Search - Joanie Sommers :: Positively the Most/Softly, The Brazilian Sound

Joanie is timeless

Len Hart | Houston, TX USA | 02/16/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Joanie had a great 'teen' hit in the early sixties called "Johnny Get Angry". But it was only a bit later when she released an album of Bossa Nova numbers that blew me away. Still a teen ager, I had landed a job with a local FM station and put Joanie's Bossa Nova on the air immediately. It was like a breath of fresh air. Her unique voice caressed subtle Bossa rhythms like a cool sea breeze. She handled rhythms and phrasing as subtly as Getz --lilting, gently swinging, precise. Listening to her ablbums are still like sipping Pina Coladas, barefoot on a sunset beach. Rio never had a better ambassador. The good news is: this sound is as fresh as ever. Timeless! This collection features some of the same songs that I remember from that sixites release --Quiet Nights and Meditation, specifically. But every song she touches, she makes hers. Joanie is definitely among the great vocalists."

Outstanding!

Donald M. Randall | Denver, Colorado | 02/26/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have looked for the Joanie Sommers album "Softly, The Brazilian Sound" on CD for years. I was thrilled to be able to get this wonderful album at long last - but to have it include a bonus in the form of her "Positively The Most" album made it just that much better.



What a wonderful singer, what a wonderful voice, what a wonderful treat for anyone who appreciates good music."

A Most Under-Rated Singer

K. Tokuno | 03/28/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm old enough to remember the Pepsi commercial that Joanie Sommers sang and which gained her a brief measure of fame and acclaim in the early 60s. I also remember her one big hit recording of "Johnny Get Angry" which I thought even at the time an unfortunate choice of songs. Her voice was velvety smooth and enticing on the record and that is what caught my attention, but the song itself was forgettable aside from her voice since it was pure pop and the instrumental bridge sounds like nothing better than a kazoo (maybe it was). I did not follow Sommers career, but she definitely dropped out of the public eye not long after this record. This album reveals what a loss that was. She had everything it took to be a major star. The CD is a combination of two LPs, one of popular songs produced in a jazzy style and one of Antonio Carlos Jobim pieces and those influenced by him. I do not think it in the same class as Sinatra's recording on a similar theme, but it is not far below it. What makes this whole collection work for me is Joanie Sommers beautiful voice. She also knows what to do with it. He voice glides around the lyrics in a way that both enriches them and captivates the listener. Her rendition of "Just Squeeze Me" for example is interesting. This is hardly a standard and the lyrics are somewhat wanting, but she works well withe band to make it somehow memorable. She does the same thing with the much more well known "It Might as Well Be Spring" making her version as refreshing as a day in spring. I found the Brazilian section to work a little less well as I thought that some of the songs simply did not work with arrangements, but she still made the best of it. I will be listening to these songs for a long time to come to make up for the years I lost in not realizing how good this lady was."