CD1
1. S'Wonderful / They Can't Take That Away
From Me
2. Tenderly
3. Old Devil Moon
4. Love Me Or Leave Me
5. We'll Be Together Again
6. Stella By Starlight
7. Takin' A Chance On Love
8. Them There Eyes
9. I've Got The World On A String
10. You Turned The Tables On Me
11. Bewitched, Bothered And Bewildered
12. I Didn't Know What Time It Was
13. I Won't Dance
14. Don't Be That Way
15. Let's Face The Music And Dance
16. Pick Yourself Up
17. Sweet Georgia Brown
18. Stompin' At The Savoy
19. Stars Fell On Alabama
20. The Man With The Horn
CD2
1. I Never Had A Chance
2. A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square
3. You're The Top
4. No Moon At All
5. I Can't Get Started
6. Honeysuckle Rose
7. Time After Time
8. I Fall In Love Too Easily
9. Who Cares?
10. Beautiful Love
11. Love For Sale
12. Lover Come Back To Me
13. From This Moment On
14. Medley: There Will Never Be Another You
/ Just Friends
15. Lullaby Of The Leaves
16. I Cover The Waterfront
17. We Laughed At Love
18. I'll See You In My Dreams
19. The Man I Love
20. You Don't Know What Love Is
To paraphrase John O'Hara.
Anita O'Day died in November 2006, but I don't
have to believe that if I don't want to. Until
late in her life Anita maintained the excitement
in her singing - despite various struggles
against drink and drugs. This double album
reminds us of one of jazz's brightest sparks:
a vocalist who was basically tough and uncompromising
but who approached her art with humour and
the sort of radiance that transmitted itself
to an audience. She had a smile in her voice.
Although there are sadly
no recording dates or personnel, these two
CDs seem to be taken largely from some of
the albums that Anita made in the 1950s for
the Verve label - a guarantee of quality,
as producer Norma Granz was probably involved.
The first eleven tracks comprised the 1957
album Anita Sings the Most, with fine
backing from a group which was basically the
Oscar Peterson Trio (with guitarist Herb Ellis
and bassist Ray Brown) plus Anita's favourite
drummer, John Poole. The small-group setting
suits Anita perfectly, as it gives her space
to improvise which, in her case, includes
jumping across bar-lines, and singing faster
or slower than the accompanists - although
she miraculously gets back in synch with them.
Some of the other tracks
come from Anita's albums Pick Yourself
Up and This is Anita, where the
singer was backed by a big band - in some
cases led by Buddy Bregman. The arrangements
are acceptable but the big-band format restricts
Anita's adventurousness and she doesn't dare
to take so many liberties as she does with
small groups. Sweet Georgia Brown is
basically the same version of the song as
she sang in the film Jazz on a Summer's
Day but it lacks some of the exhilaration
which animated that memorable performance.
And slow songs like A Nightingale Sang
in Berkeley Square test her intonation,
which could be her one weak point.
Compare these big-band tracks
with the vigour - even wildness - of songs
like Them There Eyes, taken at an incredibly
fast tempo which Anita sails through without
any difficulty, singing and scatting. Yet
even the big-band items have their appeal.
On several of the songs on the second CD,
including I Can't Get Started and Time
After Time, Anita sings the verses, which
are so little-known that they keep the listener
in suspense until the familiar chorus enters.
In fact, this album is a
delight from start to finish - for Anita's
daring phrasing, clarity with the words, vocal
fluidity and emotional truth. Anita O'Day
lives!
Tony Augarde
CD Reviews
Delta
38284
