Reviews (2)

Two Great Albums, Although Odd Pairing.
Collectables Records continue to please music fans with their two-on-one reissue's of old albums, by some great artists. This one includes Bobby Short's 1959 album "The Mad Twenties", mixed rather oddly with "My Personal Property" from 1963. They are both great albums, especially "Mad...", but they are completely different records in all fairness, but, highly enjoyable and great to have on CD together. Both albums released originally on Atlantic Records.

"The Mad Twenties" is, as you would have guessed from the title, a collection of songs from the 1920s. Short is here with arranger/conductor Phil Moore. Backed by a small horn-and-rhythm band, with a Dixieland Jazz Style, keeping the music sounding like the 1920s, and not updating it to make it more modern for the '50s. These are some great recordings, with songs being played, and sung right. If you enjoy music from the '20s, this is one you will love.

"My Personal Property" gives us Bobby Short singing songs written by composer Cy Coleman, with lyrics (mostly) by Carolyn Leigh. I think Coleman's Jazzy kind of tunes were always good, when matched with a performer like Bobby Short, and they are played well with Short and his piano, performing along with basically just a bass and drums arrangements, with the couple of conga players now and again. It all goes well, and is an enjoyable record.

While I do feel, as already mentioned, that these two albums here on this one disc together are in odd company, and are completely different albums, it is a great thing to have these, for any fans of Bobby Short on CD. For people new to him, it wouldnt be a bad choice either. Two great albums, that are highly recommended.

I'm "Personally" "Mad" About This Album!
I received this Cd as a Christmas present, and it honestly has been played just about everyday. Here we have two totally different albums combined and it provides us with two different sides of Short. Of the two my favorite is "The Mad 20's". I guess if for any reason it's because I'm more familiar with those songs, that's the kind of music I like. But, "My Person Property" did introduce me to Cy Coleman, now, one of my favorite composers. I only knew Coleman through Sinatra songs like "The Best Is Yet To Come" & "Witchcraft". But almost every song on that album is enjoyable. I absolutely love " You Fascinate Me So". I never heard a song so sophisticated. How on Earth Carolyn Leigh managed to come up with such rhymes is beyond me. It's one of Coleman's best. Standard songs off the Coleman albums are; "The Best Is Yet To Come", "Wicthcraft","Hey Look Me Over",& "Rules of the Road". But the umfamiliar songs as I said are wonderful too. "I've Got Your Number" has a very good arrangment behind it. "Its" is a swinging song. And the title track is charming as well. I do though prefer his arrangment on the album "Songs of New York" over the one heard of here.

"The Mad 20's" has Short with a sort of New Orleans style band. The albums starts off fast with Harry Warren's "Nagasaki", and never really lets up. Now, where Short was probably a bit more romantic on the other album, due to the song material, the Short heard on "The Mad 20's" is the kind of Short you'll hear when you see him in Cafe Caryle's. It's fun and energetic. Short sounds like he's having a good time. Some of my favorite tracks are "Changes", has a very 1920's sound to it. "Tiger Rag", "Sweet So and So", I can only imagine one of the few songs Ira Gershwin wrote without George, when he was alive & "Heebie Jeebies" and there's even room for a quick Louis Armstrong impersonation. All Bobby Short fans should enjoy the album. Those not too familiar with Short might only like "My Personal Property". Here we have two of Short's best early albums, and I'm glad his recordings are now starting to de reissued on Cd.

Bottom-line: Two of Bobby Short's best albums. A must have for fans. And a good choice of those just starting to discover Short. ... Read more

