Customer Reviews

Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte / Gentle on My Mind

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

 

 

Listeners of classical pop artists often tend to look at the earlier, million selling hits and forget about the marvellous recordings made at a later date. Often the later recordings show a more mature voice, a singer at ease with all kinds of material. In the case of Patti Page one has to listen to material from every decade of her career to realize that she has continued to thrill audiences in concert because of her way with a song. This cd which combines 2 of Patti's biggest selling 60s lps (other than Patti's Greatest Hits & Christmas with Patti Page---also both Columbia lps) contains some of Patti's most listenable material from that decade. In 1965 Patti entered the TOP 10 with HUSH HUSH SWEET CHARLOTTE (title song of the Bette Davis movie). The HUSH album contains some of Patti's best folk song recordings with marvellous arrangements and a caressing of lyrics as Patti had never done before. In 1968 Patti returned with a TOP 10 easy listening hit GENTLE ON MY MIND. Although the song was part of another album, Columbia saw fit to produce a GENTLE album of country songs which had also made their way to the pop charts. Patti is again at her 60s best on these songs. It's a treat for fans who have continued to play their lps/cassettes of these two to finally have the entire Columbia albums on cd. For those only familiar with Patti's many Mercury million sellers of the 50s....this will introduce you to a whole new Patti. We can only hope that Sony will continue to release/allow someone to release the other great albums Patti recorded for Columbia in the 1960s!!

This two-fer CD contains all the tracks of two of Patti Page's strong albums from the 1960s entitled Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte and Gentle On My Mind. Patti's voice remains as rich, warm, and vibrant as ever. I agree with the reviewer who writes that when Patti sang these songs she caressed them while holding each song gently in her arms.

The CD starts with the eleven tracks from Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte. After singing the title track with a musical arrangement that makes excellent use of the strings section, Patti performs "Try To Remember" from The Fantasticks. The background vocalists sing sweetly to enhance the beauty of the song; and Patti delivers this with all her might and passion. The musical arrangement complements the vocals perfectly.

"Jamaica Farewell" is a famous ballad written by Lord Burgess aka Irving Burgie. It sounds as if Patti's voice has been superimposed a second time onto the master tapes for this number to give her voice a very slight echo quality. I love it! The Latin beat of the musical arrangement shows forethought and the percussion shines, too. "Croce Di Oro" explores the story of about two lovers who must part; apparently Patti's man is going off to be a sailor. Patti sings of a cross of gold, a "Croce Di Oro" that she gives to her lover so that he may return safely to her arms. The Latin beat of this song enhances the romantic feel of the song.

"Danny Boy" boasts a beautiful musical arrangement as Patti sings this so passionately. Patti closes this first half of the two-fer CD with two unforgettable numbers entitled "Can't Help Falling In Love" and "Scarlet Ribbons (For Her Hair)." "Can't Help Falling In Love" works wonders as a romantic number that makes you want to slow dance with your sweetheart. In addition, "Scarlet Ribbons (For Her Hair)" touches you with its singularly beautiful lyrics which also leave you with an unexpected, unsolved mystery.

The next eleven tracks come from Patti's 1968 LP entitled Gentle On My Mind. On this second part of the two-fer CD we see Patti beginning to gradually cross over from pop to country--excellent! The song "Gentle On My Mind" has a distinctly 1960s pop beat to it; and "Little Green Apples" makes great use of the guitar while Patti sings this with great sensitivity. "Have A Little Faith" has an intro that could best be described as a mixture of pop and country. The piano playing makes the song lean toward country; and when Patti sings "Have A Little Faith" you can tell that crossing over to country from pop is no challenge for a woman of her remarkable talent.

"This House" shows Patti doing some pop music again; the upbeat melody stands in sharp contrast to the lyrics of this song about a love gone awry. "Skip A Rope" goes back to a mix of pop and country; Patti's versatility astounds me!

The two-fer CD ends with the classic romance ballad entitled "Release Me." The backup vocalists sing wonderfully and Patti sings this to perfection. The outstanding melody also makes this song a fine conclusion to this album.

The liner notes include the cover art for both LPs when they were originally released and the song credits are provided as well. Mark Marymont contributes an essay about Patti's career and the making of her numerous LPs including the two on this CD.

