Customer Reviews

Singles Collection 1959-1966

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This newly released CD entitled "The 1960s Singles" features a collection of 26 songs recorded by Doris Day during the time period of 1959-1966, a period in which Miss Day was the number one box-office star (male or female)in the world.
While it may not be as compelling as the amazing string of albums she recorded during the early to mid 60's including the classic "Duet with Andre Previn" and "Latin for Lovers", among others, it's very enjoyable for what it is. It's also a clear indicator of Miss Day's skill and ability to adapt her singing style to something more reflective of the changing times of the 1960's. It's a very good addition to anyones' collection of Doris Day or 60's music.
There are a handful of title tunes from Day's blockbuster comedies including "Please Don't Eat the Daisies", "Lover Come Back", "The Glass Bottom Boat" and the sensuous, "Move Over, Darling" co-penned by her then 21 year old son, Terry Melcher. There's also a perky Bacharach-David title tune from her comedy hit, "Send Me No Flowers". The surprise is the title song from the late 60's comedy-spy thriller, "Caprice", surely the nadir of Miss Day's film career. Co-starring Richard Harris, the film didn't deliver enough spies or laughs but the title song by Larry Marks is very reminiscent of a number of Henry Mancini tunes including "Charade", "Whistling in the Dark" and "Crazy World" in the arrangements and style. While not nearly as good as Mancini, it does make one wish Miss Day had had the chance to work with someone of his calibre, a fact she stated in her number one best-selling autobiography. Nevertheless, it's pleasant and far better than the film.
"Should I Surrender", from "Lover Come Back" is not delivered in the dreamy manner in which Miss Day sings it in the film but in a decidedly more "60's style". Other numbers from films include the lighweight, "Twinkle Lullaby" and "Au Revoir is Goodbye With a Smile" from "Do Not Disturb", a comedy most noted for boasting one of the most sumptuous wardrobes Miss Day ever wore in a film, designed by Ray Aghayan and Bob Mackie.
While a couple of the songs seem like Lesley Gore cast-offs, Day's sincerity and straightforward delivery are what make them work ultimately.
"Falling" by Bruce Johnston of The Beach Boys fame, is beautifully rendered and the Johnny Mercer penned, "Sorry" is another highlight.
Miss Day's rendition of "There They Are" by Paul Francis Webster is nothing short of brilliant thanks to the heartfelt simplicity with which she delivers it, as though telling a story. Her tone, perfect pitch, clear and honey-warmed diction, make it an extremely moving moment in this collection.
There are two numbers, recorded in the 60's but not released at the time, contained on this CD. Both are by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. The first, "Let The Little Girl Limbo" was deemed to be too risque at the time with the lyrics suggesting something "naughty". Today it seems innocuous enough, a pleasing calypso-inspired song, bouncily sung by Miss Day. The other Mann-Weil tune, "Oo-Wee-Baby" would probably have placed on the charts. Miss Day, accompanied by the Tommy Oliver orchestra, effortlessly delivers the goods, without gimmicks and showing that after decades of performing professionally, she is possessed with an ageless artistry that enables her to sing in a variety of styles, while maintaining her musical integrity.
Taken for what it is, "The 1960's Singles" works on several levels and will only increase the listener's admiration for Doris Day, the singer.

The 1960s Singles is a fine Doris Day CD giving us so many of Doris' great tunes from the 1960s! The sound quality is excellent; and I like the artwork very much.

"Anyway The Wind Blows" is a great tune that Doris gives the royal treatment as she delivers this with style and grace! Her vocal prowess is clearly evident and the musical arrangement works great! The backup singers enhance the number but make no mistake about it--Doris is squarely front and center here just as she should be!" Here We Go Again" has a great melody to make this number so pretty; and Doris never misses a beat! The percussion works well and Doris never sounded better! "A Perfect Understanding" has a great echo effect for Doris' vocals and the elegant music that accompanies her really is beautiful. Doris never sings a superfluous note and this impresses me greatly.

"Should I Surrender" is a passionate love ballad that features Doris singing with great sensitivity and I am amazed at how well Doris Day delivers "Should I Surrender." It's probably my favorite song on this album; it's certainly a major highlight here. "Lover Come Back" also gets a fine interpretation from Doris; and the strings are used very well in this arrangement. I could listen to these Doris Day tunes all day long!

"Send Me No Flowers" is a lush ballad that Doris aces effortlessly; and this is another highlight of this CD. Doris sings with all her heart and soul; just one listen will prove it to you. "Another Go Around" has Doris singing with a fine chorus to support her--not that she needed it; but it does make the ballad very pretty. Doris sounds great and her voice is truly a finely tuned instrument. "Au Revoir Is Goodbye With A Smile" showcases Doris' vocals as she sings this so brilliantly! "Au Revoir Is Goodbye With A Smile" is a very pretty tune that you're bound to enjoy.

