Actually, despite the similarities in title, this two-fer reissue combines an album from
Ray Conniff's prime (
'S Awful Nice) with one that came four years later at the end of his successful run (
'S Continental) and was something of an attempt to recapture past times. The earlier album, like its popular predecessors, 'S Wonderful! and
'S Marvelous, featured standards in
Conniff's patented style, with its swing instrumentation, danceable tempos and wordless chorus. On
'S Continental, he returned to that approach with a set of internationally flavored songs that were not quite as impressive ("Tico Tico"?) -- not that the casual listener (and
Conniff's listeners should be as casual as possible) will notice much difference as one original album gives way to another.