Customer Reviews

Sings the Peggy Lee Songbook

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Bette once again has shown herself to be one of the best interpretative singers today. She has not performed an imitation of Peggy Lee (leave that for the lounge singers in Vegas) but her own take on some of Peggy's greats. She has a great style and her voice is the best that it ever has been.

All that said, most importantly, she has shown what an unparalleled performer Peggy lee was. As good as Bette is, Peggy's interpretations are miles ahead of just about anyone else's. She had a unique talent to find the perfect phrasing and mood of just about anything she sang. When she sang a song, she got it right!

This CD is a definite buy.

Bette follows up her tribute to friend Rosemary Clooney, with a tribute to the great Peggy Lee. This set may not be as adventurous as the Rosie tribute, as the arrangements are very traditional (which suites these songs), however this is still a wonderful album. The ballads "the folks who live on the hill" and Harold Arlen's lovely "happiness is just a thing called Joe" are simply stunning and two of Bette's finest ever vocal performances. "fever" (revelatory interpretation) and "he's a tramp" come up a treat, and "I am w-o-m-a-n" is the divine Miss M in all her glory. Bette's been recording standards since `am I blue" on her first album (1972) and with the possible exception of Linda Ronstadt no rock singer sings the standards better then Bette and this album is a testament to that. Great songs, great arrangements, great singing, great album and a lovely tribute to a dearly missed singer (and songwriter).

Following hot on the heels of her Rosemary Clooney tribute disc (Bette Midler Sings The Rosemary Clooney Songbook) Bette Midler's salute to the musical stylings of Peggy Lee is an equally satisfying treat, because, as strange as it may seem, the individual "voices" of Midler and Lee aren't terribly dissimilar.

Peggy Lee earned the reputation as the "Queen of cool jazz" with her understated, deceptively simplistic vocals, yet she could also let rip with a powerful belt when the occasion called for it. Belting comes easily for Bette Midler yet she's also capable of toning herself down for more intimate arrangements. This album proves it, but anyone who stupidly believes that Peggy Lee was a one-trick musical pony should check out her amazing back-catalogue of material (most of it is available on CD, thankfully including many of her rare radio transcriptions from the early Fifties).

This tribute CD focuses on ten of Peggy's all-time classic songs, including her legendary "Fever" and "I'm a Woman", which Bette growls with lots of grunt and pathos. Better still is her adorable duet with album producer Barry Manilow on "I Love Being Here with You". The album ends on a poignant note with the tender ballad "Mr. Wonderful", which is probably my favourite track.

Bette and Peggy - a match made in musical heaven. I'm sure Peggy would have been delighted as well.

Bette Midler has always been about "reclaiming" the past. You could almost say she is the ultimate sentimentalist. Of course, back in the day, those tendencies were cleverly wrapped in layers of campy irony. But then what is camp but a kind of "ironic love" anyway? But it was real love nonetheless. Short and sweet, Midler was enamored of American pop music (and culture) of all eras. Reviving a WWII chestnut just as the Vietnam war was winding down was an artistic move that seemed to have layers of meaning at the time. But hey, she really just loved the song AND the era.

So if any performer deserves to cash in on the tribute and nostalgia craze, it would seem to be Bette. It's almost surprising that it's actually taken her this long to include old Peggy Lee numbers like "Fever" or "I'm A Woman" on one of her releases. Those are tunes she could have tackled at almost any point in her career. Is she--as the liner notes suggest--fire to Lee's famous "ice." Well, sure, but pop songs are subject to all kinds of interpretation. So Midler makes "Fever" a tad more "feverish." We're talking JUST a tad, and besides she's not even the first. There have been dozens of re-makes of that tune, and they've pretty much ALL been a bit "hotter" than Lee's (although I will admit to not having heard Madonna's--perhaps one day)

The Divine Miss M and Miss Peggy Lee share a certain ironic sensibility that makes them sisters under the musical skin. I understand that Midler isn't the ONLY other recording artist to have tackled "Is That All There Is?" (and have learned only recently, in fact, that Lee's version was not even the ORIGINAL, as it turns out that the tune was first done by Leslie Uggams). Midler brings her skills as an actor to the piece and pulls it off beautifully. She has, in the past, been accused--perhaps with some justification--of being melodramatic when just a touch of the truly dramatic would have done nicely. Well, that may have been so at one time. She proves herself to be past such unfortunate tendencies on this track.

I'm somewhat surprised at the decidely mixed reviews the record got upon its release in 2005 (and since). Some of this reaction can only be "extra-musical." Like many SONY products of the era, it was released with XCP software, which supposedly protected copyright, but actually made it unplayable on many computer systems (and may have made those units MORE vulnerable to various types of spyware). It was also typical of an unfortunate marketing trend in that rights to a bonus track ("He Needs Me") were given to a single retailer. The relative brevity of the album (just over 30 minutes) was a problem at least PARTIALLY addressed IF you knew where to buy the longer, 11-track version of the album.

Such Music Biz controversy helped undercut, in the minds of many listeners, the strengths of what was really quite a solid release. Midler and producer-collaborator Barry Manilow came up with a worthy successor to their earlier Grammy nominated ROSEMARY CLOONEY SONGBOOK, and it's something of a shame that this recording failed to receive similar accolades.

I suspect it will ultimately be "rediscovered" and may wind up ranking pretty high in the collected oeuvre of the Divine One.

