Customer Reviews

Complete Recordings 1941-1947

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If you THINK you know Peggy Lee, get this incredible collection. The singer with Benny Goodman's Orchestra is quite different from the hit-record maker who came later. Here she's a high, high soprano very wedded to the tempo and so passive she's spooky. It was written that her rendition of "How Deep Is The Ocean" (which reverses the first two verses, incidentally) is like a moon crossing a cloudless sky, silent, steady but oh so hypnotically entrancing. Oh, so true. These recordings absolutely crawl right under your skin. You will listen and listen and listen trying to uncover the unsolvable mystery of just what is going on vocally here and why it is so deeply moving while seemingly so incredibly simple. The Lee who came out of this Lee--the later Lee who is so stylish, perfect, witty, subtle--is a whole different singer but even Peg must appreciate these recordings and how she began.

For all you Peggy Lee fans who did not hear or know of her when she was just starting out as a young girl big band singer, you just have to get this CD. You can hear her grow as a singer from when she first started out with Benny Goodman and his band.
For me, I remember her singing with BG during the war years of the 1940's. The all time favorite of mine is hearing her singing ,"Where or When". Believe me, this CD is worthwhile for all Peggy Lee fans. She, along with the young, at the time, big band singer Doris Day with Les Brown's orchestra were the epitome of girl band singers. Doris Day in her earlier recordings with Les Brown and Peggy Lee with Benny Goodman sound quite similar. As I said before, this CD is worthwhile for all. Peggy Lee fans.

Picture this if you will dear listener: a few days ago the President has announced that a state of war exists between the United States and Japan. It is the night before Christmas. A 21 year old Norma Jean Egstrom from Jamestown, North Dakota, stands at a microphone with the sheet music of WHERE OR WHEN written by Richard Rodgers and Larry Hart for BABES IN ARMS in 1937. Next to her, holding his clarinet, stands one of the greatest musicians of the 20th century who for seven years had led one of the most popular big bands in the country. In the background are Mr Lou McGarity and Mr Cutty Cutshall on trombones, Mr Mel Powell on piano, Mr Tom Morgan on guitar, Mr Sid Weiss on Bass and Mr Ralph Collier on drums. What must have been going through the minds and hearts of these musicians on this Christmas Eve? What must this singer, known as Ms Peggy Lee, been feeling? The record they made of WHERE OR WHEN is poignant, wistful and bitter-sweet and in the context of its making, heart-wrenching. The meeting of these composers, these musicians, and this singer, was a musical marriage made in heaven. This release brings together a variety of musicians and arrangers but all feature the two leads. There are 37 other tracks on this splendid release including 10 previously unissued.

I write this having just read in the paper that we've lost Peggy Lee, after many years of declining health. Too often remembered only for "Fever," she leaves behind decades worth of recordings that prove she retained her sultry voice longer than we'd have a right to expect. But I keep coming back to these earliest of her sides as the most essential ones. This album is the definition of great torch singing, in my opinion.

It's hard to say what I like best about this collection. The sound quality is remarkable given the vintage of these recordings, and to the extent that they do sound muffled, it simply adds to the atmosphere provided by the beautiful songs. Close your eyes and it almost feels like you're sitting by the jukebox at the corner soda fountain circa 1942 - except that the sound is probably better now than it was then! But Lee's uniformly excellent singing is the real star here, of course. It's hard to believe she was barely out of her teens on some of the ballads. Her smoky performances on "Not Mine" and "Blues in the Night," among others, provide a more than adequate reminder of some of the hard times she'd known even at that young age, while the breathy, almost-whispered delivery of "Where or When" (my favorite song on the collection) is nothing short of surreal. There's plenty of upbeat material here too, with a wide variety of beats and styles as befits a key part of Benny Goodman's catalog, and Lee's youthful enthusiasm makes up for any uncertainty in her performances of the faster numbers.

Most poignant of all, in light of recent events, are the two wartime songs. "Let's Say a Prayer" and "The Freedom Train" do sound a bit dated, but they're heartfelt performances all the same and they're as relevant as ever today - which is surely what Lee herself was aiming for. The swing revival may be over, but she'll never be forgotten.

A long time Benny Goodman fan, I nevertheless had nothing but a few singles with Peggy Lee on vocals scattered throughout my collections. Then I heard her wistful and moving "Where or When" and went on a rampage to find it. Thankfully, I found this double CD set. As others mention below, this is not the distinctive Peggy Lee of later years, but a young singer coming into her own while still very much part of a particular musical era. Hints of her famous sass and spirit push through on familiar tunes ("Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love," complete with prickly opening lyrics, "Blues in the Night" and her signature "Why Don't You Do Right?"), while some renditions sound unusually polite and restrained ("Sunny Side of the Street," "How Long Has This Been Going On?"). That isn't a fault, just a fascinating study in an artist's development. Its grand to hear some classic favorites given the Lee/Goodman treatment, such as: "Elmer's Tune," "You're Easy to Dance With," "How Deep is the Ocean?". Although most of the songs are outstanding, one of Peggy's last tunes recorded with Goodman, in a brief return to the band in 1947, is a delicious find: "Keep Me in Mind." Have a listen, you'll never want to turn it off.

This won't be a long or detailed review - I am neither a music expert or even knowledgeable about my favourites. I merely like to listen to them. Many (many!) years ago I had most of Peggy Lee's recordings on 10" and 12" vinyl, and many of them on tape (illegally) as well. Some time in the Sixties I managed to erase the tape which contained, amongst others, "Where Or When", my all-time Peggy Lee favourite; I have been searching for it ever since. After forty years I now have it!!! (I knew the Internet had to be useful for something!)
I can only say that the digital remastering of these two cd's is superb - the technical quality is as good as I remember the recordings recordings to be, which of course is better than they actually were. Naturally, the quality of artists like La Lee only improve with age.
To put it in a nutshell, the difference between these cd's and perfection is not discernable with the naked ear.

Peggy Lee might just be my favorite big band singer after this CD. Goodman's orchestra, one of the best in the business, combined with Peggy Lee creates one of the best sounds during the era. Goodman's solo on the clarinet make this CD worthwhile, but with Peggy Lee's voice aswell...it is a MUST BUY for any big band or general jazz fans. This CD really opened my eyes, truly is big band music at its best.

Imagine. A Swedish girl from North Dakota pairing with a Russian Jewish boy from Chicago to play a musical genre created by New Orleans blacks. American culture at its best! The more I listen, the more I enjoy. Benny Goodman was a wonderful clarinetist. I levitate most times when he chimes in. And it is easy to understand why Duke Ellington asked Peggy Lee if she was sure she didn't have any "spade" in her. Her timing and intonations sound black.
I have seen film clips of a gorgeous young Peggy Lee fronting the band. I regret that I'm too young to have experienced them live.

This two-cd set has a chock full of hits. Some like, "How Deep Is The Ocean" and "Let's Do it", are truly superb. If you like a sultry, dare I say melancholic sound; this set is for you!!

Good pop music is not dead, it is just waiting for a new generation to discover wonderful romantic poetry set to music.