Jimmy Scott Falling in Love Is Wonderful LP (Tangerine Vinyl)

TAS Rated 5/5 Music, 4/5 Sonics in the July/August 2026 Issue of The Absolute Sound!

"His timing and the sadness in his voice make for a romantic record made in heaven" — Ray Charles

The first LP released on Ray Charles' Tangerine Records imprint in 1963, Jimmy Scott's Falling in Love is Wonderful exists as one of the most mythic albums in vocal jazz.

Due to contract disputes with his former label, Scott's Tangerine debut was shelved shortly after it was released — much like its Atlantic Records follow-up, The Source — and went un-reissued for decades. Ultimately, Scott, a favorite of his contemporaries like Ella Fitzgerald, never became the star he should have been, but this album remains his masterpiece: A loving, tender collection filled with Scott's masterful work around a ballad.

The holy grail of jazz-vocal albums

perhaps the most unjustly ignored American singer of the 20th century

Nothing here gets in the way of Scott's pure, angelic voice; he captures, like none other than Sinatra himself, a range of love-struck emotions.

At times, Scott could be the most vulnerable of singers, but on the more uplifting material here he expressed deep joy. He could also display a sense of swagger that was underscored by the pianist tinkling away in the background—and that accompanist, it turned out, was none other than Brother Ray. (Could it be more hip?) Kudos to Tangerine Records, under the care of the Ray Charles Foundation, for reissuing, on excellent-sounding tangerine-colored vinyl, this gem of an album.