Customer Reviews

1967

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have to admit, when I kept reading words like "joyous" as a descriptor of Ms. Buckley's teenage voice, I assumed it was some sort of gentle, coded way of saying, "She wasn't very skilled yet, bless her heart."

Still, I bought this recording out of sheer curiosity. I know Betty Buckley's music as being full of depth and experience. I figured this lost recording of her at age nineteen was just a lark, and there wouldn't be much to it.

But wow. Just. Wow.

This might actually unseat her Carnegie Hall recording as my favorite. One wonders: How did this facility for phrasing get into a kid that age? Imagine how it might sound if the ghost of Sarah Vaughan had taken possession of Kristin Chenoweth; that notion begins to get at the unique mixture of sophistication and sheer lightness that comes across in this music.

This recording is glorious. The voice is different from Buckley's more mature voice, to be sure. But what a joy it is (there's that inevitable word!) to hear in this sweet girl's voice, the hints and traces of what was to become.

Make no mistake: This is not merely an archival recording of Betty Buckley before she got her feet under her. This is a teenager who could have readily held an audience at any number of top jazz clubs or cabaret venues.

The only down side in listening to 1967 is that it forces one to consider how many years went by without recordings from Betty Buckley. And one can't help but grieve that loss a little bit. How wonderful it would have been to have a fuller recorded history of this singular talent in evolution.

The selection of songs on 1967 is inspired. Some songs I'd completely forgotten existed, it had been so long since I heard them. But each is deftly delivered (with really brilliant twists in tempo here and there). I'd tell you my favorite track, but it seems to be that whatever track is playing at the time.

(For what it's worth, I've already spent an entire day tormenting people at work with my rendition of Betty's rendition of "One Boy". My version is not as good. So unless you sing as good as Betty and work somewhere where it's not weird to belt out a song about goin' steady, I suggest you avoid listening to this recording over breakfast.)

It's not one or two songs that make 1967 worth buying; it's the total effect. What really haunts me is the sweet, aching quality evoked by this recording as a whole. It doesn't go overboard into a sappy or camp mode. Rather, it leaves me with the feeling of having watched a movie like The Umbrellas of Cherbourg-- where one finishes with a smile and a sigh and only the sweet, tender memories of being young.

What a lovely surprise.

I have been a fan of Betty Buckley ever since I watched her play Norma Desmond in London in the 1990s, and have loved her singing since.

It is wonderful that Playbill decided to release "1967" and "Quintessence", for it is so true that they bookend 40 years of this talented singer's remarkable performances. One should buy both recordings, and have the unparalleled experience of listening to how her voice has matured over the years - full of vibrant whimsical youth in "1967", and developing into mellow wisdom in "Quintessence".

And for a "mid-term review", the album "With One Look" should not be missed - her heartbreaking "Dreaming" and the regretful (yet sometimes humorous) "Old Friend" are absolute beauties of song and lyric interpretation.

The liner notes for "1967" provide the interesting back story to how this recording came to be, and this album is truly a gift to all Betty Buckley fans - exuberant youth at its best.

Thank you Ms Buckley for sharing your talent and enriching our lives!

This is a great collection of songs wonderfully sung by Betty. No, she hasn't developed that powerful voice just yet, but it's great fun to listen to and know the transformation in her voice from then til now. It really is a must to add to your music library if your a fan. I'm not disappointed.

Firstly, a word of warning.... If you're going into this CD expecting THE VOICE of Betty Buckley from "Cats", "Sunset Boulevard" and "Carrie", then you'll be sorely disappointed. This is a set of early recordings that Ms Buckley made in 1967, several months before she made her first big splash, playing Fran in the London transfer of "Promises, Promises". As Buckley explains in the liner notes, she was a very young singer here, not terribly concerned about the inner meanings behind her songs, just singing--first and foremost--for the sheer joy and excitement that it brought into her own life.

In later years Buckley's voice would naturally mature and develop itself into the bold instrument that has thrilled Broadway and cabaret audiences all over; but you can still catch glimpses of the "Buckley-to-be" with these fascinating 1967 recordings, newly-unearthed by the good folk at Playbill.

With a great mix of razz-ma-tazz Broadway standards and European-tinged ballads, Buckley displays her keen dramatic flair and a blossoming appreciation of the kind of material that would become her hallmark in later years.

For Buckley fans this is an assured purchase, but I hope this CD finds an even larger audience.

I love this CD.

There is no pretention, no affectation. Just a young woman's love of singing and performing which comes through loud and clear on this CD.

Betty Buckley is SO talented, and the songs are well selected.

Many memories and pleasures here!

Nice retro of Betty Buckley in the early years. Good production quality and nice vocals. This is just what you would think, old classics sung by a terrific voice. Nothing more nothing less.

As a longtime Betty Buckley fan, I HAD to get this just to have a complete collection. On the good side, it is a very nice collection of mostly 'standard' (by now) theatre and pop songs, with lovely orchestrations and a very pleasing 'girlish' voice, with excellent diction and phrasing, as one would expect. However - and this is a huge BUT - it sounds almost NOTHING like the Betty Buckley one is used to... every now and then there is the merest glimmer of the inimitable voice fans have come to cherish, but for the most part, it could be ANY fairly decent generic songstress from the sixties. Nice to have, but I doubt it will get much play...

I expected a CD that I would enjoy more. This left me disappointed.