Customer Reviews

Ms America / One Hell of a Woman

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Back in the 70s when I was young and poor, all I could afford was a crummy 8 track player that I installed in my Chevy Vega. I can still remember cruisin' down the highway, with the so sweet voice of Vikki, singing her heart out to me, through those crummy little speakers over all that traffic noise. Even so, gosh, those are sure some great memories! But, I don't have my 8 track tapes any more, or my 8 track player, and I don't have my Chevy Vega any more. Now I'm older and richer (well, relatively) and I can afford a state-of-the-art stereo system right there in my home, and all that's been missing is some really great music to play on it. Until now. To listen to the so sweet music of Vikki Carr singing in CD quality on a fine sound system - folks, it doesn't get any better than that!!! Thank you Sony for releasing these two albums. But please don't stop now. Please release all of Vikki's albums on CD! And to Liberty/Capitol/EMI Records, what are you people thinking about? You are sitting on a treasure-trove of great music by Vikki. Please do the right thing and follow suit. And to Amazon.com - thank you for making this CD available. But about your ratings system - sometimes 5 stars are just not enough!

G R E A T CD! Take my advice - Vikki's CD - One Hell Of A Woman/Ms. America is just WONDERFUL! My God! What a voice! ...And "Six Weeks Every Summer, Christmas Every Other Year" was a terrific bonus addition...and you know what? It still makes me cry! After all of these years Vikki, you still touch my heart! WWW.VIKKICARR.NET is one of the most BEAUTIFUL, most creative websites I have ever seen! I Love it! And I Love you Vikki and your new CD!

Thank you Columbia/Sony for the release of this CD! MANY, MANY Vikki Carr fans have been waiting for this for years. Too little has been released of Vikki in English...I think it's time for a change! Sony mentions in the liner notes that they released this set because they were the most popular recordings, but you must also read BILLBOARD Magazine review section, since they recommend both of Vikki's releases, "Vikki Carr sings Adult contemporary music like no one else can" and you know what, she's only making more beautiful music these days!" If you like these recordings, wait to you hear them on CD, you will wonder why it took so long in the first place! Vikki, you are "One Hell of a Woman!"

You will find that there is NEVER a moment where this woman cannot impress the hell out of you...ONE HELL OF A WOMAN is definitely right! In fact, in my opinion, some times that is understatement. Please make sure you check this CD out...you will just have an absolute blast. You will find a wonderful variety of many of your favorites. She will once again warmly take your heart back to those days where every time you turned on the radio there would be another great song playing! And being the perfect vocalist that she has always been and still is, she can take any song and quickly make it her own. Smooth, clear, warm, sweet, passionate, dramatic, playful, and sexy! She truly touches you like no other! Thank you Sony and Collectables Music for bringing out these two fabulous albums on CD!

In these two early-'70s albums, Vikki Carr is a bra-burning, Tex-Mex lounge version of Helen Reddy, both in her ultra-feminist pose and in her eerily Reddy-like voice. Those were the days when disgruntled housewives were told by female university-types to chuck the house, hubby, and kids for that journey to self-fulfillment; and Carr was obviously trying to cash in on this socio-trend. Marketing ploys aside, this is a GREAT easy listening CD from the days when hit songs actually had musical hooks and catchy melodies and no F-words. Adult-oriented artists of the time like Mel Torme', Julie London and Vikki Carr often took on pop hits and gave them a dash of professionalism and sophistication, even though the practice was derided by critics at the time. A lot of these songs--One Hell Of A Woman, Danny's Song, Last Song, Sunshine On My Shoulders--DO sound better when played by top session people and a singer who doesn't hit bum notes every two bars. Listening to this CD makes me want to grow mutton-chop sideburns, wear an Arnie Palmer polyester suit with a smiley face button, and watch John Dean at the Watergate hearings. If that's not a recommendation to buy, then, good grief, what else can I say?

I have always wondered whether I will ever be able to throw away my worn-out vinyl & have these precious recordings on CD. I have written countless letters & email to Sony Music to release Vikki's English-language recordings of the 70s on CD. Finally & this is better than winning the lottery, here it is! The bonus track "Six Weeks Every Summer" alone is worth the price of the CD not to mention Vikki's heartfelt delivery of the other 22 classic tracks. But it makes me kinda sad. If they include "Six Weeks Every Summer" here, does it mean we will never get on CD the fabulous album "Vikki Carr's Love Story" from which this song is taken?

One of my favorite LP's from our Vikki's Columbia days was "One Hell of a Woman". With this double release, Ms. America now has a special place in my collection. Hearing these albums (in their entirety) was a thrill for me. I'm so tired of compilations. When I was a kid buying Vikki's albums, I bought "An Album". I wasn't just buying a collection of her songs put together by someone who didn't really know her the we do, but a new experience, a new "Vikki" each time. I'm so tired of getting a new CD, only to have a few songs that I didn't have before. Now with the release of "It Must Be Him", and "Live at the Persion Room", I'm able to have, on CD, two ablums that meant so much to me when I was growing up. "Live at the Persian Room" was the first VC album I ever owned. And "It Must BE Him" is such a classic! Vikki-thanks for the Memories/Memorias. I was hooked on you then, and I'm hooked on you still. Your magic goes on and on. You do do it for me.

Thank you Collectables for re-issuing what amounts to the best two albums of the 1970's! As with everything by Ms. Carr, the song selections are flawless and her delivery is crystal clear and pure. Highlights are "Killing Me Softly," "Somebody Loves You," and "I Guess I'll Have To Say I Love You In A Song." the only glitch is that there are no arrangers listed; however, this is minor compared to the excellence contained here. Now, howabout the rest of Vikki's Columbia catalogue? If you're not sure, try checking out her website at www.vikkicarr.net Collectables!!

Thank you Collectables for re-issuing what amounts to the best two albums of the 1970's! As with everything by Ms. Carr, the song selections are flawless and her delivery is crystal clear and pure. Highlights are "Killing Me Softly," "Somebody Loves You," and "I Guess I'll Have To Say I Love You In A Song." the only glitch is that there are no arrangers listed; however, this is minor compared to the excellence contained here. Now, howabout the rest of Vikki's Columbia catalogue? If you're not sure, try checking out her website at... Collectables!!

The two albums on this CD demonstrate that Vikki continued to make outstanding music long after her sixties hit It must be him. Here you will find a great selection of songs, including some brilliant originals, with plenty of covers as was usual in Vikki's English language recordings. Rescue me is NOT a cover of the Fontella Bass sixties hit with that title, but a completely different song.

Killing me softly (a hit for Roberta Flack) was apparently inspired by a Don McLean concert. Other covers include songs normally associated with Helen Reddy (Ain't no way to treat a lady), Anne Murray (Danny's song), Carly Simon (Haven't got time for the pain), Dottie West (Six weeks every summer), John Denver (Sunshine on my shoulders), Gladys Knight (Neither one of us) and Jim Croce (I'll have to say I love you in a song). So Vikki's covers were chosen from a variety of sources, but all of them sound wonderful with Vikki singing them.

This is an excellent collection from one of America's finest ever singers. I look forward to more of Vikki's recordings being released on CD - this is great, but there is plenty more in the vaults.