THE WONDERFUL SHIRLEY BASSEY

THE WONDERFUL

WITH GEOFF LOVE & HIS ORCHESTRA

TRACK LISTING

SIDE ONE

1. A FOGGY DAY IN LONDON TOWN

 

2. I'VE GOT YOU UNDER MY SKIN

 

3. CRY ME A RIVER

 

4. APRIL IN PARIS

 

5. I'VE NEVER BEEN IN LOVE BEFORE

 

6. THE MAN THAT GOT AWAY

 

SIDE TWO

1. S'WONDERFUL

 

2. I'LL REMEMBER APRIL

 

3. EASY TO LOVE

 

4. NO ONE EVER TELLS YOU

 

5. THEY CAN'T TAKE THAT AWAY FROM ME

 

6. THE PARTY'S OVER

 

Produced by Norman Newell

P1959 EMI Records Limited

 

What can one write about an impeccable album such as this? All manner of superlatives have been used by critics and record reviewers to describe the work of Shirley Bassey, and they can be summed up in a single word - talent. When you back Shirley Bassey, in the performance of twelve great songs, with the skill of Geoff Love, who scored all the arrangements, and the perfection of his musicians, to say nothing of the production genius of Norman Newell, you have a rapport that can hardly fail to produce a performance that is superb. It is rather like feeding all the correct information into a computer which, in turn, produces the correct solution to the problem. There, of course, the similarity ends-the computer lacking the vital ingredient of the warmth of human emotion.

Miss Bassey is undoubtedly one of the most outstanding artists to have arrived upon the British popular music scene in the past two decades. When the titles on this album were recorded, she had already achieved worldwide success; yet, in her early twenties as she then was, she had developed a maturity and command of performance that usually arrive much later in the lives of most successful artists.

Watch her at work on the theatre stage, and you quickly realise that here is the one hundred per cent professional. Every action is carefully rehearsed and is fitted to something in the orchestration, and in putting over her songs she makes full use of her dynamic personality and physical attraction. It is, however, a challenge for any artist to project his or her personality on a gramophone record where there are no visual aids, and in this Shirley Bassey is always completely successful. Listen to the album, close your eyes, and you can imagine every stage movement.

This album is a treat for Shirley's countless fans, but it is also musicians' music - the kind they enjoy playing. Hear the orchestra's "bits" in "They Can't Take That Away From Me," the delightful alto saxophone of Bill Povey, particularly in the coda of "The Man That Got Away", together with the lead trumpet of Stan Roderick and the punchy precision drumming of Bobby Kevin, and you will follow my meaning.

Whether it be a ballad such as "I've Never Been In Love Before", "I'll Remember April" or "The Party's Over", a slow rhythmic number with a blues influence like "Cry Me A River", "The Man That Got Away" or "No One Ever Tells You", or a beaty, swinging number such as "'S Wonderful", "Easy To Love" or "They Can't Take That Away From Me", her interpretation is always just right, with the orchestra accompanying every mood to perfection.

HARRY FRANCIS