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I finally coughed up the $45+ for these three CD's on 2 discs, and I'm glad that I did.
I'm sort of an oddball for my age group; a huge fan of the so-called Great American Songbook even as a kid, loving Nat King Cole singing Ramblin' Rose, while still devouring everything from the Supremes (discovered when I was in 5th grade) onward. When I first heard Linda Ronstadt singing Different Drum with the Stone Poneys as a 12-year-old, I thought she had a voice not meant for blasting out rock songs, even though I still love Heat Wave and Poor Poor Pitiful Me.
She has covered a little bit of everything throughout her career, and I'm happy to finally invest in her covers of the songs that my parents loved. Her voice is light, not thin (there's a huge difference), delicately but assuredly delivering the lyrics in a crystal-clear line. And then every now and then, just when you've let her slide into comfy background music, she opens up the volume and that vibrato and just flat hits it. (A complete and utter contrast to, let's say, Celine Dion, who has great lungs but apparently lacks any kind of volume knob or understanding of how to caress a song, rather than using it as an assault weapon.) When she does that, you realize how restrained the rest of her singing has been, and it makes me smile.
Matching this tastefully restrained but perfect vocal delivery is Nelson Riddle's accompaniment. It's not heavy-handed, saccharine, or any of the other versions of overkill that turns so many of these songs into schlock. This is a sophisticated approach to this music, perfectly complementing the subtle and often ironic lyrics that are the hallmark of this generation of American music.
So no, you're not getting Sarah Vaughan or Dinah Washington here, but it's not that crazy-far away from an Ella Fitzgerald feel on the few upbeat songs --an affectionate, flirty homage to such songs as Can't We Be Friends. (Agree with the other reviews that wished for more of the uptempo songs.)
If you're looking for a good collection of the tunes that you've heard on and off throughout your life, tastefully sung and masterfully arranged, and ohmigod, you can actually hear and learn the lyrics, I'm happy to recommend this set. I will be recording it for my 85-year-old mom, who actually prefers instrumental over vocal, but is nevertheless happy to hear "her" music once again. If only it had included "Mr. Lucky," my dad's song...
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Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on February 15, 2013
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Reviewed in the United States on June 6, 2021
Top reviews from other countries
normand gelinas
beautiful recording , nice soundstage , lots of details , three records of guilty pleasure .
Reviewed in Canada on April 11, 2023
Sugar and Spice
Beautifully Orchestrated American Standards!
Reviewed in Canada on September 10, 2016