Customer Reviews

One Day at a Time

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Lena surprised the pop music world by taking her cover of One day at a time (an American hit for Cristy Lane) to the very top of the UK charts. It was her only UK hit although her albums always sold well when she was at the peak of her popularity in the seventies and the early eighties. Lena wrote the occasional song but mainly recorded covers of classic songs This anthology focuses on her covers of classic songs. The first CD generally consists of pop songs while the second CD generally consists of country and gospel songs although the division is not quite that clear-cut - for example, You needed me is on the first CD while Bridge over troubled water is on the second CD.

On the first CD, you will find Lena's versions of such classics as Without you (Nilsson), You needed me (Anne Murray), Killing me softly, First time ever I saw your face (both Roberta Flack), When I need you (Leo Sayer), If (Bread - a UK number one hit for Telly Savales), Softly as I leave you (Matt Monro), Send in the clowns (Judy Collins) and The way we were (Barbra Streisand) among others.

On the second CD, highlights include I'm gonna be a country girl again (Buffy Sainte-Marie), Take me home country roads (John Denver - a UK top twenty hit for Olivia Newton-John), Six weeks every summer (Dottie West), Bridge over troubled water (Simon and Garfunkel), Why me lord (Kris Kristofferson), Old rugged cross (a traditional song that became a UK hit for Ethna Campbell) and, of course, One day at a time.

Because Lena mostly recorded covers, her appeal is likely to be limited to those who are already familiar with her music, but if you are one of those people, this is easily the strongest compilation yet released on CD.

I recently listened to Lena Martell sing One Day At a Time on satellite radio. I really liked her and ordered her two CD 40 song Anthology from Amazon. She sings country, pop, gospel, and jazz and does it all well. Her clear voice breaths life into old songs in the best easy listening tradition. She is like that other great export from Scotland, whiskey, smooth and mellow. The technical quality of the recording is also top notch. I highly recommend this CD.