Search - Mey West :: Fabulous Mey West & Other Women

You can't help loving that gal from the golden West

F. Behrens | Keene, NH USA | 07/21/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I grow fonder still of the Sepia label for restoring to CDs old 78 and 33 1/3 rpm gems from the past, most of them with generous bonus material.





"The Fabulous Mae West and Other Wonderful Girls" (catalogue number Sepia 1075) begins with a dozen 1954 pieces delivered (can one say "sung"?) by Mae in her own special and very very funny way. She can put more lasciviousness into an Oo or Ah than most vocalists can put into an entire song.





Among the dozen are "Love is the greatest thing," "I'm in the mood for love," "All of me," and "They call me Sister Honky Tonk." And when male singers take over, her spoken remarks are...well, remarkable.





All this is followed by 18 tracks of other female vocalists such as April Stevens, Gloria Wood, Connie Russell, Betty Reilly, Georgia Carr, Trudy Richards, Ella Mae Morse, and Diana Dors. While none can follow an act like Mae's, these recordings from the 1950s offer a great variety of styles. Some of the singers will be familiar to the listener and some will have to introduce themselves. Each is given a short writeup in the program notes.

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MAE'S LEGENDARY 50'S DECCA ALBUM NOW ON CD

"Tee" | LA | 10/15/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Pop culture legend Mae West has shockingly been underrepresented on CD despite recording for almost 40 years and being one of the few classic era movie stars who is truly still a household name. What a great surprise to see Mae's classic 1956 Decca album THE FABULOUS MAE WEST on CD!! All twelve tracks are here from her first rock n'roll number "My Daddy Rocks Me" to the pop standard "All of Me" (given a faithful yet erotic spin by Mae) to her self-penned novelty number "Criswell Predicts" (inspired by the famous astrologer of the 1950's) as well as new recordings of her famous numbers like "They Call Me Sister Honky Tonk", "A Guy What Takes His Time", and the truly legendary "Frankie and Johnny" performed with it's original bawdy lyric line that was often censored by earlier recording artists. Mae also gives us a sultry suggestive version of "I'm in the Mood For Love" and opens the album with the totally delicious "Love is the Greatest Thing" ("my pyscharist Professor Zimmerman said Mae you gotta keep it to a minimum, I said quit your talking, as long as I'm still walkin', it's good enough for me.....it may be risky, when it gets too frisky, but if you got some to spare think of me.") This is classic Mae West, arguably the best recording session of her career and it's an absolute must for her fans. The "bonus" tracks here by a slew of a 1950's female pop stars weren't really neccessary but think of them as just that a bonus and you'll be grateful (particularly for the songs by Diana Dors, the 50's British film star who was very Mae Westish and one of Marilyn Monroe's famous blonde rivals of the era.) Several of the Mae West songs have a rockin' beat in particular the previously mentioned "My Daddy Rocks Me" which is a comic tale of all-night lovin' ("looked at the clock, the struck two, I said daddy me n' you, my man he rocks me with a steady roll, looked at the clock, three then four, I said daddy won't you give me more.") Rock on, Mae!"