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Bette
Midler -
Sings the Peggy Lee Songbook (Columbia/Sony)
Released: October, 2005
Forget Peggy Lee.
No, really. I like Peggy Lee as much as the next guy - perhaps more.
This is really a very nice Bette Midler disc. It just so happens to have
"...sings the Peggy Lee Songbook" attached to the title, and that's a
shame. Because it's sort of like putting a "kick me" sign on Ms. Midler's
back.
She's nothing like Peggy Lee. Peggy Lee is smoky, sultry - you really
believe she's that depressed when she sings, "Is That All There Is?" And
that's really the only song that doesn't work on this disc. Because Ms.
Midler is bouncy, sassy, and bright. It's a whole different dimension to
these old warhorses that you've heard (okay, that I've heard) over and
over again.
And - really - that's what makes this disc so cool. It's really not Peggy Lee songs that we've all heard countless times.
To take nothing away from Peggy Lee - but in many ways, the arrangements
and interpretation are better.
On "Alright, Okay, You Win," Ms. Midler actually sounds like she's
happy to be
in love. She sounds like "Fever" really isn't such a bad thing.
It's Bette, folks. She's smiling, and winking, and everything.
This is really a cool disc.
Forget Peggy Lee. This ain't it.
It's Bette. And she's in
fine form.
 Three microphones (out of four)
- Doug Boynton
(11/07/05) |
