Customer Reviews

Jo Stafford - Greatest Hits

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

 

 

This is not one of the greatest compilations of Jo Stafford's recordings. But, because it bears her name, it deserves 5 stars. She is one of the greatest singers of our time, and anything she has recorded is worth buying! What this disk does have going for it is, to my knowledge, the only cd availabiity of her 1960's version of "Make Love to Me", as well as her recording, with Gordon MacRea, of "'A' You're Adorable". To me, just to have "Make Love to Me" on cd is worth the price of this disk alone. I play it all the time!

I do feel the title of this disk is misleading, though. Maybe it should be, "Some of", or, "A Few Of", Jo Stafford's Hits. What happened to all her work with the Pied Pipers (such as "I'll Never Smile Again"), not to mention her solo hits, "Little Man With The Candy Cigar", "For You", "The Things We Did Last Summer", "I Should Care", and "Hawaiian War Chant" (yet to be released on cd!), just to name a few? Still, I would recommend this disk to any newcomer to Jo Stafford's art. She is the best.

What a shame that Jo and her voice of 'liquid velvet' get such poor production on this Curb CD! However, even Curb can't ruin the radiance of her voice, the power of her delivery, and the subtlety of her interpretations. Truly, as with all of her other recordings, it's easy to see why she was tops in the American pop genre for nearly ten years. I purchase CD's like this because I want all of her recordings. I look forward to a CD with production quality to match her voice. Worth buying, with reservations.

Jo is the greatest and this recording does her justice.
"You Belong To Me" alone is worth the price of the CD.
Buy this one!!!

This recording of Jo Stafford is a fine example of her versatility and you get Johnny Mercer and Gordon MacRae thrown in. Thanks to being digitally remastered you get an excellent sound quality recording. If you like Jo Stafford or this era in music, you will not be dissapointed.

I'll never know how Curb Records could release a "greatest hits" compilation with a puny ten numbers especially when the singer is the incredible Jo Stafford. The running time of the CD is a let down and although the material is excellent there should have been more on this CD. However, the sound quality is pretty good and the artwork is halfway decent.

The track set starts off with Jo's sublime rendition of "You Belong to Me;" "You Belong to Me" is most romantic when Jo sings this to perfection--and beyond! I love to hear her deliver this faultlessly and the music fits in perfectly with Jo's vocals. Wisely, however, the musicians remain in the background; they never even try to steal the show from Jo Stafford--excellent! "Make Love To Me" is a very pretty tune that's also rather energetic and dynamic. That big band style musical arrangement works wonders for "Make Love To Me;" and that's grand. I love it. How's about that brass? "Shrimp Boats" uses the percussion to great advantage and I'm truly impressed. Jo sings "Shrimp Boats" very well and she never lets go of a superfluous note.

"Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" is a major highlight of this album; I really like this tune. Jo sings this lively number with lots of positive energy and the percussion is again used very well in the arrangement. "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" just plain sounds good and I know you'll like this tune if you haven't heard it before. In addition, there's yet another gem when Gordon McRae joins Jo Stafford to make ""A" You're Adorable (The Alphabet Song)" truly memorable; they sound great together and you can also hear the operatic qualities of Gordon's fantastic voice. What a lively number! It's a stand-out of this album.

"Scarlet Ribbons (For Her Hair)" features Jo Stafford squarely front and center; the female chorus harmonizes well--not that Jo needed it but they sound good anyway. "Scarlet Ribbons (For Her Hair)" is a very tender ballad that gets the royal treatment from Jo; she sings this with great sensitivity and it moves me to hear this gorgeous song. Great! "Sunday Kind of Love" is another romantic tune with a slightly jazzy arrangement; and this all holds its own very well.

"The Gentleman Is a Dope" shines brighter than silver and gold together when Jo gives this her all; and "The Gentleman Is a Dope" proves that Jo was born to sing numbers like this. "Symphony" is also very pretty; and the CD ends with Johnny Mercer and Jo Stafford performing "Candy." "Candy" is a number I always liked and when Johnny teams up with Jo Stafford this number is absolutely terrific. What an ending for the album!

OK, now it's finally time to have the drum roll as I must determine how many stars to give this CD. The songs are nothing short of brilliant; I can't find any fault with them. The CD is too brief, however, so I will give this a generous four star review. This CD is geared toward the more casual fan or anyone who wants to discover Jo Stafford; serious fans should look elsewhere for more comprehensive CDs and box sets available for sale on this website.

This cassette allegedly contained the title, "You Belong To Me," hence my order. Upon its receipt I found such song omitted, and to obtain it I needed to purchase a CD of Stafford hits.

Yes, too bad there are only 10 selections on this 'Greatest Hits' offering of Jo's hits. There are so many other of her unforgetable hits available on alternate offerings, such as 'The Ultimate Capital Collection' which consists of 20 of the ever popular songs she sang. So, folks, please bless Jo with the five star rating she deserves sparing her of any less due only to an inferior techinical reproduction.

Jo Stafford has a style and voice that should make her equivalent to Barbra Streisand, Doris Day, etc. in the music world. Yet, appreciation of her singing has been on a back-burner. She should be out front, loved for the artistic talent she has. "Jo Stafford: Greatest Hits" is a good cd that shows this remarkable singer at her very best.

What a shame that none of Ms. Stafford's Columbia material appears on any compliations put out on one of the Best Selling recording Artists of the 50's ! I felt the remastering of this CD was terrible;the choice of material abysmal. But then what could I expect--all of the Curb Cd's are awful !