"Every Now And Then (You Come Around)" has Doris singing so well; but on this track the music is a bit too much in the spotlight--couldn't they have turned that music down a bit? Oh, well--this is a minor disappointment since the rest of this album is so very good. "Caprice" sounds great when Doris sings it; and the chorus bolsters her performance. The CD also ends very well with Doris performing "Oo-Wee Baby." This is a somewhat silly, pop song from the `60s but it's really not that bad when you listen to it.

Doris Day fans--get this for your collection! People who like classic pop vocals and especially adult contemporary songs from the 1960s will also appreciate this album

Here you have an excellent collection of Doris Day's versitility!
Those who have the fourth and final Bear Family Box Set "Move Over Darling" know all of these recordings including their alternate takes (many of which are better than those released I might add!). But both done to perfection.
If you were a kid or in high school or college during these years, you know Doris was the top female star in the world! Loved by every age group. What she didn't do, was record specifically for her young fans (taking into consideration she was in her late 30's to mid 40's during this time). Her son, Terry Melcher said that Columbia was having a really difficult time knowing just what to DO with Doris and others during that time. But we have these awesome recordings.
Doris Day's trademark was to record the title theme to her films. What better way to get your song heard by squillions!?! bypassing the radio stations altogether! I loved that!
It's great to have "Do Not Disturb" on CD. But if you ever heard it on vinyl, you will know that it truly is better on vinyl. Great base sound and Doris sort of has a more punch to her delivery. "Do Not Disturb" has a hot sound for 1965 but the words too mild. It's thier best attempt at the band sound of the 60's. The fine tuning done for the original vinyl releases is lost on digital cd. But not on every one of them.
"Move Over Darling" is my favorite song of all songs of all time. I hear different things each and every time I hear it! There's a young new comer playing guitar in the orchestra on this, his name is Glen Cambell! It's one of the truly sexiest songs ever recorded. Listen to Doris deliver the lyrics, and breath between phrases. Just awesome! A unique song unlike anything before it or after it. I cannot figure out, with this song's immense popularity worldwide, why they didn't create an album around this song.
"Let the Little Girl Limbo" would have been a huge hit for Columbia and Doris! It's obsurd that it was never released. Here, tho, you are given the slow version. A week or so later, Doris went in and recorded it again, faster! With the leader of the session being Robert Mersey rather than Jack Nitzche. I love Jack's work! (Move Over Darling) but Mercey's take on Limbo beat Jacks. Too bad they didn't use that one on this CD. The faster version is very listenable and was to be the released version.
You cannot go wrong with this CD. YOu will find great enjoyment listening to Doris in these unique songs.
"Caprice" and "Sorry" were the last recording session that Doris did for Columbia and it effectively ended her commercial recording career. She walked away from it, happy and content. WE LOST THO!
Other recordings, "OOWee Baby" just awesome! "Catch the Bouquet" I remember from the radio! Great sound and fun! Only Doris could make this one! "Rainbows End"! The lyrics of which was used on a Panel for Rock Hudson made my this author and Doris Day and presented to the AIDS Project in Aug of 1986!

Some recordings were lost! The masters not found. Hopefully they will be. The songs are "Wait Til You See My Baby", and "Falling" a newer version. One or two "Send Me No Flowers" masters appear to be gone and looks like it had to be re-recorded durng the sessions for her "Sentimental Journey" album in 1964.
Now this is what I'm talking about when I say versitility! She's recording 30's and 40's songs for her "Sentimental Journey" album. Then they stop, gear up in a matter of a few minutes or so, and do "Send Me No Flowers"!...then continue with the "Sentimental Journey" session! Just like nothing ever happened! Nothing to it! This woman is perfection and professionalism to a tee! In the personnel in these sessions, you are listening to geniouses at work at all levels!
Buy this CD and enjoy it. It will never happen again and we will never have a voice like this again! That is unless they clone Doris!
As an afterthought to this CD, I notice that two songs recorded in 1964 with Tommy Oliver as the leader are not included here. They were to be released as singles. They are "Moonlight Lover" and "A Whisper Away". Now here's some neat info: Doris and Tommy talked about doing an album called "I've Got A Right To Sing the Classics". It never came to pass. But I believe that "Moonlight Lover" is the prototype for that project. It's lyrics to Moonlight Sonata. This is one sexy song! Stunning lush arrangement! A must hear. The other, " A Whisper Away" was never used as a filler or as an intended single. A nice song but would never have been a hit or even charted in my opinion inspite of the great title.
Jason Derer, December 7,2002

Doris Day recorded some of her finest work in the 1960s, largely thanks to her movie career, which allowed her to tie in several singles to hit movies. This disc from the Collectables label includes 24 of Day's best singles from the era, and throws two previously-unreleased tracks into the mix for good measure!

Day sings up a storm with the upbeat "Anyway the Wind Blows" and the Title Song from PLEASE DON'T EAT THE DAISIES; "Should I Surrender?" and the Title Song from LOVER COME BACK; "Twinkle Lullaby" and the Title Song from MOVE OVER DARLING; the Title Songs from SEND ME NO FLOWERS and DO NOT DISTURB, as well as tracks from her movies THE GLASS BOTTOM BOAT and CAPRICE (which were both box-office failures).

