Search - Various Artists :: Lady in the Tutti Frutti Hat: Carmen Miranda on Films & Airshots

A Wonderful Selection

James A. White | Cookeville, TN United States | 03/17/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Carmen Miranda, a great film star of the 1940s, did indeed make many musicals with many songs and many of them are featured here. All of the songs, with the exception of "The Nango," from her feature films are here on this one CD. All of the tracks are fast, peppy, and upbeat. There are words on all of the tracks, some of which are in Portuguese. Carmen's prescence can almost be felt in the room as she sings these wonderful songs. Having seen most of her movies, I can see her dancing and singing in her flamboyant costumes as I listen to each track. All in all, this is an enjoyable CD for you whether you are a Carmen Miranda fan or not."

Wonderful album--suffering from surface noise

Matthew G. Sherwin | last seen screaming at Amazon customer service | 04/05/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The Lady in the Tutti Frutti Hat: Carmen Miranda on Films & Airshots has some wonderful recordings by Carmen Miranda--now if only there weren't so much surface noise on so many of these tracks! It's a shame; but fans of Carmen will want this for their collections anyway. I enjoy Carmen singing on this CD; and the artwork is very nicely done.



The CD starts with Carmen performing one of her most famous hits entitled "South American way." I love it! The music is very nicely arranged and Carmen never misses a beat even though the tempo is rather fast. Carmen seems to be having fun singing this and the male singers backing her up do a great job of harmonizing, too. "Mamae Eu Quero" seems to be from a radio show; the sound here is better and Carmen sings this in Portuguese flawlessly. The guitars in the background enhance the natural beauty of this fun, entertaining number and it all works very well. "I Yi Yi Yi Yi/Chica Chica Boom Chic" again has more surface noise but Carmen sings this to perfection--and beyond! The melody is pretty and full of energy both at the same time. Awesome!



"Weekend In Havana" starts with the drums and percussion; and when Carmen comes in this number truly takes flight! Carmen sings this with panache and her style is just right for this type of Latin ballad. I love "Weekend In Havana;" and I predict that you'll enjoy this song, too. "Chattanooga Choo Choo" gives us Carmen singing a classic American song very well; her excellent diction and timing make her performance all the stronger.



"The Lady In The Tutti Frutti Hat" is from a radio show; and Carmen handles this like the talented lady she always was! Carmen comes in after a musical flourish and she owns this number because of her excellent delivery. The men backup vocalists enhance the number as well. "I'm Just Wild About Harry" has horrible surface noise but it is still a good example of Carmen singing a very good American number with all the grace and style she always had.



Tracks twenty four through twenty seven give us excerpts from Carmen's appearances on the Jimmy Durante radio show. Carmen and Jimmy enjoy a great rapport that they enjoyed in real life, not just before an audience. The quality of these four last radio show tracks is noticeably better than many of the other numbers on this album; and it's a real treat to hear these radio show excerpts.



Overall, this is a good Carmen Miranda CD. It does have the problem on surface noise on many of the tracks, unfortunately. This can't be a five star review; they could have and should have cleaned up at least some of the surface noise before releasing this CD. This will be still warrant a four star review because the quality of Carmen's work is, as it always was, simply flawless.

"