Excellent Overview of Rare Recordings
Kevin J. Roberts | 06/12/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This issue is not advertised as Peggy's Greatest Hits or as "The Best of Peggy", so the reviewer who scorns it because it is not the "Best" is off mark. There are dozens of "Best of" compilations of Peggy Lee available. After years and years of fans wishing to obtain those rare, never re-issued singles of Peggy (and of many other singers, for that matter), Collector's Choice should be applauded for bringing these together. Recordings from the 40's and 50's have a special quality, even if they aren't all Gershwin, Porter and Berlin. This is a very fine collection, and the cover photo and essay alone are worth the price. Pick it up, and encourage Collector's Choice to keep up their excellent reissue series."
Even the Dregs Beat Most of the Competition!
Mark D. Prouse | Riverdale (Bronx), NY | 06/27/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Now, with so much of Peggy Lee's back catalog finally seeing reissue on CDs over the past few years, it would seem that the bottom of the barrel is being scraped for the last remaining morsels.
Or is it? So, these aren't the hits, but Peggy seems to have been incapable of giving anything less than her best effort, as most of these tunes make clear. Fans will all have their favorites; mine are "Love, Your Magic Spell Is Everywhere," "The Devil Won't Get Me," the duets with Mel Torme, who was one of her best singing partners, and "Please Don't Call Me On the Telephone," a voice-altered reference to the novelty songs of the 1920's.
Anyway, if you are new to Peggy Lee, I wouldn't recommend that you start collecting with this disc. But if you're a loyal fan, you shouldn't be disappointed in this delightful compilation."
OK, But Not Among Peggy's Finest
James F. Blose Jr. | 06/06/2008
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Peggy made a lot of really wonderful recordings over the two different time periods that she recorded for Capital in the 40's and 50's, and I'm a big fan of those. Unfortunately, these weren't among them. They're not awful, they're just not her best recordings. Several of them are either novelty stuff or just pop pap that posterity doesn't really need to remember. The rest of them are just OK. Some of these numbers she made better recordings of at different times. Unless you are a completist or have almost everything else that Peggy has ever recorded, you probably wouldn't miss not having these.
It is nice when people like Collector's Choice sponser dredging up recordings that nobody else has taken the effort to pull out and remaster, it's just more appreciated when the effort is more deserving."
Track Listings (39) - Disc #1