The Very Best of Peggy Lee - 50 jazz favourites

 

Disc One: 1. Fever 2. I Get a Kick out of You 3. The Lady Is a Tramp 4. Up a Lazy River 5. That Old Black Magic 6. Nice Work of You Can Get It 7. The Best Is Yet to Come 8. Makin' Whoopee 9. Big Spender 10. It's a Good Day 11. It Ain't Necessarily So 12. Come Back to Me 13. So What's New 14. Alright OK You Win 15. You Do Something to Me 16. I'm Beginning to See the Light 17. Bye, Bye Blackbird 18. September in the Rain 19. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea 20. I've Got the Right to Sing the Blues 21. Fools Rush In 22. On the Sunny Side of the Street 23. I Don't Know Enough About You 24. Manana 

Disc Two: 25. Don't Smoke in Bed 26. Stormy Weather 27. Why Don't You Do Right 28. Bali H'ai 29. Lover 30. Golden Earrings 31. Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love) 32. That Old Feeling 33. Riders in the Sky 34. Winter Weather 35. River, River 36. Just One of Those Things 37. Be Anything (But Be Mine) 38. The Old Master Painter 39. Similau (See-Me-Lo) 40. Chi-Baba Chi-Baba (My Baby Go To Sleep) 41. I'll Dance at Your Wedding 42. Caramba It's the Samba 43. Baby Don't Be Mad at Me 44. I'm Glad There Is You (In This World of Ordinary People) 45. Just One More Chance 46. Somebody Else Is Taking My Place 47. How Deep Is the Ocean 48. You Was Right Baby 49. Blues in the Night 50. These Foolish Things

The Very Best of Peggy Lee - 50 jazz favourites

Peggy Lee and George Shearing...Beauty and the Beat!

Beauty and the Beat! is a mostly live (yes, mostly live) album by the great Peggy Lee with the equally talented George Shearing at the piano. It's interesting that they recorded introductions to these songs after the live concert was recorded. However, despite this unusual feature this disc is extremely pleasing to the ear. Peggy sounds just great here and George plays his piano wonderfully. We also get two bonus tracks that apparently were not on the record album release of this recording; Peggy and George perform "Nobody's Heart" and "Don't Ever Leave Me."

For decades we've been listening to the live-in-concert "Beauty and the Beat" and hearing a studio project with applause, announcements and low volume audience chatter dubbed in. Now all the distractions have been removed, along with the echoey sound necessary to make it all sound live, and what we have is a beautiful, detailed collection with great depth never before apparent. In the previous version Peggy sounded like she was socking it over to an enthusiastic audience; now, with the very same recordings, she sounds intimate and close. Shearing sounds the same--totally engaging and delightful.

Beauty and the Beat

The Very Best of PEGGY LEE

Peggy Lee (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002) was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer and actress, in a career spanning six decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local radio to singing with Benny Goodman's big band, she forged a sophisticated persona, evolving into a multi-faceted artist and performer. She wrote music for films, acted, and created conceptual record albums—encompassing poetry, jazz, chamber pop, and art songs.

Peggy Lee was a major influence in the vocal community and influenced other singers like the late Dusty Springfield who she outlived by only a few years. She was known as the grand dame of singing whether in small cabarets, dinner clubs, or arenas and was always a class act. She was highly regarded, respected, and admired by her peers and colleagues and was truly a lady onstage and offstage, without a hint of scandal.

This 21 track collection demonstrates Peggy's versatility -upbeat swinging songs, slow, sexy songs, Latin-flavored songs and so much more. Of course, it is not possible to do full justice to Peggy's vast legacy in a single CD, but for anybody new to Peggy's music, this is a very commendable compilation with a good cross section of her work.

So, whether you are new to her music or a committed fan, this is sure to provide you with plenty of entertainment.

Peggy Lee