Search - Jo Stafford, Paul Orch Weston :: Broadway Revisited

Haunting Stafford/Weston ballads

Michael J. McVay | 03/05/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Paul Weston has always been widely praised for his arrangements of Jo Stafford albums. (They were husband and wife, after all!) He knows just how to complement her uniquely haunting voice with the perfect arrangement, never overpowering. We sense and feel the longing in her voice, which is very rich and warm, deemphasizing vibrato, and sounds very human to me. (I don't hear the coldness some people mention -- it's just her unique timbre.) This album contains mostly ballads, for which Jo has a natural affinity, and all great standards, but she also demonstrates her great swinging style on If I Were a Bell.The documentation for Corinthian's CDs is poor, but I assume that the last three tracks are from the Jo + Broadway album. To my ears, they are not quite up to the rest. Corinthian could really do us all a favor by letting us know information such as recording dates. Also, a misleading aspect of their packaging lies in the retitling of some of Stafford's albums, such as I'll Be Seeing You -- to G.I. Jo, leading me to originally believe this album was from the 1940s instead of the 50s. The Big Band Sound CD contains practically no documentation. I would buy almost anything Stafford/Weston from the 1950s, if I only knew what I was buying (I wasn't around back then.) I also wish Corinthian would rerelease the Ski Trails album with tracks in the original order (as they were intended) and NOT interspersed with Christmas songs! If need be, separate the two albums."

One man's opinion

Mr. Dorian Sarris | San Francisco, Ca USA | 01/16/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Great titles, typical classy Weston arrangements and Jo at her late-Columbia best,this album originally out in 1959 was neglected undeservedly by Columbia as were 'I'll Be Seeing You" (a.k.a. G.I. Jo) and "Jo and Jazz". All three are must-haves for any collector of the great American song!"

Beauty Is As Beauty Does

Erin Matthiessen | Portland, OR USA | 01/25/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is the CD that occasioned my discovery of Jo Stafford: beautiul line and phrasing, commitment, sincerity (oops! can anyone believe in that anymore?). Such a beautiful, melancholy, yearning sound. This album reveals Jo Stafford as the great, though under-appreciated, artist that she is. Her breath control alone can bring tears to the eyes. God, I love her."