Search - Kay Starr :: Superb Starr

STARR CAN SING ANYTHING

Jim Brooks | Aberdeen, Scotland | 06/15/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Kay has often spoken of her early years at Capitol, when the label really didn't know what to do with her and tended to regard her as a "utility singer". Until Wheel of fortune established her as a big-voiced, dramatic torch singer she recorded just about anything and everything. One of the nice things about this collection of recordings which pre-date Wheel of fortune is the incredible range of material she tackled, from out-and-out country (Wabash Cannonball) through blues (Mercy, mercy, mercy) to swing (Ya gotta buy, buy, buy for baby). Kay proved that she could sing any kind of number with authority, and more often than not make the material seem rather better than it was.



I don't quite agree with Lila Leeds of Ottawa about the sound quality. Considering that the transfers were taken from 78s rather than master tapes, the sound is astonishingly clean, however it does lack depth and isn't in the same league as as Capitol's own transfers. But as a mid-price, attractive set of hard-to-find material by one of the very best (and still-underrated) girl singers, it's a snip and well worth the investment.

"

Terrible sound quality.

lila leeds | ottawa | 12/16/2004

(2 out of 5 stars)

"These were remastered from the records, not the master tapes.

The sound is terrible, everything has a strange "tinny"

quality, and some of them have an excruciating amount

of echo. I give it 2 stars because there's some songs here

that aren't available anywhere else, specifically the Ford

duets, and a number of obscure Capitol singles. But the sound

quality is a lot to overcome. Really, a cassette of the

original records would sound better."