I highly recommend this CD as an excellent value and delight for Patti Page fans. People who enjoy classic pop vocals and country vocals will enjoy this two-fer CD as well.

When Patti Page left Mercury Records and went to Columbia, it's like if her voice got deeper and richer. Don't know if it was the recording studio and Columbia's 360 degree sound of if Miss Page's voice had changed that much. According to Miss Page, her voice had not changed at that time. Nevertheless, these two albums are great. The song selections and arrangements are both songs of yesteryears (prior to the 1960s) and the 60s. Patti Page delivers on these 2 albums like she did so many times on her Mercury albums. Even in the year 2000, I recently saw her in concert and she sang a couple of tunes from this CD. Still great today.

WAS VERY DISAPOINTED IN THE SOUND QUALITY OF THIS DISC--IT EVIDENTLY WAS NOT REMASTERED, AND THEREFORE THE FIDELITY IS VERY FLAT!! I AM SORRY THAT I PURCHASED IT.

Patti not only sings these songs but she caresses them. Patti's recording of HUSH HUSH SWEET CHARLOTTE was a Top 10 Billboard hit and the album followed it into the Top 30. Patti's readings of TRY TO REMEMBER, SCARLETT RIBBONS, CROCE DE ORO, DANNY BOY and CAN'T HELP FALLING IN LOVE rank with the best recordings of these songs. The GENTLE ON MY MIND album followed the success of the single which peaking in the TOP 10 of Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart and stayed on Billboard's HOT 100 for 16 weeks. The majority of the songs were monster country hits which were "popped" by Patti bringing them to a whole new audience. It's great to finally have these two lps on one cd. If you are a Patti fan or simply like quality "easy listening" vocal music, this cd would add some ambience to your listening. When you combine this CD with Collectibles' releases containing 4 more of her great Columbia 60s recordings, you have the majority of her 60s output: (SAY WONDERFUL THINGS/LOVE AFTER MIDNIGHT (Collectables 7598 and TODAY MY WAY/HONEY COME BACK Colletables 7597).

Finally! Two of "The Singing Rage's" best works of the late 60's on one disc. "Hush Hush..." has long been a favorite among music listeners and die hard "Patti" fans for decades. "Gentle On My Mind", a very substantial hit for Ms. Page in the late 60's was a great reason for Columbia to put her back in the studio for a marvelous folk/country music album featuring the title song. Both albums reveal a warmer, mellower, and more seasoned voice different to the still marvelous voice of the 1950's. With a strong selection of songs, marvelous orchestrations by Robert Mersey, and Ms. Page's solid delivery of each number, these two albums will likely be treasured by new comers to the CD as well as veteran fans who have enjoyed these two wonderful pieces of work for the last three decades.

Patti Page made some great records in her time, but this disc, which primarily includes country and folk tunes, doesn't really have any of them. The production sounded dated back when these tracks were originally released in the '60s. By this point, Patti had stopped being an innovator and was simply trying to score a hit. Her vocals are as languid and smooth as ever, but the bland material and sleepy production make this stuff ultimately forgettable.

Patti Page, once coined "the singing rage" couldn't be father off the mark than with these two insomnia curing albums. By the early and late 60s, Page's restrained vocal stylings certainly seemed out of date. These two albums are testament to this. The first, HUSH, HUSH SWEET CHARLOTTE was obviously an attempt by Columbia Records to capitalize on her smash single of the time. None of the other songs are similar in theme, but similar in arrangement. The arrangements are painfully slow and lulling. Its as if Dreamland were but a listen away. Such pedestrian numbers as "Try to Remember" and "Scarlet Ribbons" seem to be lost to Patti's bland, understated vocals. The second half of this twofer is 1968's GENTLE ON MY MIND. This album, though not nearly as lifeless as the previous, suffers from chilly background singers and uninspired song selection. Everyone was recording these songs at the time. Do we really believe Patti Page would understand the sentiments of "Take Me to Your World"? Luckily, this album somehow redeems this compilation, but not entirely. Recommended only to the die-hard Page fans. All others try her more interesting Mercury recordings.