Best of Miss Peggy Lee

Peggy Lee | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 31, 2001)
• Original Release Date: October 20, 1998
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Capitol
• ASIN: B00000DCI5
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #17,267 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #46 in Music > Broadway & Vocalists > Cabaret

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

62 of 69 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reply to Woodburn, Oregon, March 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Best of Miss Peggy Lee (Audio CD)

Peggy Lee didn't appear in the film "The Man With the Golden Arm." I believe you are thinking of "Pete Kelly's Blues," for which Lee received an Oscar nomination for Supporting Actress, and in which she sang "Sugar," "Somebody Loves Me," "He Needs Me" and "Sing a Rainbow." Two of these appear on the soundtrack, and all four appear on the fantastic boxed set "Black Coffee and Other Delights: The Decca Anthology." Both are available from amazon. Enjoy!

As for "The Best of Miss Peggy Lee," it is by far the best single-CD overview yet of Lee's lengthy career.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Evocative, seductive, sensual Peggy Lee--but OH! just one CD isn't enough..., July 13, 2006

By 

Matthew G. Sherwin (last seen screaming at Amazon customer service) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Best of Miss Peggy Lee (Audio CD)

This CD is an excellent introductory sampling of the work of the great Peggy Lee. Peggy possessed such a rare talent that she was able to move people with her fantastic voice and acting for quite a few decades nonstop; and this CD is just the beginning of the proof of that.

The CD contains 16 songs recorded by Peggy during the years she spent at Capitol Records from 1945 through 1969. (Peggy spent the early 1950s at Decca Records so her work from that time is not found here.) There's not a dud in the entire set; the CD is so hot I almost shouted "Fire!" as I listened to Peggy's vocal range and fantastic voice. The CD covers the broad spectrum of songs that Peggy could all do so well. For example, there's the seductive woman of the song "Big Spender" and "Golden Earrings;" there's the somewhat melancholy woman in the song "Waiting For The Train To Come In;" and there's the playful, cheerful and energetic Peggy when she performs "It's A Good Day," "Mañana," and "I'm A Woman." There is even a type of R&B flavor to songs like "Fever" and "Alright, Okay, You Win." The CD ends with the incredible "Is That All There Is," a song that displays so well Peggy's ability to act as she sang. You really feel the disappointment about a void in someone's life when Peggy performs this last song.

The liner notes are wonderful. There are song credits and a brief story about each song is standard. There are numerous black and white photos of Peggy which adds a personal touch to the liner notes.

The quality of the sound is excellent. Kudos to Bob Norberg at Capitol Mastering for doing such a fine job!

This CD has two flaws--it's just not enough of a great thing. I agree with the reviewer who writes that for a few extra bucks you might instead buy the CD with the DVD included if that is still available. The CD also lacks any work Peggy did while at Decca Records during the early 1950s. However, if you like this CD you'll be thrilled with the four CD box set "Miss Peggy Lee!"

I highly recommend this CD for fans of classic pop vocals, people who want an introduction to Peggy Lee and people who just want a single CD of Peggy Lee's great work. All the stars were in all the right places in the heavens when Peggy Lee came onto the scene and graced us with her fine artistry. Bravo, Peggy! SMILES

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "The Best" as determined by the Capitol balance sheets., August 11, 2007

By 

Samuel Chell (Kenosha,, WI United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Best of Miss Peggy Lee (Audio CD)

Better this were titled "Peggy Lee's Biggest Sellers for Capitol." It represents none of her activity for Decca, when she established herself as a class jazz act in the '50s, it omits some of her best things for Capitol, pre- and post-Decca (including "The Shining Sea"), and it passes over her career 1971-1991. If I had to go with just one, it would be the British import, "The Best of Peggy Lee." And if her creative accomplishments mean as much to you as her "hits," the "Best of the Decca Years" is more satisfying.

Recently, a biography of Norma Delores Egstrom ("Fever" by Peter Richmond) called her the greatest female pop/jazz singer of the 20th century. It's a debatable but defensible statement, but you wouldn't want to make the case based on this "flimsy" collection of hits remembered by thousands of listeners to AM, FM, television and 45 rpm collections during the '40s, '50s, and '60s. It's even questionable whether a single one of the songs on this anthology has earned (or deserves) admittance to that august collection referred to as "The Great American Songbook," of which Peggy (along with Sinatra, Ella, Billie and Bing) is one of the most definitive interpreters (no one "wastes" fewer notes than Peggy, who is more economical yet arguably as effective as Lady Day).

Let this be a preface, a mere taste of much more (and better) things to come.