Album Details

Two CD Collection from American Songstress in France Josephine Baker. 40 Selections of Jazzy Cabaret Songs featuring Sans Amour, Bye Bye Blackbird, Then I'll Be Happy, Blue Skies, You're the One I Care For, Breezing Along with the Breeze, and Much More. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Classics!
No wonder this woman is a legend! She's got her unique way of interpreting songs and her bilingualism adds to this collection of songs. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Born at the turn of the century, Mabel Mercer dwelled at the heart of cabaret culture, first as a dancer in Paris's legendary Bricktop's and then as a singer in New York, influencing artists from Frank Sinatra to Bobby Short. Her precise articulation and developed sense of a song's drama defined cabaret singing, and those skills are ideally suited to Porter's songs, what with their sculpted ironies and casual melodies. Her art is especially apparent on Porter's less-celebrated songs--like "Ours" and "I Am Ashamed That Women Are So Simple"--the crisp minidramas and period pieces that haven't become standards. Beneath their polished surfaces and perfect diction, Mercer's performances are able to suggest different depths of character and restrained passions. --Stuart Broomer ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Marvellous Mabel
I am crazy about this album. I didn't know Mabel Mercer until I heard a song on the radio recently and bought this album (which does not contain the song that led me to her in the first place). The delivery is so simple - you might almost imagine at times that it's hardly sung at all - but listen a few times and it gets right under your skin. And what colour and inflection on the words (which are always crystal-clear). The heart-break on the final 'goodbye' in Every Time We Say Goodbye; the infectious leaping joy on the words 'gossamer wings' in Just One of those Things which makes you just grin and hug yourself. Every song (and they are marvellous songs) contains moments like these. Why oh why are there so few of her albums re-released? Perhaps since it is her centenary this year they'll do some more. Let's hope so.

She's The Tops!
I never got to hear Mabel Mercer live, but I did collect alot of her records-having been introduced to them in grad school by, what I was sure was, a real sophisticate! Mercer and Porter are a perfect combo. The sad thing is that this is the only CD issued of Mercer's many, many LP recordings.

Amazingly delightful
I'm surprised that there are so few Mabel Mercer recordings out there. Frank Sinatra called Mabel Mercer nothing less than, "the greatest cabaret singer of all time." Her sensual, intelligent, unique, and somewhat "spoken" style of singing is perfect for interpreting lyrically clever or involved songs, as were most of Porter's songs. (And some of the BEST of Porter's stuff is on this CD.) At the time of this recording Mercer was already quite old and, frankly, past her prime. BUT HER MAGIC IS STILL EVIDENT--VERY! Any Porter or Mercer fan must have this great CD.

Brilliant selection of Porter songs sung with unique style
If you were too young to hear Mabel Mercer sing in an intimate nightclub setting--she was performing until the early l980's (her early 70's)--this is the only CD (shame on you, Atlantic) available of this unique artist. Mabel was singing Cole Porter songs when they were new in the l930's, and Mr. Porter considered her-- along with Bobby Short--to be the best interpretors of his music. Frank Sinatra openly admitted learning much about musical phrasing from this very special artist. Each song is almost spoken rather than sung, and listen to "Experiment" to understand how each becomes what Porter intended--a wise, witty lesson in life for the sophisticated student of love's strange way of levelling the playing field for even the smartest and most over-privileged among us.

Marvellous interpretations of fine songs
Mabel Mercer (1900-1984) is a remarkable singer, an English-born artist who has achieved legend status. She sings her songs with great subtlety and style, managing to infuse everything she sings with an almost uncanny sensibility of what the writer was trying to express. Her vocal powers are limited, but that is not the point; Miss Mercer is telling us a story when she sings, not trying to impress us with vocal pyrotechnics. Every song she performs on this CD is given her special treatment, dignified, witty and heartfelt. Not that the songs deserve less than this, for they are some of Cole Porter's finest. Mabel Mercer did sterling work during her lifetime, constantly singing great (and often obscure) songs from the pens of America's finest writers, even when most singers would settle for more commercial material. Miss Mercer's delivery of the little-known "Where, Oh Where?" is a delight, and she includes all the choruses of "It's De-Lovely". A superb album, full of grace, style and warmth. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

PETER ALLENCLASSIC'S
PETER ALLEN WAS SO SUPREMELY TALENTED THAT EVERY TIME HE CAME TO TOWN FROM THE EARLY 70'S THROUGH THE LATE80'S ,I WENT TO EXPERIENCE THIS WONDERFUL PERFORMER!!!!THE LINES WERE ALWAYS AROUND THE BLOCK AND HE WAS ALWAYS A SELL-OUT IN LOS ANGELES!THIS GREAT COLLECTION SHOWS YOU WHY AND IS A GREAT MIX OF HIS CLASSIC WORKS ON THE A&M LABEL.IT WOULD BE GREAT TO HAVE ALL OF HIS GREAT A&M ALBUMS RELEASED ON CD, BUT UNTIL THIS HAPPENS THIS IS A MUST FOR ANYONE WHO HAD THE PRIVLEGE OF THE EXPERIENCE OR FOR ANYONE WHO WANTS TO ENJOY A GREAT TALENT AT HIS PEAK!!

