Ultra-Lounge: Wild, Cool & Swingin' - Artist Series Vol 3

Mrs. Miller | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 8, 1999)
• Original Release Date: June 8, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Capitol
• ASIN: B00000J600
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (62 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #12,389 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #13 in Music > Miscellaneous > Comedy > Comedic Music > General
  • #18 in Music > Miscellaneous > Comedy > Comedic Music > Novelty Music
  • #55 in Music > Jazz > Cool Jazz

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Keeping It REAL! (before it was 'fashionable' to do so), April 21, 2004

By 

"francinefishpaw" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ultra-Lounge: Wild, Cool & Swingin' - Artist Series Vol 3 (Audio CD)

Coming from the UK, I had never heard of Mrs. Elva Miller. It was only by a chance listening of NPR's "Annoying Music Show" (streamed over the net) that I was 'introduced' to her. How could anyone so 'bad' get a record deal, I wondered? So I delved further into the net about her, and read her 'story'.

What a wonderful, sweet woman she was (too much to go into, Google her, you know you want to!). There is a joy in these recordings, you can even hear her stifle a giggle in "Downtown". Sometimes she does sound 'extreme', and personally these are the recordings I prefer, but I do not find her 'funny', or these recordings to be comedy, but a pleasure to hear someone singing because SHE ENJOYS IT.

I suppose she does remind me of my mothers embarrassingly terrible singing. However, everyone who hears her, swears that it sounds like their mother too.

Believe me, after a crap day at work, kick your shoes off, put on the CD, and be transported to joy, Joy, JOY! I have become so obsessed, that my friends and I are going to celebrate her birthday, in a way that she would approve of. God bless her!

Mrs Elva Miller
Oct 5, 1907 - July 5, 1997
A truly unique person

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of a Kind !, May 14, 2003

By 

peterfromkanata (Kanata, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Ultra-Lounge: Wild, Cool & Swingin' - Artist Series Vol 3 (Audio CD)

I gave this CD 5 stars for one reason--FUN ! There was no one who sang like Mrs. Miller, for which I'm sure many people are grateful ! At the same time, she was a true original--that warbling, off-key vibrato, the dreadful timing, the astonishing whistling breaks--her voice was instantly identifiable.

On this disc, she attacks a number of big hits from the 60s--the Beatles, Chuck Berry, Sinatra ( Frank and Nancy )--no one was safe ! Play this disc for your friends--they will listen in disbelief, then hopefully laugh a lot. As another reviewer advises, don't listen to Mrs. Miller if you are eating or drinking--choking is a definite risk !

I understand that Mrs. Miller is no longer with us, but somewhere the angels are being hugely entertained. It was never clear to me whether or not she "got the joke". Some bad singers are just that--bad--with no redeeming qualities ( hello Yoko Ono ). Mrs. Miller is as much fun today as during her 60s heyday.

So--if you have a good sense of humour--want to have the most talked-about disc at a party--or need to break your lease with a stubborn landlord--you can't go wrong with this gem.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Otherworldly Vibrato From Joplin, Missouri, November 2, 2004

By 

Robert I. Hedges - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Ultra-Lounge: Wild, Cool & Swingin' - Artist Series Vol 3 (Audio CD)

Elva Ruby Connes Miller was truly one of the most amazing voices of the twentieth century. That isn't to say that she has a great voice, or even a good voice, for that matter. What she has is an amazing penchant for an off-key vibrato intensive warbling that makes her second only to Florence Foster Jenkins for most hilarious soprano of the last century. Miller was a fixture in local community theater and amateur productions, and at one point even took her talent to Vietnam to entertain the troops. I am sure they were very entertained. Truly this woman had a heart of gold, even if she had a tongue of lead.

This compilation is stunning in its breadth. The treatment she gives to these songs cannot even be imagined until heard for oneself. She covers a variety of styles, with a heavy concentration of 1960s sugar-pop like "Monday, Monday", "Let's Hang On", and "Yellow Submarine". (Yes, it's true that Ringo sings substantially better than Mrs. Miller.) Particularly entertaining is the truly dreadful altered lyric masterpiece "Queen of the House." I can't imagine having been a supporting musician or recording technician that had to sit through multiple takes of these masterworks.

Listening to this CD is delightfully awful, and I recommend the experience highly to any audiophile who thinks they have heard it all.

Rock on, Mrs. Miller!