A beautiful voice, unfortunately mostly unknown in the USA
Bruce R. Gilson | Wheaton, MD United States | 04/06/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Alma Cogan was unfamiliar to me until a few months ago, when I ordered (on the basis of email conversations with a British friend) another CD of hers. As you can tell if you read that review, I was very favorably impressed by her voice on that CD, and came back to buy this one. While the other CD (advertised as "The Magic of Alma Cogan" on Amazon, but actually currently for sale under the title "The Best of Alma Cogan") consisted of songs that were highly popular in the UK, this CD is a reissue of two LPs she made in 1958 and 1961, primarily of old standards. Both CDs contain many familiar songs, and to someone who likes the old traditional pop music that was around in the 1950s, both will sound good. If you like listening to singers like Doris Day or Rosemary Clooney, try Alma Cogan.
Only two songs overlap between the two CDs: "Cheek to Cheek" and "When I Fall in Love" (the latter one not having been on the original LP, but recorded at the same time as the second LP included in this CD). So you can get both CDs without fear of excessive overlap. I like her version of "Ain't We Got Fun" (the only one where I've heard the verse) and I think she does great jobs on songs like "All I Do Is Dream of You" (Patience & Prudence's hit in the USA, and also done among others by Patti Page) and "I Dream of You More than You Dream I Do" (best known by Perry Como, but I've heard a nice version by Doris Day as well). But of course you have to listen to judge for yourself.
Like "Ain't We Got Fun," "Fly Me to the Moon" is another song with a verse you don't often hear, but Alma sings it. (Unlike "Ain't We Got Fun," I have heard the verse before, but not often!) And the verse really ought to be sung, because it makes more sense of the lyrics. So that's another plus of this CD.
I really liked this CD."
Track Listings (25) - Disc #1