A "must have" CD for Peter Allen afficianados!
Prior to 1998, you could search the world for a Peter Allen CD (any Peter Allen CD!) and still come up empty handed. With this CD you can finally trash those treasured but old and scratched Peter Allen vinyl albums.There isn't the "crisp" Peter Allen sound of his later Broadwayyears but rather an austere, almost amateur "coffee house" recording toneto most of these songs.At first, it seems like poor quality but later yourealize that its perfect for Allen's unique range of throaty tones andmelodies. Its Peter Allen doing Peter Allen. It grows on you to the pointwhere you realize that you wouldn't want it any other way.Otherrecordings will capture the glitz and glitter that was the later PeterAllen.This CD captures the pure essence of his talent. ... Read more

Album Description

These two albums (on one CD) recorded in 1962 and 1965 respectively contain some great Julie London classics. EMI. 2004. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Unique and listenable over and over
I am an enthusiastic Michael Feinstein fan and own most of his music. I think I play this one more than any others - Jerry Herman sings with him on three of the songs and they are great. Michael's voice is strong and the absence of orchestral accompaniment (piano only) is actually refreshing. Lots of fun and some tunes I've never heard before, but have grown to love.

One of Feinstein's very best works!
A wonderful combination of two very talented men. Great performances all around, especially pleasing duets, and fresh, revised lyrics by Jerry Herman. No big production numbers, but wow, the quality of these two is hard to beat! ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Perfect Fit
After forty plus years, this material remains timeless, as a good classic ought. It's repeatedly listenable; reveals something new every time; has many moments one awaits with anticipation. The Gershwins will continue to get ever greater in apprehension of their place in Music as time goes by. Everybody takes a crack at interpreting the Gershwins, but not even Ella nor Sassy nail it like Chris Connor has.

The most original Gerswhin collection
Chris Connor recorded her Gershwin collection about the time Sarah Vaughan was doing hers. They were released about the same time and both sold equally, rather than competed for sales, because they were so different. Sarah's glorious album is pop-centered in terms of approach and large orchestral arrangements, though she can't help but take a jazz point of view on her vocals. It's a superb album and the C.D. version is even better, with alternate takes and portions of recording sessions. Chris' album was totally jazz in approach, relying on small jazz combos for accompaniment and approaching virtually every song as if it had never been sung before. When this album was released Chris was about a year into her career at Atlantic Records, a career that out of the gate aroused gigantic record sales unusual for a jazz artist. This albuma actually was recorded after "A Jazz Date," but that album eventually appeared two albums later (trivia for you Chris buffs). This a low-key, cool album with an intellectual approach to the material. Forty-five years after its first release it remains provocative, endlessly listenable and just as hip as can be. The extra tracks are Chris recordings of Gershwin songs originally on other albums (the Maynard Ferguson tracks all were released before, incidentally) and make the C.D. version even more attractive. Yes, when you see the photos you'll note that at this point Chris and Doris Day resembled each other. Interestingly, Chris was/is a gigantic Doris Day fan and Doris was/is a gigantic Chris fan. As an artist and individual, Chris has long been one of the most popular people in show business. She's so UNshowbizzy, so matter of fact, so interested in so many things, such a walking expert on obscure show tunes and little-known gems by master composers, such an intelligent and cool lady. It's too bad the public only got to know her through her songs--the person herself is so outstanding, too! The resurgence of interest in Chris Connor among young listeners is so thrilling. For a long time she simply was forgotten. Now she's big business again--what a joy that must be for her and what a lucky thing for all lovers of good music. And if you've seen or heard Chris Connor lately you know she is right this minute at the top of her form. Don't miss this wonderful album. George Gershwin would have loved it, Ira Gershwin did love it, and you will too.

