The Mature Voice of Connee Boswell at her best...
Randall Riley | Austin, TX | 08/10/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Frank Sinatra said that Connee Boswell was the most widely imitated singer of all time and Ella Fitzgerald would frequently cite her as her only influence. That Connee is largely forgotten today is a musical travesty.
Connee and her sisters, Martha and Vet, were the most influential female harmony group of their day. When they broke up in 1936, Connee, who had been heavily featured by the group and had been issued as a single artist by both Brunswick and Decca, continued on her own. She would go on to have a number of hit recordings, including several #1 duets with Bing Crosby. She recorded with most of the Big Band leaders, including Goodman and Miller when they were just sidemen. Her solo career would continue through the early 1960's, when she cut a final 45RPM that was issued on the independent Charles label. Her husband/manager Harry Leedy then had the first of several heart attacks and she stayed closer to home to care for him and never recorded again. Connee died of stomach cancer in 1976.
Connee had a number of voices as her career and the musical interests of the country changed. In the early 30's, she was a trend setter with her relaxed, intimate, close-in-to-the-microphone singing, and was the only female singer to influence Bing Crosby himself. She sang with the swing bands of the late '30's and '40's and took a hiatus from reecording from about 1947-1951.
Here's where this CD picks up and highlights the next portion of her career. The original issue on Decca was a 10" EP (Extended Play) album with eight tracks. This CD has those tracks and much more. These recordings were made from 1951-1955 and feature Miss Boswell as a bluesy, torch singer in her full, mature voice. Her voice is heavier, a little huskier, and the butterfly vibrato she had in her younger years has become more pronounced and heavier. As someone once said, there's "schtick" to her voice now that wasn't there so much before.
While it is clear that she's trying (like most other vocalists were in this period where Rock and Roll was really becoming the popular style) to find the voice that sells, there are some gems in this collection. Others are gimmicky, such as the "One Red Rose," and "Main Street on Saturday Night," where she used multi-track recording that was popularized by others like Patti Page and Les Paul/Mary Fords of the day.
Two sides of note include those she recorded with Artie Shaw & His Grammercy Five. "Where There's Smoke, There's Fire," and "My Little Nest of Heavenly Blue" are standouts...Shaw and Boswell swing as hard as ever on "Little Nest" and then, play off of each other in a sensual, almost unbearably sexy reading of "Where There's Smoke.." And, those familiar with her recordings of "Heebie Jeebie Blues" with the Boswell Sisters will want to hear her solo version of this from her later years. Her last hits are in this collection.
The remastering is pretty good and overall, it's an enjoyable group of recordings."
Track listing
David Newland | dayton, oh USA | 07/20/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"1. Begin The Beguine 2:37
2. Believe It Beloved 2:16
3. I Know What It Means To Be Lonesome 2:52
4. Someone Stole My Darlin' 3:205. My Little Nest Of Heavenly Blue 3:06
6. Where There's Smoke There's Fire 3:07
7. It Made Me Happy When You Made Me Cry 2:36
8. Singin' The Blues 2:56
9. With One Red Rose 2:38
10. Main Street On Saturday Night 2:40
11. You Need Some Lovin' 2:24
12. I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter 2:39
13. I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues 2:19
14. The Heebie Jeebie Blues 2:15
15. The Right Kind Of Man 2:24
16. Sage Brush Sadie 2:20
17. Baby, Won't You Please Come Home 2:33
18. Call Me Darling 2:11
19. The Philadelphia Waltz 2:43
20. T-E-N-N-E-S-S-E-E 2:45
21. If I Give My Heart To You 2:52
22. How Important Can It Be? 2:49
23. Fill My Heart With Happiness 2:44
24. Our Lady Of The Highway 2:47
25. Don't Believe Everyone's Your Friend 2:51
26. Mind If I Tag Along 2:38
27. I Compare You 2:38
28. No Other One 2:45"
Track Listings (28) - Disc #1