonplace rock 'n' roll number. Moral of the lyrics: keep away from Baby Doll.

Bing Sings Whilst Bregman Swings (Verve LP). After 22 years of making records for Decca—plus a few before even Decca latched onto him—Bing Crosby steps out with a handful of oldies on a new label, proves himself virtually indestructible. It is only when he tries to swing too high that he begins to. sound his age (52).

Cindy, Oh Cindy (Eddie Fisher; RCA Victor). A tune that belongs around a campfire or between the rounds of a square dance gets the neon-lighted Hollywood treatment—French horns, a near-angelic chorus and young Songman Fisher bellowing the nice lyrics at the top of his nice young voice.

The Fang (Nervous Norvus; Dot). One of those tough patter songs with a science-fiction twist: this cat was born on Mars and he's laying the other planets low. He wears "real nervous pegs with a crazy crease," and he's gonna "hit these chicks with a Martian jolt." Good for a spin or two.

Friendly Persuasion (Anthony Perkins; Epic). A movie tune with lyrics in Quaker lingo ("Thee is mine . . . thee pleasures me") that make the canny Quakers look pretty silly. It has a mighty purty tune, by that old Quaker from Russia, Dimitri Tiomkin.

The Money Tree (Patience & Prudence; Liberty). The insouciant, talented girls who smashed through with Tonight You Belong to Me burble out another cutie, a fantasy about the town of Greenback, where everybody's ahead on their income tax, adrivin' next year's Cadillacs.

Mama from the Train (Patti Page; Mercury). Tin Pan Alley takes a flyer at Pennsylvania Dutch with a humorous twist, e.g., "Throw mama from the train [pause] a kiss, a kiss." The joke is good enough—for a while.