One of the great single-composer collections
Ella Fitzgerald is still probably the singer most associated with single-composer recitals, but this 2-CD set by Chris Connor is fully worthy of comparison with Fitzgerald's Gershwin set--indeed, I think I prefer it. Connor's warm voice is given a wide range of settings here, all of them (with the exception of "But Not for Me" and a few previously unreleased tracks with Maynard Ferguson) with small combos. Arrangements are mostly by the pianist Ralph Sharon, & are clever & tasteful but never fussy--there's sometimes a charming period flavour, as in the sly quotation of that West-Coast staple, "Bernie's Tune", in the arrangement to "Strike Up the Band", or the use of three-trombone arrangements for much of disc 2. He likes to keep the verses to the tunes, too, which is a wise move (it adds immeasurably to tunes like "Fascinating Rhythm" or "I Got Rhythm"). Connor handles the lighter-hearted Gershwin tunes like "Slap That Bass" & "Little Jazzbird" with style & wit, while ballads like "A Foggy Day" (given a brilliant, bluesy arrangement by Sharon) or "Our Love Is Here to Stay" receive luminous readings, understated but tremendously moving. Her accompanists include many fine names, like Hank Jones, Joe Newman, Al Cohn, Joe Puma, Herbie Mann, Jaki Byard, Kenny Burrell and Milt Jackson. This is a fine set.

Magic Chris
Weaving the magic as always. I bought this album on vinyl when it was first issued. I wore it out and now need the CD version. If you read this Chris - I love you. ... Read more

Album Description

1922: "An Angel's Voice I Hear," showcases 24 of the most popular recordings of 1922—popular dance bands led by Paul Whiteman and Isham Jones, great female vocalists such as Isabelle Patricola, Fanny Brice, Marion Harris, and Vaughn DeLeath, novelty numbers by Gallagher and Shean and Jones and Hare and stunning vocals by Al Jolson, Henry Burr, the Peerless Quartet. ... Read more

Album Details

Remastered instrumentral collection from James Last, Germany's finest & best selling modern day composer/conductor. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Feel Good Music
My dad recently introduced me to James Last's recordings when he received a video of a James Last concert from a PBS station in Florida.Now we're both hooked.The music James Last creates is simply "feel good" music - you cant help but feel good when you listen to him.I have this CD and also "Country Roads" & they're both excellent.I can't wait to purchase more!

What can I say? James Last is the best!
James Last's arrangements of some of the most popular somgs of the last century are among the finest available. His own compositions, such as 'The Lonely Shepherd', are also among the most beautiful ever written. 'Biscaya', 'The Lonely Shepherd', 'Happy Heart', 'Games That Lovers Play'... great listening. Period.

EXCELLENCE IN EASY LISTENING
A "must have" for everyone's musical library. Wonderful renditions of semi-classical and popular arrangements. I want to hear more.May I say "Voundabar"!!!

EXCELLENCE IN EASY LISTENING
A "must have" for everyone's musical library. Wonderful renditions of semi-classical and popular arrangements. I want to hear more.May I say "Voundabar"!!!

iT IS JUST THE BEST OF jAMES lAST
James Last usually arranges his music very carefully. He chooses older melodies, but then spices them up with a modern beat; simply wonderful music ... Read more

Reviews (2)

AH MAURICE!
It's always a pleasure to celebrate MOMO who made so many people aware of the FRENCH culture throughout the world.This collection is wonderful;most of it is a reminicence of MAURICE's early years in HOLLYWOOD 1928-1935.It is interesting to notice that many songs here were recorded also in FRENCH.Such is the case with MY LOVE PARADE(mon cocktail d'amour),PARIS,STAY THE SAME(paris,je t'aime d'amour),YOU BROUGHT A NEW KIND OF LOVE TO ME(vous etes mon nouveau bonheur)and JUST A BUM(ma pomme).CHEVALIER also recorded MIMI in both languages.There is one important complaint i have to say:why not mentionning the names of the writers and the composers of the songs?Of course,this is not a good enough reason not to buy this.Maybe they were afraid to paid some of the writers and composers who are still alive.Not everybody for instance knows that THE POOR APACHE was written by RODGERS AND HART for the 1932 film LOVE ME TONIGHT.

Not released 2000
OK, the blurb up there says "released 2000." That's for the *CD* which is an aurally cleaned up version of stuff from the 30s and 40s. This is an old record, but a very good one. Chevalier's voice has a perpetual smile, and his accent on classics like "Walkin My Baby Back Home" is something you won't hear from the current swing-era-clone bands. Listening to Chevalier, I feel good. I suspect you will too. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

One of the best
It's always invaluable to hear cabaret artists in a live setting, and this set from the Carlyle showcases the talents of Barbara Carroll to indelible effect.Miss Carroll's treatments of the best of the popular songbook are beautifully structured; she can swing with the best, her bop-inspired piano rapping out great excursions through "The Surrey with the Fringe" and "But Not For Me".When she slows down, she can turn an instrumental like "Lotus Blossom" into a ruminative, wistful tone poem.