Day also beguiles and impresses with "Here We Go Again", "The Blue Train", "Daffa Down Dilly", "Catch the Bouquet", "Sorry" and "Falling". She spins gold in her rendition of "Who Knows What Might Have Been?" from the Broadway musical SUBWAYS ARE FOR SLEEPING.

Added as bonuses to the disc are "Let the Little Girl Limbo" and "Oo-Wee Baby", two previously-unreleased tracks that will surely be relished by Doris Day fans. Highly-recommended!

This is a very nice 60's snapshot of Doris Day in the final phase of her singing career, with emphasis on her 60's singles. A great buy, as its crammed with enough tunes for 2 lps from that era. Most, if not all her movie hits from that time are included. Allthough in her autobiography Day complained of the inferior movie songs she had to record from this period (her husband-producer was too cheap to hire established songwriters, so to save money he hired newcomers), the songs are catchy and tuneful and while they may not be standards, have held up well over the years. One of them is from Bacharach-David, whatever happend to them? :) If you grew up with Doris Day movies as I did, this will bring back many happy memories. (Granted, some of the later movies were less than stellar, but that was not her fault). There are some real gems on here too, particularly a wonderful Johnny Mercer tune, Sorry, which I'd never heard before, sung superbly by Miss Day. If this was her last recording session, as someone mentioned here, she left the business at her peak! She is in a class by herself, whatever she is singing. 4 1/2 stars!

This collection of sixties singles is mainly concerned with songs from the movies that Doris acted in. Movie songs are something of a mixed bag - look at the ones Elvis recorded. Like Elvis, the best music Doris recorded in the sixties is the stuff she recorded for albums which were unconnected to her parallel movie career - these albums have been released on twofers in various permutations.

Fortunately for Doris, her movie songs were of a consistently good standard - although some of them were not especially great, there was no rubbish. With her incredible talent and experience, Doris was able to make them sound brilliant - one example being Please don't eat the daisies, which could have been really silly.

Of course, there were some that were truly brilliant. For me, the standout songs on this collection are the seductive Move over darling and the uptempo Send me no flowers, but there are many other interesting songs here.

While this is not the strongest collection of sixties music by Doris, it clearly demonstrates her ability to sing a wide variety of songs, and to adapt (to some extent) to the sixties sounds. This is a lovely collection, essential for Doris fans, though perhaps not the place to begin a collection of her music - unless you're a movie fan.

I would just like to add that this collection should have included two tracks recorded that were intended to be released as singles. One called "A Whisper Away" which is an ok song with a great title, and the other "Moolight Lover" which is very very sexy like "Move Over Darling". "Moonlight Lover" was, I believe to be the prototype for an album which Doris said was to be created with the arranger/conductor/writer Tommy Oliver. They were working on "OOEE Baby" and the "Love Him" album and thought it would be great to do an album called "I've Got A Right To Sing The Classics". Unfortunately for us, it did not happen. But this gorgeous "Moonlight Lover" exists. The lyrics are to "Moonlight Sonata" with a popular sound of the 60's. IT's just soooooo sexy and avail on other releases now. Also note that the version on this compilation of "Let The Little Girl Limbo" is the slow, first version recorded by Doris with Jack Nitzsche arranging. The second one, not on this compilation, sounds just like this slower version but much faster paced with a different ending and was the version intended to be released on a single and was recorded a couple of weeks later in April '63. The leader on it was Robert Mercey. The first I think they realized was an awesome sound but too slow for the hype pop tune it was meant to be. It's a shame they decided not to release these. Probably would have been Doris' next hit gold record given when it was made and the popularity of the sound and also it being the "Blame It On The Bosa Nova" era. But thank God they now see the light of Day (NO pun intended!)

doris day's last group of hits included are mostly in perfect quality stereo, many for the first time. Only diappointment is the mono anyway the wind blows, which always appears in mono, inspite of fact i have an lp whith the sing featured in perfect stereo (without the voice overdubs in second verse).

What I like about this album by Doris Day is that most of the tracks are soundtracks over the opening credits of her sit-com movies. I really enjoyed her movies in the 1960's. They don't make movies like that anymore. This is a collection of the tunes Miss Day sang at the opening credits of each film. No other recording artist that I know of recorded an album of his or her movie themes except Mancini.

I initially bought this cd for the songs from Doris Day's films, like "Lover Come Back", "Move Over Darling" and "Do Not Disturb". I was pleasantly surprised by some of the other contemporary selections such as "Oo-Wee Baby", and "Let the Little Girl Limbo", written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, which is very similar to their hit song that they wrote for Eydie Gorme, "Blame It on the Bossa Nova". The only disappointment is "Caprice", which Doris sings beautifully, but the it has some of the dumbest lyrics I've ever heard. It describes Caprice as perfume, a clown, a lark, Noah's Ark, what the heck is it? That's the only reason I don't give this cd *****. Skip the track and enjoy all the others. Overall rating ****