Customer Reviews

Definitive Kay Starr on Capitol

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Simply put, the best Kay Starr collection currently available. Contains most of (but not all) of the Starr Capitol singles. There's a pile of rarities here, Oh Babe, Honky Tonk Hardwood Floor, etc. Plus, 3 or 4 previously unreleased tunes. Of special note, it contains a number of previously unavailable singles from the 61-66(?) period, including Well I Ask Ya, Four Walls, No Regrets etc. Most of the 61-66(?) cuts are in stereo.
(Well I Ask Ya & Rough Riders, from 1961, are mono.)
Has a few glaring omissions like "Mama Goes Where Papa Goes", and "Foolin' Around", and doesn't include any LP cuts from the "Movin" LP's. Also, there's a number of mistakes in the liner notes. (The version of Everybody's Somebody's Fool is NOT the Connie Francis tune.) All in all, though, an absolutely essential disc for any Starr fan, or someone looking for an introduction. (Most of the big hits are here.)

With her instantly identifiable voice, this Starr by name became a star of great repute with vocal talent undimmed so many years later. Her early Capitol recordings, ranging from 1947 until 1965, so hard to obtain, are now presented in this welcome release which proves just how versatile Kay was. She excelled at blues, jazz, country and pop, as well as often working with big bands. Surprisingly, of the 50 songs in this compilation, 26 of them charted, with HOOP-DE-DOO, I'LL NEVER BE FREE (with Tennessee Ernie Ford), SIDE BY SIDE and WHEEL OF FORTUNE all making number one in the early `50's which undoubtedly was the high point of Kay's career. Songs like SO TIRED, BONAPARTE'S RETREAT, HOW IT LIES, HOW IT LIES, HOW IT LIES and COME-ON-A-MY HOUSE all made significant impact, despite the fact so many other girl singers competed on the material, particularly with the latter two songs. The successful, but subsequently neglected OH BABE!, must surely be considered an early commercial attempt at rock'n roll to which Kay contributes an internal driving force, so much an asset towards her vocal style, which was also present in the gospel-styled NOAH!,ON THE HONKY TONK HARDWOOD FLOOR (great backing from the Billy May Orchestra) and the swinging SWAMPFIRE. But Kay also was a fine ballad singer with ALLEZ-VOUS-EN, IF YOU LOVE ME(REALLY LOVE ME), THEN YOU'VE NEVER BEEN BLUE and the bluesy I WAITED A LITTLE TOO LONG fine examples. More intense are NO REGRETS and CHERCHE LA ROSE,whilst the contemporary, WELL I ASK YOU suits her style. One of the joys of a compilation such as this is when previously unreleased material escapes from the vaults,and the swinging I GOT MY ARMS OPEN, the untypically tender MORE I CANNOT WISH YOU(from the score of GUYS AND DOLLS) and the mawkish sentiments of IF ANYONE FINDS THIS, I LOVE YOU are well worth a listen. So full marks to Collectors' Choice for making this release available with its attractive packaging and excellent liner notes.

There have been many compilations of Kay's music on Capitol but this is the strongest of them all, covering both her spells with Capitol - she recorded for RCA in the mid to late fifties. Thus, this collection has music recorded up to 1954 and from 1959 to 1964. Her biggest hit during the intervening years was Rock and roll waltz, a song Kay re-recorded for Capitol in 1964 but it is omitted from this collection.

This compilation misses out some of Kay's American hit duets with Tennessee Ernie Ford. They had two double-sided hits but only one of the four tracks is included here - I'll never be free, a top three hit. The other three didn't make the top ten so they're not essential but it's a pity they were omitted. However, there is another compilation (Superb Starr) that mostly avoids the hits but includes all four of these duets.

Among Kay's classic solo hits here are her first American number one (Wheel of fortune) as well as So long, Hoop-dee-doo, Bonaparte's retreat, Come on-a-my-house, Comes-a-long-a-love (her first British number one), Side by side, Half a photograph, Changing partners, The man upstairs and If you love me really love me (originally an Edith Piaf song written in French as Hymn l'amour), all of which were top ten hits in America.

Despite the absence of some duet hits, this is the definitive Kay Starr Capitol hits collection. If you want a comprehensive Kay Starr library, buy this, the Essential RCA singles collection and the Superb Starr compilation. Then, if you want to hear Kay's early music before she was famous, go for A rising Starr, on which I found the sound quality satisfactory but I note that somebody else didn't. These are not the only compilations worth buying but they will be enough for most people.

I found Kay Starr when I used to collect 78 records. I bought the record because I knew Come On A My House, some rock band I liked had covered it and I liked the song. So I paid the 50 cents for the 78 and brought it home and played it. Kay Starr and her band came blazing out of my record player like a revelation, her voice winking and sliding, the big striding brass section doing its best to keep up with her incredibly nuanced and fun delivery of this song. Nobody sings, "Come on a my house, my house, I'm gonna give you...a peach and a pear and I love your hair, WAH!" like Kay Starr. She sings with humor and depth and absolutely put the rockers to shame. Mystified that she could so utterly trounce the boys in tights, I played the Kay Starr and the rockerboy versions back to back. The rockerboy song I thought loved now sounded like it was played on beginner instruments and sung from cue cards. And the main things I had really liked about the song were the exact vocal riffs they had stolen from Kay Starr.

One day I picked up my 78 to experience Kay Starr curling my hair with her red-hot vocal licks, and my record just broke in half. I sobbed violently, then I put that puppy back together with Elmer's Glue-All and waited for as long as I could stand it, then played Come On A My House anyway. You know, Kay Starr rose above even the big POP that would occur every couple of seconds. Pretty soon my 78 player died and that was the end of my beloved Kay Starr. Or so I thought.

Can I express to you how happy I was to find this compilation here on Amazon.com? Not all of the songs are as amazing as Come On A My House, but it's a fantastic collection and has an untamed, muscular version of the bigband jazz sound that does not sound dated at all.

Then guess what, somebody STOLE my Kay Starr CD!!! Grr. I just can't seem to hold on to Kay Starr.

Thinking it over now, it somehow seems right that Kay Starr sweeps in, blows the doors off the room, and then is gone. It almost felt symbolic: Her work can't be confined to an era, a genre, or even a single owner.

Those who know Kay Starr love Kay Starr. OK, where's my credit card - I need a THIRD copy of Come On A My House, and probably even a FOURTH eventually, if I know my Kay Starr. And that's just fine. She's worth every penny, every time.