Also listen to her understated vocals on a late-night classic like "Glad to be Unhappy", where every nuance of Lorenz Hart's lyric is perfectly communicated.She also does justice to a Coleman and Leigh song, "A Moment of Madness", the bittersweet lyric perfectly matching her wry songspiel.

Barbara Carroll is one of those rare performers with whom quality is a given:her repertoire is fresh and stimulating, her musicianship exquisite.Do yourself and favour and listen to her.

LIVE & TERRIFIC!
This recording was made in 1991, but Barbara Carroll, to the best of my knowledge, is still singing and playing her piano in one of the best cabarets in the country.On the Upper East Side of Manhattan, at the Carlyle Hotel, across the lobby from the room where the headliners like Bobby Short and Dixie Carter and Barbara Cook are singing, Ms. Carroll plays to a small, devoted audience in a room with moody lighting, small tables and great acoustics:Bemelmans Bar.And she is superb.This album is a live performance in that hotel.Her jazz is subtle and stylish and sophisticated and oh, so easy to love.There is not just solo piano, but also a great deal of wonderful ensemble playing on this recording:Claudio Roditi (trumpet & flugelhorn), Akira Tana (drums) and a soloist in his own right, Jay Leonhart (bass)join Carroll in classic songs like the Gershwins' "But Not For Me" & Kern and Mercer's "I'm Old Fashioned" and Rodgers & Hammerstein's "The Surrey With the Fringe On Top" (Tell the truth:did you ever think that Broadway standard would make a good jazz number???)My favorite on the album is the one with the perfect late night lyrics:Rodgers and Hart's "Glad To Be Unhappy."Carroll also sings in a few of the songs and although her voice is no longer young, supple or full-throated, it is full of character and warmth and charm. ... Read more

Amazon.com

An American pop vocal icon once called Billie Holiday the only true jazz singer they'd ever heard--and we'll take Tony Bennett at his word. If ever a vocalist embodied--and arguably inspired--the axiom "the singer, not the song," surely it was the fiery first lady of the blues. This second volume of Holiday's best known love songs displays a soul for whom "love" was considerably more than a four-letter word on performances that strut from lusty desire ("I Must Have That Man," "Moanin' Low") and introspective angst ("Why Was I Born?") to earthy renditions of quintessential American songbook classics ("Body and Soul," "More Than You Know" "These Foolish Things"). The selections here are culled from Holiday's mid-'30s/early-'40s prime and backed by jazz and swing era luminaries like Teddy Wilson, Lester Young, and Buck Clayton. Fueled by life experiences that are almost palpable in her phrasing and slinky way around the rhythm, this is Holiday at her most emotionally compelling; a fine primer for a half-century of subsequent vocal styling. --Jerry McCulley ... Read more

Amazon.com

Declaring herself "a cabaret virgin," Faith Prince presents her first solo show, recorded live at Joe's Pub in New York in January 2000. You'd never know it from this vastly entertaining recording that combines terrific song selection with a lot of fun patter. Best known for her Tony-winning portrayal of the ditzy Miss Adelaide in Guys and Dolls, Prince covers that sort of comedy and more in this career retrospective: "On the Other Side of the Tracks" from Little Me, Mary Rodgers and Stephen Sondheim's bossa nova spoof "The Boy From..." from Hey, Love, and On a Clear Day's "What Did I Have That I Don't Have," a less charged but no less effective rendition than Liza Minnelli's recorded a week earlier at the Palace. Other highlights include "The Man with a Horn," which incorporates an anecdote of how Prince met her trumpet-playing husband (who provides a solo here), and a rendition of "Something Wonderful" as Miss Adelaide herself would sing it. When the familiar screwball voice starts to intone the Rodgers and Hammerstein standard, the audience can't help laughing, but the combination of lyric and character soon becomes surprisingly poignant. A Leap of Faith is recommended for Faith Prince fans as well as anyone who wants to become one.--David Horiuchi ... Read more

Reviews (24)

A breath of fun, fresh air!
Faith Prince's major claim to fame comes from her Tony-award winning turn as the delightfully ditzy Miss Adelaide in the recent B'way revival of Guys and Dolls. Here, the charmingly squeaky-voiced Prince puts on a cabaret show, going through a highly enjoyable set interspersed with entertaining patter. If none of these songs are remarkably "deep," they are all highly entertaining, which is Prince's motivation from song one, a great lead-in from "Some People" (at a slower-than-usual tempo) to Little Me's "On the Other Side of the Tracks." A hilarious anecdote about life on the touring circuit leads into two beautifully performed songs from "On A Clear Day." Other highlights: Husband Larry Lunetta's trumpet-work on "The Man With A Horn" and "If I Were A Bell," the tounge-twisting "The Boy From..." ..., and the deliciously jazzed-up "Adelaide's Lament" (who's opening line gets a burst of applause from an audience having a great time).

