Search - Chris Connor :: I Miss You So / Witchcraft

CHRIS CONNOR; SONG STYLIST EXTRAORDINAIRE

M.L. Allen | Daytona Beach, FL United States | 08/31/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Chris Connor's I MISS YOU SO, and WITCHCRAFT, both released by Atlantic in the fifties and now re-released on a single disc on the Collectables label, contains 24 original tracks--that's two LPs, folks. Half as many would be worth the price. In spite of the bargain price, this is an excellent recording. Chris Connor couldn't offer anything less. This collection is a great example of Chris Connor in her prime. Her voice, her phrasing, her styling are just so sweet. Her song choices have always been a little off the beaten path; not those that have been done, and overdone, by lesser talents. Every song she sings belongs to her. Smooth as silk, she glides through "My Ideal," a wistful "Go `Way From My Window," "I Love You, Yes I Do." and the steamy "Past the Age of Innocence." An alto sax echoes the lonely note on "Time Out For Tears" and "Mixed Emotions." She swings "How Little We Know," stirs the blood with "I'll Never Be Free," and pulls out all the stops on "I Hear the Music." On her swingy "My Heart Is So Full of You," the orchestral and choral work could have been toned down a bit, and in a few scattered places one wishes they'd back off, but it goes with the times. Some things that were standard, or even experimental, practices in the fifties have been improved or abandoned, thank goodness. Connor was strong enough at a very tender age to sing over the energetic Stan Kenton so she can handle these guys with one hand tied behind her. She doesn't let it distract her from her always-perfect performance. The smoky Connor voice and a wailing alto sax more than compensate. Anyway, with WITCHCRAFT, the big band takes over and things find a better balance. Just relax--it's not that bad--and let Chris Connor waft over your nerves like a cool breeze.All these songs evoke that old feeling, but the CD version is a refreshing experience after watching in dismay the slow disintegration of those old collections of scratchy LPs, misplaced 45s, and stretched and broken tapes.Excepting Diana Krall, Steve Tyrell, and a scant handful of others who did their homework--you know who they are--this album should be required study for those of the current crop of songsters who sometimes tire one with their over-enthusiastic styling. An afternoon spent with Chris Connor could show them how a serious musician does it.In the vanguard of ladies of jazz, arm in arm with June Christy and Ella Fitzgerald and very few others, Chris Connor is still a vital force, and has stepped up to prove she can hold her place in line by continuing to release new albums. Her latest, "Everything I Love," is now available."

My heart is yearning for Chris Connor

T. J. Montgomery | 01/13/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"this was a surprise, introduced to Miss Connor via A Portrait of Chris my expectations were for something similar, and the second part of this two record set, Witchcraft, fell along those lines. But before that came I Miss You So, which felt more like being put under a spell of witchcraft. The first six songs are so softly smooth they put me in a tearful swoon, too beautiful to leave, a version of forever I would gladly sign up for. Chris picks up the tempo, I wish she hadn't, but there are some nice choices, truly we're in the presence of a remarkable talent. My desert island choice would have to be this lady, though choosing between Portrait and I Miss You SO would be difficult. See other reviews for this CD, erudite and right on the mark, terrific, enjoy"

C.C. Shows It All.

T. J. Montgomery | Central Point, OR USA | 08/23/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For some reason--she didn't put in enough time with Stan K., she didn't do 40 rehabs, she was too late in the cycle--Chris never seemed to get the attention that Anita and June did. She demonstrates her great voice and jazz sense here, a pure joy. And she can handle any tune."