Customer Reviews

Keely Smith - The Best of The Capitol Years

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This CD consists of two Capitol albums, one with arrangements by Billy May, the other Nelson Riddle. You have NOT heard, "When Your Lover Has Gone" until you've heard Keely sing it with Riddle's arrangement! I have many of Keely's CDs, and this is the one I listen to the most. Her KILLER versions of ALL the songs, leaves you breathless. The incredible control and beauty of her voice is captured on this CD to perfection. Incidentally, she is still singing this well. Sam Butera and the Witnesses, and her are still knocking them dead. THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT!

I first heard Keelly Smith in 1995 when I borrowed a CD from the library which featured feamale vocalists from the forties and fifties. Keely was amazing. Other singers on the album were wonderful too and most were familiar to me but Keely stood out with her silky, enchanting voice and her perfect phrasing. I have since purchased several of her solo albums and a light-hearted one made with her then husband Louis Prima called Together. They are all nice but this CD is the best showcase of her exceptional talent. The arrangements are fabulous too--Billy May and Nelson Riddle, no less. In my view she should be much more famous than she is as she is one of the best female vocalists I have ever heard--right up there with Sarah Vaughn, Barbara Streisand and that sort of very select company.

Keely Smith - The Best of The Capitol Years is a strong single CD compilation that demonstrates so well the fine artistry of Keely Smith. Keely could take just about any song--or even the phone book--and make it sound like the most beautiful piece of music you ever heard. The sound quality is excellent and the artwork is very nicely done as well. The arrangements by Billy May and Nelson Riddle just couldn't be better, either!

The CD starts with Keely Smith singing "Sweet And Lovely" with panache, heart and soul. This is a wonderful opening track that draws you in and it easily makes you want more right from the start. "Sweet And Lovely" showcases Keely's vocal talents well and the musical arrangement that accompanies her is excellent. "Cocktails For Two" shines just as brightly; Keely Smith sings this with all her might and just one listen proves it. The strings are used to great advantage, too. Listen also for a lovely interpretation of the famous tune, "I'll Get By." "I'll Get By" is a classic love song that moves me whenever I hear it; and Keely's rendition is definitely one of the better ones I've heard.

"Lullaby Of The Leaves" features Keely front and center--and that's OK by me! There's also the marvelously upbeat "On The Sunny Side Of The Street." I first heard this tune when Louis Armstrong performed it; but even Louis would be proud of how well Keely sings this without a superfluous note! "On The Sunny Side Of The Street" is one of my very favorite songs of all the classic pop vocal tunes out there. "I'll Never Smile Again" is a very pretty tune that Keely sings beautifully; and "All The Way" gets the royal treatment from Keely Smith as she sings this romantically with lots of heart and soul.

"I Wish You Love" has a wonderful chorus to backup and bolster Keely's performance; this number is very sweet and it works well when Keely breaks into the main lyrics of the song. "I Wish You Love" is a fantastic number. "You Go To My Head" also impresses me and I think that you'll enjoy "You Go To My Head" very much.

"Fools Rush In (Where Angels Fear To Tread)" places Keely Smith squarely in the spotlight--right where she belongs! Keely delivers this ballad with all her heart; and there's another fine performance when Keely sings "Imagination." "Imagination" is a very fine tune that doesn't get enough recognition these days--and that's a shame. The CD ends nicely with Keely Smith performing "When Day Is Done." "When Day Is Done" has another very pretty arrangement and it makes a great ending for this album.

Keely Smith fans will want this for their collections; it truly is chock full of great ballads by Keely! This is also a fine CD for fans of classic pop vocals.

OK I admit Carmen McRea is my absolute numero uno female volcalist of all-time. But hell that's just a personal preference. You'll get no argument from me if Keely's your gal. In fact I'll say this, Carmen to me is the closest thing to Tony Bennett. They're both conseument song stylists and have impecable taste and sophistication. With that said, Keely to me is Sinatra's female counterpart. Both know presciesly how to punctuate, how to turn an urbane lyric and how to swing, swing, swing. Given the fact that all of the material contained on this awesome collection was covered by Sinatra and the arrangements and conducting is none other that Nelson Riddle, you can bet this CD is first rate top to bottom. I only wish there was more great material to release from her golden days at Capital. This one is a no risk disc.

This album consists of two of Keely's three albums recorded for Capitol in the early 1960s. She has never sounded better! I wish they would see fit to reissue that third album too and make me very happy. A two disc box with all three albums would be the best.

I'VE BEEN LISTENING TO KEELY SMITH AND LOUIS PRIMA FOR 20 YEARS. NEVER TIRE OF THE FUN. THAT WONDERFUL SOUND OF THE FIFTIES. SMITH'S VOICE IS INTOXICATING, HONEST & CLEAR, SHE EMBODIES THE ERA. YOU MUST HAVE THIS IF YOU LIKE CLASSIC FIFTIES TUNES.THEY SOUND WONDERFUL STILL TODAY.

Keely Smith is one of the greatest singers ever. Her voice is the perfect instrument. She can do ballads and she can swing too. I love this CD. It also is nice in that she gets to solo since many of her ventures with Prima put her in the background. This is one I'd want on a desert island.

Keely Smith has one of the most sensual and seductive voices you'll ever hear. I listen to all types of music; rock, blues, jazz, big band,and own approximately 800 cds but this one would be in my top ten. My favorite is "The Song Is You". I could listen to it a million times but never tire of it.

Superb vocals, together with excellent big band arrangements and excellent song selections (I can't get enough of S'posin').

The more I listen to Keely's voice, the more I can hear almost every other notable female jazz vocalist's voice resident in hers (Keely's). Her vocals convey a purity and simplicity that's really hard to beat, together with intimate nuances that make each listen fresh and vibrant.

This album was actually my introduction to this great jazz/pop lady of Cherokee heritage. She's unseated Anita O'Day--a feat I had deemed impossible until now--as my favorite female jazz vocalist.

I think modern jazz/pop has lapsed into novelty, or vocal virtuosity, in lieu of the voice as an instrument serving musical beauty. Keely should be a lodestone and standard for today's jazz/pop meandering.

If you're looking for a disc representing the unparalleled singing of Keely Smith, this one is probably the best bet. The new "Essential Keely" is watered down with tracks from the night club act and a couple of duets with Sinatra (pick up the Chairman's "Come Dance with Me" instead). The "Spotlight" album is almost as focused and desirable as this one (especially at a "nice price"), but it excludes the sublime "When Day Is Done" (the studio version, from the first solo album, "I Wish You Love"). Of the tunes on this British import the only one I could do without is "Mr. Wonderful," a nostalgic '50s period piece that, like much of the material Keely did, is unworthy of her talents. On second thought, forget the single-disc solution. With a singer this consistently good, a bankable talent at any point in her career, you'll want to pick up at least one of her albums between the Capitols and the Concords as well as one of the albums from the present millennium.