Having found a successful formula in her last musical outing by celebrating Rosemary Clooney, Bette re-teamed with old friend, Barry Manilow, who produced this package of hits celebrating the great Peggy Lee.

I can't quite put my finger on it, but Bette doesn't seem like she's having as much fun here as she did with the Clooney catalog. Her professionalism and natural instincts save the day, though, because her choices are always terrific and her voice and style are so suited to this material.

As with the Clooney CD, this one is awfully short -- not even using half of the amount of space a CD has, which leaves one feeling a bit taken advantage of. The song selection is good, although in the case of a song like "Is That All There Is," I'm not sure that it wouldn't have been better put aside as even the incomparable Bette can do little to add to that unique novelty song or make it her own. Ditto "Fever" and "I'm a Woman" which have been covered to death over the years and, yes, should have been included but not at the expense of some other gems which Bette might have dug up instead.

Still, her takes on "Happiness is Just a Thing Called Joe," "Mr. Wonderful," and "He's a Tramp" are quite sublime and worth the price of admission. And her obligatory duet with Barry Manilow on "I Love Being Here with You," which includes a tip of the hat to their last duet "Slowboat to China," was a frothy treat for listeners.

So, all in all...good work from Ms. Midler!

I was pleased at the price and the speed with which I received this CD, Thanks, Darl

What a great match... I am 47 and I found Ms. M to be at her best in this CD!
A blast!
Diane L. Donohue

Bette Midler has come a long way from her debut album, THE DIVINE MISS M in 1973.

After Bette Midler's excellent Rosemary Clooney tribute, I had high expectations for her Peggy Lee tribute. An ambitious effort where many times Bette is up to the task, but not everything works (nor up to Peggy Lee's originals).

1) Fever - Excellent opening number, and Bette does enough unique vocal inflections to make this track her own, not a copycat. The arrangement is a lively band that supports Bette's vocals. I felt it was extremely good that she did not do a voice/bass version like Peggy Lee's hit version. This track leaves good expectations for the rest of the album.

2) Alright, Okay, You Win - And, win she did here. Again, enough inventiveness on her vocal part to make this a true testament while keeping her own artistic identity.

3) I Love Being Here With You (duet with Barry Manilow) - This track continues in the same excellent mode as the two preceding ones. And, Bette and Barry sound like they had a lot of fun with this track (plus, great arrangement by Barry).

4) Happiness Is A Thing Called Joe - I don't remember Peggy Lee recording this, much less being associated with this track (which I usually associate with Bessie Smith). Other than that, Bette gives a lovely and tender reading of this song.

5) Is That All There Is? - Okay, Bette tries very hard to live up to Peggy's, almost lackadaisical treatment of this song, but that's how it comes across: trying, but not quite accomplishing.

6) I'm A Woman - If I didn't know Peggy Lee's outstanding version, I'd have thought this was tailor-made for Bette. Perfect match of song and singer.

7) He's A Tramp - Cute `Oriental'-type piano intro that quotes Peggy's "Siamese Cat Song" (also from the film "Lady and the Tramp," which Peggy wrote and performed all the songs for), but after that, I felt that Bette didn't completely bring what this song needed. Not only did she keep the kitschy references to animals (which worked in the Disney film from 1955), which seemed out of place, but she also didn't seem as if she was really allowing herself to swing.

8) The Folks Who Live On The Hill - Another that I don't associate with Peggy Lee. This Berlin-penned tune is exquisite in and of itself, and Bette delivers a touching treatment.

9) Big Spender - In the pop-type arena, I've only really associated this song with Shirley Bassey, not Peggy Lee. But, considering the guts and `cojones' that Bette brings to this song, that's inconsequential; she's simply magnificent on this track.

10) Mr. Wonderful - And, wonderful is exactly how this track comes across. A perfect vocal performance, and also a positive way to end this album.

Bette, for the most part, succeeded in another excellent album. I only felt that 2 tracks didn't work for her (that means that 80% of the album was stellar). I *was* surprised to hear a change in Bette's vocal approach on some tracks. I don't remember hearing previously, but distinctly on a few tracks she sounded as if she was doing a slight Bette Davis-type glottal break on some words. Thankfully, not distracting, but unexpected.

In the final analysis, another great tribute album by The Divine Miss M. Now, let's hope the rumors that her next project will be a tribute to another excellent singer/songwriter, Laura Nyro, are true and come to fruition. Can't wait...

I was not happy with her previous offering,the tribute to Clooney.
And this one is even worse,outrageously short and unfinished.
I understand that it's Christmas time and she wants to please her fans and sell thousands of copies...
But Peggy Lee deserved more than a quick and superficial reading.
This time Bette,at 60, can be just and only funnny,with all her hamming, simpering, blinking, winking, singing-over-the top....
Peggy was and is one of the most important jazz legends and Bette's tribute is simply parodistic,at most.
Please,just listen to a wonderful CD " Best of Miss Peggy Lee " on Capitol,1998.Now you know what I'm talking about..
This time the long tested formula Mr.Saccharine Vegas-Miss Divine Camp has not succeded.Listeners are are getting more and more conscious,educated and certainly a laugh,a smile is not enough to convince even her die-hard fans from the bathhouses era to buy an uninspired 30 minutes album.
I feel so sorry for Bette Midler,she can sing much better.
I just hope that her next project will not be a tribute to Mae West !!