Search - Fran Warren :: The Complete Fran Warren with Claude Thornhill

The Ultimate In Big Band Vocals

10/18/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD is a re-issue of Fran Warren's impressive performances with the Claude Thornhill band recorded in 1946-47. For years, I have listened to these performances via a tape I made from the original 78 RPM records, complete with nicks and scratches. To now be able to hear them on a quality Sony CD is a real delight.With Thornhill, Fran Warren set a new standard for band vocalists. Her singing was warm, intimate and emotional, but well-contained within the restrictions of a dance band's beat. Besides her signature, "A Sunday Kind of Love", the CD includes exceptional readings of other, above average songs of the late forties, like "For Heaven's Sake" and "Don't Call It Love".Two early Gil Evans' arrangements are included. The Thornhill band's sound, complete with french horns, is still a joy to listen to."

This is a real smoothy.

Paul Phelps | Ambler, PA United States | 01/16/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This record is pleasant listening; it's rich in instrumental accompaniment and intros and has plenty of sighing violins. Fran's voice blends smoothly. Every track is nice and the songs are well chosen. Technically the sound is clean as you'd expect since this is a Sony Special Products edition. You'll certainly be glad to have Fran Warren in your collection."

Fran Warren at Her Big Band Peak

Mike | 03/13/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Only 19 years old when she made these recordings with the Claude Thornhill orchestra, Fran Warren (nee Frances Wolfe) already had been on the road with four other big bands over a three-year period, including the Charlie Barnet and Billy Eckstine groups. It helps explain how a nineteen-year-old Jewish girl from the Bronx developed the skill and maturity to perform as she did on these sides with Thornhill. Hearing these vocals, one briefly thinks of Bea Wain, occasionally of Judy Garland. But neither Wain nor Garland produced the dynamic range and tonal subtleties on display here.



Collectors' Choice Music issued the CD ten years ago, in the middle of the ten-year span over which Hep Records issued the complete Claude Thornhill recorded legacy - each one of which this reviewer hungrily acquired as it became available. For that reason I passed on this CD at the time. A mistake, as I recently discovered after finally buying it. The excellent transfers - presumably from Columbia masters - showcase the dynamic range, subtlety, and power of Warren's voice and of Thornhill's orchestra better than any other CD in my collection. In liner notes for one of the Hep CDs, Alistair Robertson aptly described Thornhill's recordings - including the vocals - as "overwhelmingly beautiful music." Buy this CD and experience it for yourself.

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