A Popular Stage and Radio Actress Across America, the Still Young Eileen was Chosen to Sing Beside Frank Sinatra on his First Radio Show.
CD Reviews
Another not-so-well-known '50s artist's work revived!
Bruce R. Gilson | Wheaton, MD United States | 11/12/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Jasmine is a British company that, of late, has been bringing out 2-CD sets of artists (such as the Ames Brothers) whose best-known work is from the 1950s, music that I like. Eileen Barton is a singer from the late 1940s and early 1950s who is best known for one hit (though it was a very big one), a song whose title is the same as this album's, and which is included here. So when I heard that Jasmine was bringing out an Eileen Barton set, I wondered how they'd find enough material. Well, as I found out when I did a little research before I got this CD set, she actually had two other (minor) chart hits, both of which are also in this set. But not even three songs would make a CD, much less a 2-CD set (and a rather big one, with 29 tracks on each of the 2 CDs). So what does this CD contain?
Well, anyone familiar with the music of the 1950s must be aware that typically, the same song was recorded by many artists at the same time, though typically only one or two versions became popular. In fact, one of Eileen Barton's two minor hits that are in this collection, "Pretend," was a major hit for another singer, Nat King Cole. And the collection includes a number of such covers, some of which I like quite a lot. (I've never been a fan of Johnnie Ray, so that I like her version of "Cry" better than Ray's hit version is no surprise. But I generally like Perry Como, though his version of "Don't Let The Stars Get in Your Eyes" is hardly a favorite Como song to me, and so it's more unusual that I find, on here, a version I like better. But the song benefits by Barton's rather livelier way of singing it.)
There are also a large number of songs which, for some reason, never made the charts for anyone. Perhaps the majority of the tracks on these CDs are in this category, and I like enough of them to wonder why they didn't take off. I guess they never found a DJ to bring them to the public's attention.
Eileen Barton's usual style can be best described as "smily" like a lot of Doris Day's songs, also a characteristic of the British singer Alma Cogan. And since Doris Day is my favorite singer, and Alma Cogan is my favorite foreign singer, it might be expected that I like what I heard. There are, of course, some songs that can't be treated so happily, like "Cry," and Barton's sound on that one respects the nature of the song; she doesn't try to make it sound happy, and (as I said before) I think she manages to do a very good job with it.
Let me not imply that I liked every track in this set. I don't know whether it's because I don't like rhythm and blues or because she didn't know how to do r&b-flavored songs, but the few songs she did that seem to be in a more r&b-flavored style do not sound very good to me. They include, interestingly, a song called "How Ja Do, How Ja Do, How Ja Do" (really, a remake of "If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd've Baked a Cake" in a totally different style!) And, while Rosemary Clooney could carry off a fake accent pretty well, Barton wasn't so good (in a song called "You Like"). Still, out of 58 tracks in the set, the ones I didn't like could be counted on the fingers of one hand; that's pretty good.
"
Carry me back
Carter Brooks | South Florida, USA | 05/12/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I bought the Eileen Barton CD set for one song only, Pine Tree, Pine Over Me. What a delight it was to listen to the other accompanying songs from the past. Her voice has character, unique to only Eileen as were many of the singers from the 1940's and 50's. The remastering of this set is marvelous, as if I was in the recording studio listening live!"
Fine tribute to Eileen Barton
Matthew G. Sherwin | last seen screaming at Amazon customer service | 10/14/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Eileen Barton simply does not get the recognition she deserves as a great singer of the twentieth century. Eileen had a voice that was as clear as a bell and when she sang it was beautiful. This two CD set gives us a whopping fifty-eight (yes, fifty-eight) of her songs; and that's great!
The two CD set has many great songs; but I will pick my favorites here. "Would You Believe Me" features Eileen singing flawlessly with a great arrangement for the piano and strings; and when Eileen comes in this number becomes a true masterpiece! "If I Knew You Were Comin'; I'd've Baked A Cake" is a bouncy, peppy and relentlessly happy number with The New Yorkers on backup that still belongs to Eileen and Eileen alone. "Honey, Honeymoon With Me" features a fine piano arrangement as Eileen sings this flawlessly. Eileen sings of how she wants to marry her man and have a marvelous honeymoon. Awesome! The backup chorus enhances the natural beauty of "Honey, Honeymoon With Me," too.
"Cry" gets the royal treatment from Eileen; Eileen sings this so passionately that she makes "Cry" all her own! The horns and piano carry the bulk of the beautiful melody. "Don't Let The Stars Get In Your Eyes" has a slightly Latin melody and Eileen sings this very, very well. I predict that you will enjoy "Don't Let The Stars Get In Your Eyes." "Tennessee Tango" is another fantastic number that features Eileen singing flawlessly; the arrangement blends a slightly country flavor with a Latin beat to create a strong number with lots of punch for Eileen to sing! "Don't Ask Me Why" showcases Eileen's vocals well, too.
