Search - Various Artists :: Four Gals Sing Hits

Four of the best of the 50's singing their best

02/08/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Here is a CD featuring four of the lesser publicized but nonetheless excellent singers of the 1950's singing their best recordings. Most of these records are not available on other compilations and anyone who likes the 1950's and/or good female singers will enjoy this CD."

Four Ladies, Please

05/21/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"These four singers were never gals but all accomplished, polished performers. They made some wonderful records, among them notable hits, but there were so many wonderful lady singers in the '50s taking the top of the musical mountain alongside Doris Day, Patti Page, Rosemary Clooney, Joni James, Peggy Lee and Teresa Brewer was tough. But there's a lot of great records by other ladies out there--you'll truly enjoy this recording."

Really 4 mini-albums, mostly good

Bruce R. Gilson | Wheaton, MD United States | 08/27/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The artists featured on this album are relatively minor female singers, who all were active in the 1950s and all recorded for Columbia. That's really the only thread that unites this collection. There are really about 4 items on here that qualified as hits for the artists in question: "Make Yourself Comfortable" sung by Peggy King, "I Love My Baby" and "Love Me to Pieces" sung by Jill Corey, and "Wake the Town and Tell the People" sung by Mindy Carson. (Mindy Carson's second hit, "Candy and Cake" does not appear here because it was done for another record label). So the title is a little misleading. And the singers are quite different in voice and style. It's really necessary to review each artist's work separately.



Toni Arden did the first five songs. I really liked all of them, though all were really hits for other singers. I like her version of "Kiss of Fire" better than Georgia Gibbs', and while the other 4 are done well by their original artists, Toni Arden does reasonably good versions of all of them. I think I found out from this CD that I like her, without having really been familiar with her voice before.



Peggy King, singer of the next five, is a singer I don't like as well. Her big hit, "Make Yourself Comfortable," is on here, and four others, of which only "You Better Go Now" was known to me before. Her voice is acceptable, but hardly one I'd run out and buy an album of.



Jill Corey's "Love Me to Pieces" was one of the two songs I bought this CD to get. It's here, and of course one that was familiar to me (I wouldn't have sought it out if I didn't know it!) I also knew her version of "I Love My Baby" and I was familiar with "Let It Be ME" even if not her version of it. She does a nice job on all of them, though on balance I don't rate her as high as Toni Arden or Mindy Carson.



Finally, the last 5 are done by Mindy Carson, whose "Wake the Town and Tell the People" was the other piece that made me want this CD. Next to Arden, hers is the best voice in the collection, and her version of the Gaylords' hit "Tell Me You're Mine" was a pleasant surprise, as I've never heard anyone but the Gaylords do it. (I like their version, but I like hers nearly as much!)



All in all, a worthwhile buy, even if not all the tracks are really hits (and even fewer are hits for the artists in question!)"