Customer Reviews

Born on a Friday

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I first got the vinyl version in 1976 - one of the first jazz records I owned. I am happy to be able to buy it on CD. The combination of Cleo and her husband, John Dankworth (sp), is great.

The album "Born on a Friday," by British songster Cleo Laine, (now Dame Cleo Laine) with her husband John Dankworth choosing, arranging, and conducting the music so as best to showcase her lovely wide-ranging voice, is one to keep. It gives her the room to show off not only that range; but her varied attacks: swinging on "Come Back to Me," "Birdsong," and "Any Place I Hang My Hat is Home." Bluesy on "Colours Ran," "I Think it's Gonna Rain Today," "Unlucky Woman," and "Streets of London." Soulful and sexy on "Let Me Be The One," and "Do You Really Want Him." Superb articulation; innate musicianship. I've been lucky enough to see her in person during her prime years, and what an experience it was. Only --tiny-- criticism-- sometimes you can have too much chocolate. And sometimes, the sound here is a bit much of a much, with every song arranged to give Laine maximum voltage.

But let's not be ungrateful for an album anyone would be lucky to find.

This happened to be very first Cleo Laine record I have ever heard and its funny little story so I'll share it here with everybody.Years ago when I worked as journalist,I had interviewed certain croatian jazz singer (Zdenka Kovacicek) who turned out to be friendly & sweet,so after the interview she casually mentioned Yma Sumac and Cleo Laine as her biggest idols.Since at that time I never heard of Cleo,she lent me the only album she had in her collection,probably the only one released in Ex Yu.One look at the cover photographs of Cleo & her husband Johnny Dankworth and I got impression this must be some producer-husband pushing his young housewife - upon returning home,I played this LP and thought "hm,she's actually not bad for housewife" - how funny is that! - later I lived in UK and without much thinking/planning collected around 40 albums by Cleo Laine and of course found much more about her,who she is and how she is by far better known that her husband (who is of course jazz icon in his own way),even had chance to see her live on several occasions.Even now I delight in reccomending her to my new friends and thanks to her wide-ranging discography spread through 50 years,there is so much to reccomend.This particular album was her big break in USA after she was already well-known in UK for almost 20 years and producer was Beatles own George Martin who worked with Laine/Dankworth as far as early 1950s."Born on a Friday" was meant to showcase Laine various talents and it has distinctive 1970s pop/jazz production where she gently sings ballads and scatt like crazy next moment ("Birdsong").Her complete discography should be re-relased on CD because she is really first-rate singer.