Japanese digitally remastered reissue of 1976 album, that's unavailable domestically, features original artwork. Written & produced by Leiber & Stoller, & sung in the soft, breathy style of Peggy Lee, the list... more »ener is taken on a journey through songs that often evoke a sense of melancholy. Universal Int. 2003.« less
Japanese digitally remastered reissue of 1976 album, that's unavailable domestically, features original artwork. Written & produced by Leiber & Stoller, & sung in the soft, breathy style of Peggy Lee, the listener is taken on a journey through songs that often evoke a sense of melancholy. Universal Int. 2003.
Peter Stoller | Los Angeles, CA United States | 12/07/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"If you're interested in "Mirrors," you should know that all the tracks from this album are now included in "Peggy Lee Sings Leiber & Stoller," available exclusively from Hip-O Select in a limited edition of 5,000 copies. Not only has the album has been completely remixed by Leiber & Stoller, but the new CD also features two previously unreleased tracks from the 1975 "Mirrors" sessions, along with all the hit Leiber-Stoller songs that Peggy Lee recorded for Capitol in the 1960s.
The sound quality is significantly better than the original A&M CD release, and an even bigger improvement over the Universal Japanese import, which is poorly mastered and uses some incorrect mixes."
An absolute Trip,master piece,before its time.
hbubi | 07/11/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The album had a Silver type Mirror around that beautiful picture but the CD does not.The album never had that disgusting but excelllent song on it "Is That All There Is"but the CD does.Norma(Peggy) finally breathed her last breath not long ago as is in that song"And when I'm breathing my last breath I'll still be saying"Is That All There Is";just as Sarah sang "I'm Gonna Live Till I Die".This is the last album on a major label A&M. Excellent orchestration & Lee's impeccable phrasing."Ready To Begin Again" about her teeth in a drawer & her wig on the dresser;and when she put them on Peggy was ready to begin again. "Some Cats Know" a typical P.L., R&B Classic just made for her.The song "I've Got The Feelin' Too Good Today Blues" is done with a super dixie land band behind her & a parody on how Peggy feels so good, Peggy sings "Please slip an ear full of bad news, I've Got The Feeling Too Good Blues".The next 2 are nothing light "A Little White Ship" a monotone trip song."Tango" is song where I say a guy got in devious sexual S&M trips high on dope and ended up dying from the experience. Listen to the fantastic orchestral intro and Peggy's seductive & breathy intro"Oh the tango is done with a thin black mustasch, a white scarlet sash, black boots & a whip,Oh the Tango is done with a fevering trash reeling from hash fresh off a ship" the man dies from the experience with Peggy singing "Who did it;a stranger,a lover,a friend."Performing Dogs" is very funny;the rest of the album is very movig with "Say It"& the nostalgic "Longing For A Simpler Time" very good. Peggy's last album on Capital is absolutley excellent "Norman Delores Engstrom From Jamestown North Dakota'.She sings priceless songs on it one being "A Song For You" with a full orchestra and a piano metronome in parts of it behind her.Just why that was never reprinted I will never know.Don't miss Miss Peggy Lee doing "Mirrors" it is excellent. You just might be able to see yourself in it as in a "Mirror"."
HAUNTING PEGGY LEE MASTERPIECE!!!
Bradly Briggs | TOLUCA LAKE, CALIFORNIA | 03/26/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Peggy Lee reached new artistic heights with the haunting "Is That All There Is?" and continued through the first half of the seventies with the most extraordinary and inventive work of her brilliant career!! Yet this is the hardest work of Peggy's to obtain on CD and a box set of this untapped treasure chest of work is the answer!! Incredibly great was her final Capitol album "Norma Delores" as every song is Miss Lee at her peak with a full studio orchestra!! Come on guys let's get with it!! Capitol has great tracks in the vault from this period such as classics like "One More Ride (On The Merry-Go-Round)", "Where Did They Go? (All The Good Times)", and many unreleased tracks from these great sessions!! Enough of the already well-covered 50's & 60's, lets do the 70's!! Peggy Lee did another great 70's album which was released on Atlantic Records called "Let's Love" which has the ethereal title song produced by Paul Mc Cartney in another eclectic contemporary set which finds Peggy again in peak form throughout with no throw away tracks! This all leads to this classic that sadly was the last album that Miss Lee did on a major label with full production that was worthy of her great talent. Peggy Lee makes the most of it and turned out the most adventuresome album of her career and one of the most brilliant albums ever made by any singer!! Legendary composers Leiber & Stoller wrote and produced an extraordinary collection of songs that allowed Miss Lee to reveal all the facets of her remarkable talent. An added bonus is the Grammy Winning "Is That All Their Is?" which fits in nicely in this collection of many other remarkable classics. "Ready To Begin Again" is a celebration of making the necessary adjustments in life as one grows older and "Some Cats Know" has fascinating tempo changes with a vocal from Peggy that is jazzy and flows like honey with a great bass line by the late and great Ray Brown. A great ragtime arrangement make "I've Got Them Feelin' Too Good Today Blues" a fun romp and a trip on a luxury liner make "A Little White Ship" an elegant journey. A kaleidoscope of musical images fill the brilliant and hypnotic "Tango" which is completely dazzling and unlike anything I have ever heard!! Peggy weaves a spell magically through this masterpiece that leave one breathless and Peggy clearly went far beyond her contempories in the way she stretched and expanded her great talent. The sad state of the arts is revealed in a fascinating way in the epic "Professor Hauptmann's Performing Dog's" in a way never before done!! Basically this extraordinary song explores the lack of appreciation of real talent by the populace and sadly this relates to the music industy in our good ole U.S.A. and Peggy certainally was feeling this way at the time this album was made as her 70's work is among her best but was generally overlooked and not as commerical as it should have been. "The Case Of M.J." is a disturbing tale of mental illness which is done in a very haunting way and "I Remember" is lush and melancholy with a gorgeous vocal that is nothing less than magical. World-weary romance is enchanting the way Peggy does "Say It" and this sophisicated stunner shows she had to have been there to convey this emotion so convincingly or else she is a superb actress!!! You will wonder throughout this incredible set is she the singer or the song because Peggy gets totally inside of each great number and takes you there completely! Magically enchanting is the glorious "Longings For A Simpler Time" which in better musical times than the seventies this would have been a huge hit as it is extraordinary and incredible in its musical scope. They don't make them like this anymore so get this classic while it is available as this is an extraordinary musical journey and experience!! This is definitely one of my all-time favorite albums!! Bravo to everyone connected with producing this ultimate masterpiece!! And God Bless Peggy Lee!! A beautiful lady and a great artist who gave us years of brilliance that were truly unforgetable..."
Other Worldly Bliss
hbubi | La Jolla, California United States | 01/06/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"A gutsy cabaret concept album with remarkable depth. You will never tire of this album. I am amazed that it has not been reissued in the US. It does for Lee what "Only the Lonely" and "Close to You" do for Sinatra. Possibly, Lee's finest and most sophisticated artistic album."
Peggy's greatest...anyone's greatest
Bucket | LONDON | 04/25/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The best words/music ever written. Peggy's voice is slightly past its best but that is exactly what these songs, heavy with faded glamour, demand."