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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Mediocre Sound Quality But Memorable Vocals From The Underestimated Musical Bombshell,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Blonde Bombshell [ORIGINAL RECORDINGS REMASTERED] (Audio CD)
She was originally promoted as "America's Number One Jitterbug." Bob Hope called her a "Vitamin pill with legs." In Hollywood she was the "Blonde Bombshell," a bright, brassy woman who played her attractive alto more for laughs than art. The daughter of a grass widow who ran a series of low-rent speakeasies, Betty Hutton (1921-2007) hit the New York stage in 1938. By 1940 she was en route to stage stardom when an irate Ethel Merman derailed what should have been a career-making role in the Cole Porter show PANAMA HATTIE. Annoyed by the Merman fracas, show producer Buddy DeSylva decided to make up for it by taking Hutton to Hollywood, where she made an instant hit in her first film, the 1942 THE FLEET'S IN.
No one would accuse Hutton of subtle vocal shadings, but what she lacked in that direction she made up for in energy: few performers had the same degree of manic energy, and when Hutton channeled it into comic vocals with a boogie-woogie beat she became as much of a World War II classic as the Andrews Sisters. Wild, raucous, and bouncing off every wall, Hutton became a huge star and remained so until she unexpectedly walked away from her film career in the early 1950s. A decline into alcoholism was halted by her involvement in the Roman Catholic church, and she eventually acquired considerable respect as a teacher and advocate of the church, but although she made the occasional public appearance she never regained her star status; the entertainment industry simply considered her too unreliable. Largely estranged from her family and having burned her film career bridges behind her, Hutton fell into obscurity and died in 2007. BETTY HUTTON: THE BLONDE BOMBSHELL IN HOLLYWOOD is one of the few collections of Hutton's recordings available. This is partly due to the fact that Hutton was more of a film star than a recording artist; her recordings were generally made for the screen and were not usually "studio release" quality. Although it does not include her recordings for MGM's ANNIE GET YOUR GUN or DeMille's THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH, it is a remarkable catalogue of Hutton's recordings for Paramount, containing both the obvious and the obscure--but unfortunately the recordings are pretty much lifted directly from the film soundtracks and are offered here without any hint of remastering. They are not only crackly, but they often contain film dialogue and background sound effects that mar the vocal. Hutton's "It Had To Be You" is a classic example. One of Hutton's few "straight" romantic vocals, it shows her a much more gifted vocalist than she was usually credited for being--but it is riddled with the chatter and laughter of extras. Still, there are gems to be found. "Ol' Man Mose," is a true rarity, lifted from a musical short made around 1938, is tremendous fun and offers Hutton at her early boogie-woogie best. Hutton also scores with such classic comic turns as "Murder, He Says" and the wild-tempo "Can't Stop Talking About Him." Comic numbers such as "Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief," "A Square In The Social Circle," and "I Wake Up In The Morning Feeling Fine" are not as wildly over the top as most of Hutton's comedy numbers, and they really let us really hear what she could do with her voice, and she is truly charming from start to finish. While the afore-mentioned "It Had To Be You" is marred by background sound, it is a lovely rendition, and Hutton truly shines on such low-key selections as "Now That I Need You," "Why Fight The Feeling," and a truly stunning "Somebody Loves Me." She also significantly scores in several duets with Bing Crosby. At her most extreme, Hutton's broadness can sound grating to modern ears--but clearly she was an artist who deserves more attention than she presently receives. While BLONDE BOMBSHELL is far from ideal in terms of sound quality, it offers the full range. Recommended. Gary Taylor, Amazon Reviewer
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
One for the fans,
By
This review is from: The Blonde Bombshell [ORIGINAL RECORDINGS REMASTERED] (Audio CD)
I would buy this CD if you want the EXACT recordings of Betty singing her songs straight from the film soundtracks (a lot of people prefer the film versions.) As it says on the back it is a mono recording so the sound quality is not going to be the best in places. I bought it as I wanted to hear her songs from "Lets Dance" with Fred Astaire that I couldn't find on any other release.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Betty Hutton RULES@@,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Blonde Bombshell [ORIGINAL RECORDINGS REMASTERED] (Audio CD)
i LOOOOV Betty Hutton! I bot this CD along with ALL of her others after seeing a special interview of her on Turner Classics followed by some of her amazing movies!
She is a POWERhouse to say the least AND she is the MOST romantic, tender ballad singer I have EVER heard. She delivers such subtlety it is exquisite!! I was so inspired by a couple of the songs that I have learned them and performed them!! ENJOY!!
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