Don't Go to Strangers / Softly As I Leave You [Import]

This is my 2nd review of these masterpieces! The other one was for the out of stock version! So, I'm writing another version for the in stock. I thought that these 2 as lps were the greatest torch albums ever! I still thinking that for the 2-4-1 cd. Artist, song, & arrangement combinations have never been surpassed, at least, in my lp & cd collections. Eydie magnificently sings every song! While the background music may sound occasionally strained because of the 60s style, her voice sounds richer & fuller on this cd. That must be because of modern technology. The songs are similar but still different from each other. Each one has an intelligent conversational plot line that's lacking in today's music. My version doesn't have composer information which every serious Americcan Songbook devotee needs. I must mention some of the songs. Eydie got the best female vocalist GRAMMY for IF HE WALKED INTO MY LIFE! The injustice here is that she didn't win for the entire DON'T GO TO STRANGERS album. The song, WHAT DID I HAVE THAT I DON'T HAVE is equally great! Although the 2 torchers are the closest to each other than any other 2 on the cd, & Gorme does use the same technique of alternatively belting & caressing; she makes each an unique treasure. The out & out belters (WHAT IS A WOMAN & I WANNA BE AROUND) are done as only Eydie could: vibrant, pulse-quickening, & positively demonstrative. I always laughed when Springstein was called THE BOSS when it's clear that GORME was in charge of each and every track here. The orchestra enchance her, not the reverse. Her "softer times", I WISH YOU LOVE, WHAT'S GOOD ABOUT GOODBYE) are other singers' "louder times". That is a compliment. E.G. knew how to be commanding but still artistic. Her voice was so strong, wide ranging, and on key that in difficult passges Eydie still stayed vibrantly on key.

This 'two for one' CD is a demonstration of the magnificent voice and stylistic ability of one of our great female popular singers. Grammy winner Eydie Gorme is quite simply one of THE BEST singers of our time. Possessing a voice that can go from an out-of-tempo whisper to solid upper register notes surfing above the crest of a huge orchestra reaching it's crescendo, Ms Gorme can literally and delightfully make your hair stand on end. Half of the Steve Laurence-Eydie Gorme marriage and singing team, both have individual careers when they decide to have some solo fun. Indeed Ms Gorme has also produced a number of hit spanish language recordings, like Nat Cole. And she specializes in 'show stoppers', belting out one after another with style and feeling.

The two CDs combined here are among her very best work and each comes equipped with a huge orchestra of brass and reeds with a full string section. I lifted the Grammy-winning MASTERPIECE "If He Walked Into My Life" and put it on a 'best of the best' cassette tapes, long ago. But following closely on it's heels is a spectacular version of the ballad "What's New?" (kudos to the orchestra and arrangement) and "Don't Go To Strangers" (a poignant modulated last note that will slow your breathing). Trust me, Eydie has an upper register that most singers can only dream of and she spends alot of time up in that stratosphere, but it's never overwrought and always in control. Shifting to the "Softly As I Leave You" side of the CD, on "You've Changed" pay particular attention to the articulation of the stunning opening verse and how she stops in mid-song and then regains the momentum to surge to the climax: daring and spectacular! She finds new feeling in "Everytime We Say Goodbye" and "Don't Worry About Me". And don't miss "For All We Know", wonderful! True Pieces D'Resistance all. Thank you, arrangers Don Costa and Pat Williams, and conductor Joe Guercio, especially for orchestral colorations like the fabulous introduction to "What is A Woman?". Five Spectacular Stars!!

My Father bought the "SOFTLY AS I LEAVE YOU" & "GREATEST HITS" albums on vinyl a long time ago back in the 60's and it somehow managed to survive in good shape. Later, I myself bought the "DON'T GO TO STRANGERS" album from a used vinyl store and was fairly happy with how these albums sounded on my Linn Turntable. WOW! When I heard these GL Music remasters on my Linn CD12, I could not believe the difference! (And this from a guy who usually finds the vinyl version sounds better.) An absolute must have, for not only Eydie Gorme fans, but ESPECIALLY all the people who think "WHAT'S NEW" is an album by Linda Ronstadt. The smooth soothing relaxing sound of these Eydie Gorme versions will make you forget about ever listening to the Linda Ronstadt versions again. Both of these albums are again one of MY ALL TIME FAVORITES in my collection.