Customer Reviews

Miss Bette Davis

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

 

 

Come on, it's Bette Davis! I always thought this album was just an urban legend, and I was so thrilled to see it actually exists. It is a definite must-have for any collector.

This CD is a must have for anyone who proudly sticks on their bumper a "Why be normal?" sticker. No one with average tastes or interests would give this record the time of day and would no doubt ridicule it to death. That's their loss. For the iconoclastic and weirdos (meant as a compliment, mind you), out there, rejoice! Bette is no Bing Crosby in the vocal department, but who is? Accept her limitations behind the microphone and enjoy her undeniably good phrasing and the personality she brings to each song. The highlight is "Wrong," the haunting Max Steiner theme from Now, Voyager. This one song is worth the price of admission, I promise you. Bette brings a breathless, mesmerizing quality to the song, almost Dietrichesque in its pathos. In addition, the arrangements are excellent. Gord Jenkins or Nelson Riddle would be suitably proud of the string section.

Other reviewers claim the CD is so bad it's good, but I humbly disagree. If you're just looking for a campy, laugh-out-loud experience, look elsewhere. The comedic element here is minimal. Bette doesn't butcher the songs all that much. If you adore this legend, then you have excellent taste and this will allow you to embrace this oddity in all its many facets. And I will go to my grave that her interpretation of Wrong is beautiful in its own pathetic way.

Bette Davis --- the chain-smoking, Oscar-winning actress --- recorded this underground album in 1976. It's long been out-of-print ... some people will understand why when they hear her croon (or is that "croak"?) such tunes as "Until It's Time For You to Go," "I Wish You Love" and "Loneliness," as well as tunes from her flicks "Now, Voyager" and "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" It's so unbelievably bad that it's great, and remains a cult classic --- sort of the way "Valley of the Dolls" remains a great bad film. Buckle your seat belts before turning on!

This is truly a treasure! Even the worst track is likeable. In spite of the negative comments I've read, this is something a true Bette Davis fan should have!

This is not a bad CD, but it is not angelic singing as one reviewer suggested. This is mainly for Bette Davis fans, and as most people would realise, she talks more than she sings, so this is just vintage stuff. I must say, though, she does an extremely horrid version of "I've Written a Letter To Daddy" and virtually ruins an otherwise beautiful song, so I must agree with the reviewer who points this out. Overall, it is a fair effort, but not for everyone.

I give this a 4 star rating not because Bette Davis could sing, but because she had the unmitigated nerve to actually do this. Despite the fact that her voice is way less than melodic, it has character and I love it!! Letter to Daddy is my favorite, but "Can't Be Wrong" is also very good, that is as much as good can relate to Bette Davis as chanteuse.

This is a must have if you love Bette. This woman did everything in her power to please everyone and even if it didn't please everyone, she did it anyway. Miss Davis has a voice you will never forget.

If you are a 'normal' member of the CD buying public, you will not enjoy this CD. If you are someone who enjoys something so bad it's fascinating, this is the car wreck for you. If Ed Wood had recorded an LP, it would have sounded like this. Bette Davis tried her hand at musical works rather often for someone who had no talent in the area. Further evidence is the hilarious "Two's Company" cast CD (which she literally tried to buy up and destroy when it was issued as a vinyl LP, once she realized people were laughing at it). The topper is the bonus clip of Bette singing a rock single based on the title of "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane" on the Andy Williams show, issued on the recent double DVD (though there she seemed to be in on the joke, doing the twist sort of as it fades out). There was always a streak of the amateur in her, even in the best performances, which is a very wide streak when she sings. It always made her more interesting than her totally professional rival Joan Crawford. Oh, if Franchot Tone had succumbed to Bette, we might have lost the greatest feud since Elizabeth and Mary. Too bad they never played that; though Bette did play Elizabeth twice and Joan played Mary for the Lux Radio Theater.

I thought the cd was great. I had no idea that Bette Davis sang or that this CD existed. If you love Bette Davis, its a must have.

with this one for columbia records. the grueling joyful noises made are in part her real singing voice and the fact she had been duped to begin with. A friend of mine has this original album and i must have it as it is a record of a fine lady unacoustomed to her time period or the way in which SHE handled everyone else. Mostly i gotta have it to prove betty did sing. boy what a find.