Just fun, fun, fun.

A terrific evening of great singing and banter
I happened across Faith Prince while watching the Broadway Ladies DVD - she sang, what I understand now is her "signature" song - "Adelaide's Lament" from Guys and Dolls. I also have the CD from Guys and Dolls and hadn't even realized, when I listened, that it was Faith Prince. This recording is her "virgin" debut in the cabaret mode - and she is just exceptional! I have always been a fan of the musical "On a clear day you can see forever" and Ms. Prince breathes renewed life into one of my favorite Broadway songs from that show, but really from all shows ever "What did I have that I don't have." Her style of singing this song is somwhat reminiscent of Barbara Harris, but she brings to it her wonderfully unique lilt, humor and passion. Her banter with the audience is upbeat, humorous, self effacing, and great fun. I strongly recommend this marvelous CD to all who enjoy live concert music performed by a magnificent professional singer.

HAVE FAITH. A BETTER PRINCE WILL COME ALONG.
We like Faith Prince. We really do. But we don't love this debut recording, recorded live at Madhattan's Joe's Pub, where the sound quality leaves something to be desired and Prince's decision to present a mock autobiography leaves us wanting something more substantial. Sure, her self-deprecating wit and laid-back style is in full bloom, but the anecdotes are tasteless and benign and, frankly, a waste of good recording time. Please someone, why not simply put her in a studio with selections from the Great American Songbook and let her loose? Even Miss Adelaide would no longer lament.

Gorgeous, and her voice ain't bad either
If you can't see Faith Prince in person, and everyone should, this CD is the next best thing. Her personality, charm and ever-present wit only make you love her voice more and you get it all in this package. Her bit on Elaine Strich made me laugh my head off and her cell phone call to her son is really cute. I try to separate my love for this woman's talent from what others may simply hear in her voice, but I can't. Faith is one of this country's great talents - you're going to love this woman and her music!

Delightfully Fun Faith Prince CD.
A Leap Of Faith is one of Faith Prince's best recordings. This basically features a list of many songs from various Broadway shows, in which she kicks them up a notch to her extremly unique and funny personality. Faith Prince sounds great...her voice is smooth, and many of the lyrics to the songs in here, although not written by her, are some of the most excellent songs I've listened to in many many years. ... Read more

Album Details

Remastered 1978 Come Back Album from the Mistress of Reinvention. The Critically Acclaimed Country Rock Songs Include Favorites by Bob Dylan and Waylon Jennings. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Transition album
This album is a reissue of the original Dreaming My Dreams of 1977, with the four extra tracks that constituted the Faithless album.It is her transition from 1960s folkie to the rock singer of the 1980s. In a way it was Marianne Faithfull's comeback album (after 1971's mostly acoustic Rich Kid Blues) and the lost years, which first displayed her new voice that would later emerge to dramatic effect on the seminal album Broken English. The style is pure country and country-pop, and the songs are all tuneful and memorable.

Almost every track is hit single stuff, from the yearning Dreaming My Dreams through Jackie DeShannon's buoyant pop ditty Vanilla O'Lay to the sad ballad I'm Not Lisa. Lady Madeleine was Faithfull's elegy to a friend, as she explains in her autobiography Faithfull (co-written with David Dalton). Her interpretations of I'll Be Your Baby Tonight and Honky Tonk Angels are quite authentically country, whilst That Was The Day (Nashville) is almost a form of über-country in its dramatic intensity and memorable imagery.

The melodies are strong throughout, and two highlights are the uptempo All I Wanna Do In Life and the ballad The Way That You Want Me To Be. This album was a huge hit in Ireland in the late 1970s and its success gave Marianne the confidence to re-establish her singing career. Soon after, classic works like Broken English, Dangerous Acquaintances and A Child's Adventure followed; these brought her critical acclaim as a rock (as opposed to folk) singer and formed the foundation for her always accomplished work up to today.
... Read more