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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent, 29 Jun 2006
Almost incredibly, Dame Shirley Bassey will be 70 years old next January, and for over 50 of them she has been Britain's best non-operatic singer of popular ballads. Blessed with an unmistakeable, powerful voice, when she wraps her pipes round a song it stays wrapped, and becomes her own, no matter whether it was originally Piaf's, or Newley's, or the Beatles', come to that.
This excellent collection comes from the period 1959 to 1966, when she was signed to EMI's (then) Columbia label, and is made up of 20 singles, A and B sides, 15 of which charted, plus seven tracks off two EPs, two from an LP of the musical Showboat, and one movie end-credit song, "My Liquidator", which is an alternative version of the preceding song which she sings at the start of the film. They are all in their original glorious mono, undoctored, and sound superb.
Nearly all the songs are those epic, emotive ballads she sings so well, many come from stage shows and from the cream of British and American popular songwriters, and all are given the lush big orchestra or big band arrangements to match the power of the vocals. Only final track "Sunshine", written by Mitch Murray, is different, in bouncy, jokey, Merseybeat style, a B-side that says "I can do this stuff as well, you know" (and better than nearly everyone else).
There will be many a household up and down the land with a pile of worn and warped green or black Shirley Bassey 7-inch singles lurking in the loft. Now's the time for a clearout, buy this CD and refresh the memory of a true diva of song and style.
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~ Shirley Bassey
~ Shirley Bassey
~ Dame Shirley Bassey
~ Shirley Bassey
~ Shirley Bassey
See all 25 tracks on this disc
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