24 of Jeri's Capitol recordings
Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 08/03/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Jeri is my all-time favorite torch singer. Although I prefer her music on Decca, which was generally sparser and even more intimate, her Capitol recordings are still of an extemely high quality.All except one of the tracks included here are drawn from the albums At the Cresendo, Meets Cole Porter, Southern breeze and Coffee cigarettes and memories. These have been previously released on CD as two twofers, still available from Amazon.com at the time of this review.The rarity is Two sleepy people, which is originally from the album Jeri Southern Meets Johnny Smith (not available on CD), and is the only track I didn't already own. Jeri does a great version of it, although there are plenty of other versions of this song around. You have to be a committed Jeri fan (like me) to buy this collection if you already own both the twofers.It is, of course, an excellent collection, but if you haven't got any of Jeri's music, I recommend you try her Decca recordings first."
THE DIRECTION IS----SOUTHERN.
M. farrell | sherman oaks, california USA | 08/24/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"well, after listening to so many of today's hot new singers...it seems as if they are really heading in that direction....not conciously....they just are because someone named JERI SOUTHERN happened to get there first and people who are influenced by others don't always know they are being influenced...they are just drawn to people who affect them and touch them and, as a result, inspire them. there's nothing wrong with that, is there. except the original....and, in this case, jeri southern was so original that to have copied her would mean you were stuck with being an impersonator instead of being an interpreter. and that is not going to get you going in any kind of positive direction. if you don't know what jeri southern meant and still means (the good stuff does survive and prevail simply because it was always so right and real and original) then you owe it to that part of you that craves to be aware of the kind of singing voice that sounds so natural you don't know whether that person is actually singing or just talking the words with a musical feeling in their recitation. i chose this album because it says it: ULTIMATE. that doesn't this is the definitive JERI SOUTHERN ALBUM. it only means that it doesn't matter where you begin....you can get 'the very thought of you' or maybe about a dozen other albums of miss southern's impeccable talents......they, each and every one, will ultimately lead you in the right direction. and once you've arrived there you will want to make the trip all over again...probably with someone you want to share the experience with. i think that's what jeri southern had in mind when she sings 'i'm stepping out with a memory tonight. and when you hear her so subtle performance of 'when i fall in love' you will realize how much that song loved being sung by her."
Track Listings (24) - Disc #1