"Pine Tree, Pine Over Me" sports a country beat and Eileen sings this well with Johnny Desmond and The McGuire Sisters. The musical arrangement works well for "Pine Tree, Pine Over Me." "Sway (Quien Sera)" gives us Eileen singing a ballad that I associate more with Dean Martin; but when Eileen sings this passionate ode to love she turns it into her own work of art! "When Mama Calls" is another ballad with a country flavor; this enjoyable number is a cross between a genuine ballad and a novelty song. "I Don't Want To Mambo Polka" gives us Eileen singing to a fast tempo without ever missing a note--her infectiously catchy energy makes "I Don't Want To Mambo Polka" a terrific number! The backup chorus works to enhance the natural beauty of this song--great accordion, too!
"How Ja Do, How Ja Do, How Ja Do" gives a 1950s rock and roll take on "If I Knew You Were Comin'; I'd've Baked A Cake." The male backup chorus works wonders for this number; and Eileen proves her fine ability to sing a '50s rock and roll number as she belts this out! "Cry Me A River" starts with some great horn and guitar; and Eileen sings this tune as only a pro ever could! I think that you will enjoy "Cry Me A River" very much--Eileen's rendition is sublime! The track set ends with "Spring It Was." "Spring It Was" gives us a love song; and Eileen sings this wonderfully.
The liner notes include a lengthy, informative essay by Rex Strother; and the artwork impresses me.
Eileen Barton gets a fine tribute with this excellent two CD set. Hopefully this will encourage more people to remember Eileen or to become familiar with her talent. I highly recommend this two CD set for people who like classic pop vocals; and people who like Eileen Barton will cherish this set for ages to come!
Enjoy!
"
Eileen never wanted to bake that cake
Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 03/30/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Eileen wanted to be a singer of serious material, but she came along at a time when success could only be achieved by recording some novelty songs as well. So it was that Eileen very reluctantly recorded the title track of this compilation, which she simple called Baked a cake. Although Eileen regards it as a novelty song, it is far superior to many of the novelty songs recorded in that era. Nevertheless, it is clear from the accompanying liner notes, prepared with her help while she was still alive, that Eileen never liked the song. Unfortunately for her, it became such a huge hit (ten straight weeks at number one in America) that it overshadowed everything that Eileen recorded thereafter. Maybe that's the reason that Eileen never took her career seriously. Eileen admitted that while other singers might put in some extra effort to promote their music, Eileen never did. That would partly explain why her career never flourished the way it might have done.
Despite having to record her quota of novelty songs, Eileen recorded plenty of serious material. The standout track is Cry, the song that Johnnie Ray originally became famous for. Eileen's version was released on the very same day as Johnnie's version. Purely judged on the merits of the respective recordings, Eileen's version is every bit as good as Johnnie's, perhaps even better. With Eileen being the hot singer at the time (following the success of Baked a cake) and Johnnie not yet established, it would be reasonable to expect that Eileen would have the big hit and that Johnnie would have to wait a bit longer to break through, but it didn't happen that way. While Eileen was clearly disappointed that Johnnie's version was the big seller, it may be that Johnnie was more comitted to record promotion than Eileen was. In an industry as competitive as the music business, that could be a decisive factor.
Eileen had other hits (among them being Wishin', Don't let the stars get in your eyes, Toys, Sway) but never again made the top ten. I was surprised and delighted to find that most of the remaining songs are, for the most part, of a high quality but obscure. I only recognized three other songs, these being It's all right with me (a Cole Porter song), Fujiyama Mama (normally associated with Wanda Jackson) and Cry me a river (the Julie London classic). Among the others that I particularly liked were Tennessee tango (originally by Pee Wee King, the writer of Tennessee waltz) and Twilight time in Tennessee (presumably a song of country origin, but the only other recording I can trace is by Lawrence Welk). The latter song is one of three featured duets with Jimmy Wakely, who is more famous for his duets with Margaret Whiting. But there are so many great songs here, I can't describe them all.
An earlier reviewer on Amazon compared Eileen stylistically to Doris Day and Alma Cogan. That puts her in very exalted company as I'm a huge fan of both of those singers, but it's a good comparison. If you enjoy listening to either Doris or Alma, you'll surely enjoy listening to Eileen. And yes, they also recorded plenty of novelty songs that they probably wished they didn't have to. At this point, I can imagine some of you asking who Alma Cogan is. I've reviewed some of her music so I'll let you read those reviews. Meanwhile, if you enjoy Dors Day's fifties music (whether or not you've heard of Alma), you'll enjoy this too."
Track Listings (29) - Disc #1