"Kay Starr's voice is unique, you can pick it out of a thousand singers. Her voice is so clear, so strong, it must have sounded fabulous over those old car radios of the 40's and 50's! I particularly enjoyed her duet with Ernie Ford, and her recording of 'Side by Side'. However, there's not a clunker in the bunch on here. As with the other Capitol Collectors Series, I found the restoration of these old recordings to be superb, a task performed with meticulous care. An excellent start for a collector of pre-rock pop music."
Kay Starr's commercial recordings for Capital...
J Keistler | 06/06/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Since Kay Starr's roots were in jazz, her commercial recordings as middle of the road as they are, are still very enjoyable. If you listen to Patti Page's greatest hits they sound dated and she sounds awful, yet you listen to Starr's hits and they are still classy and are of interest to jazz collectors, Starr had(and still does to this day) a bluesy Jimmy Rushing/Connee Boswell influenced voice(Starr replaced Boswell in Bob Crosby's orchestra in the 40's, hence the influencial New Olreans drawl). Starr was unique and jazzy even in the most middle of the road tunes like "Bonaparte's Retreat." But before buying this CD try these three essential recordings by Kay Starr "I Cry By Night" with Ben Webster, "Movin'" and "I Hear The Word"(the only one not yet on CD)"
Absolutely brilliant!
J Keistler | 08/22/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I found this combination of vaudeville-pop-high camp and jazz music abslutely irresistable! Miss Starr voice has just enough country timbre to makes all this pop songs interesting and she could also sing very good blues (look for her "Cry by night" album!).After hearing this album I started fanaticly searching for anything by Kay Starr and she is now one of my all time favourite singers!"
Kay Starr's "Collector's Series" is a must for collectors !!
Matthew G. Sherwin | last seen screaming at Amazon customer service | 07/10/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Kay Starr was one of the very few women in the 20th century who truly had the capacity to sing--and sing well. Her voice was rich, vibrant and full of energy. She gave every song her all; and this CD proves it.
The CD has a wonderful 25 (yes, 25) songs on it; and once you listen it will be difficult to pick your favorite! The CD has her classic hit "Wheel of Fortune" which took forever to produce because they needed just the right sound of the dice at the very beginning of the song. The effect is incredible; and the musical arrangement is also very well done. Other great songs on this CD include the polka "Hoop De Doo," "Bonaparte's Retreat," "Comes A-Long A-Love," "Side By Side," "Allez-Vous-En," "If You Love Me (Really Love Me)," "Lazy River" and "The Rock And Roll Waltz." Incredible!
The quality of the sound is excellent and the musical arrangements are all very well done. A nice plus is Kay's duet with Tennessee Ernie Ford on "I'll Never Be Free" and Kay sings with The Lancers on "Kay's Lament" and "Fool, Fool, Fool."
The liner notes boast an extensive essay about Kay's life by Scott Shea. There are wonderful color photographs of Kay as well as some black and white pictures, too. There are even pictures of her record album covers in a type of collage that is very nicely done. You get the song credits and the release dates and chart dates of each song. Awesome!
This is a great CD for Kay's fans (obviously), as well as fans of classic pop vocals. My only disappointment (and it's a minor one) is that this is a collection of Kay's recordings for Capitol Records so it doesn't have her recordings from her years at RCA, for example. Nevertheless, it is such a quality CD with so much value (twenty five songs) that I still highly recommend it. A quality album--YES! Great job, Kay! ENJOY!!!
"
Kay Starr,The brightest star in the firmament
Robin | Dunedin,New Zealand | 10/04/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"How can anyone put into words the magic of Kay Starr"s heavenly voice and the words of her material?I grew up listening to songs like "Down among the sheltering palms"and when I hear them again it takes me back to simpler times.She is still the best female vocalist in my book.Theresa Brewer And Dolly Parton are the only ones who come close."