Customer Reviews

Give Him the Ooh La La

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A female jazz singer friend of mine claimed that every fan she knew of Blossom Dearie was a man. I can see how Dearie's winsome kewpie-doll voice might have a particular attraction for the opposite sex; yet in my experience just about anyone, of either sex, can get hooked on her work. This is a good album, if not quite Dearie's best: _Once Upon a Summertime_ is the better disc, with its classic renditions of ballads like "Manhattan"; yet this disc, despite the sprinkling of novelty numbers & its lighter (indeed, often frisky) feel, is also worth a listen. "Just One of Those Things" is an excellent uptempo rendition, showcasing Dearie's good sense of swing, & there's many worthwhile resuscitations of little-known tunes like "I Walk a Little Faster" & "Let Me Love You". I'm a little less keen on the French-themed tunes like the title track or "The Riviera", with their rather brittle wit; yet "Plus Je T'Embrasse" is charming. -- Jazz singing, like jazz playing, has never been about just technique--Dearie, like Billie Holiday or Helen Merrill or Mose Allison, shows how intrinsic intelligence, emotional nuance & musicality can beat out stellar pipes anytime.

Why I bought this album:
I first heard the song "Try your Wings" from the movie "My Life without Me" (great movie by the way)

I liked the song so much, I bought ~$800 of speakers so i could do her voice justice.

(just listen to the 30sec sample when it's 2am in the morning after 2 glass of Merlot, you will probably agree)

The rest of songs are pretty good too.

I have no idea why she is not well-known as Ella or Diana Krall.

An excellent easy-listening jazz album performed by a unique singer. Her high-pitched, sweet and half-naive, half-spicy vocals, as well as the spare piano-based arrangements exquisitely enhance an original repertoire which is in general quite far from "the same as usual" standards. Blossom conveys a great tenderness in ballads as "Try you're wings" or "They say it's spring" and swings extremely well in songs as "Between the devil and the deep blue sea" or the title track. And she can also be so sexy in the cabaret-ish, French-language "Plus je t'embrasse", one of my favourite tracks. Charming!

The first batch of the new Verve By Request series has been released, and it was only natural for them to throw in a Blossom Dearie album. Give Him The Ooh-La-La, was her second album with Verve after coming back to the U.S., from performing in Paris, with her vocal group the Blue Stars of Paris. This album truly represents her talent and ability to be able to sing almost any kind of song.

Many songs here highlight Miss Dearie's unique voice and character. You can't help smiling as you listen to this cd. Then again, any Blossom Dearie cd will do that to you. Original liner notes accompany the collection.

This is my second purchase of this CD. The first was for me and the second was bought as a gift. This artist is a bit of an aquired taste, but once you get to know her, she will be chosen often for her terrific interpretations of the 'classic' American songbook titles. She has a deceptively simple, 'little girl' voice that has large style. I don't know of any other singer quite like her. She is an original. Do yourself a favor and try her; you will like her.