Shirley Bassey One of Those

Shirley Bassey - Four Decades Of Song (3CD) (2009)
MP3 192 Kbps | 281.6 Mb
Vocal, Easy Listening | 3CD

Dame Shirley Bassey is the vivacious Welsh diva best known for performing the themes to three James Bond films: most memorably Goldfinger and Diamonds Are Forever, and Moonraker too.She began her career in the mid-50s and had a Top 10 UK hit with "Banana Boat Song" in 1957. Two years later she enjoyed the happy coincidence of two songs simultaneously reaching the Top 3, as slow-burner "As I Love You" eventually topped the chart while newer single "Kiss Me, Honey Honey, Kiss Me" followed closely behind. She continued her chart success into the 60s with "As Long As He Needs Me", a second No.

Limited edition Deluxe 8CD set featuring the best female voices in jazz history. This is no ordinary compilation, but an anthology of 15 complete original albums by some of the best loved jazz vocalists: Billie Holiday, Carmen McRae, Anita O day, Abbey Lincoln, Peggy Lee, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald etc.

Deanna Reuben captures the essence of romance through her heartfelt interpretation of our favorite songs. The Look of Love sends a message clearer than flowers or a box of candy or dinner and a movie. With this session, you get clarion vocals with a stellar jazz quintet that sparkles brightly through sensual ballads and upbeat rhythms. Tenor saxophonist Larry McKenna serves as Reuben's musical partner, adding rapturous melodies to her resonant vocal themes…

Born John Barry Prendergast to a father who owned a cinema and a mother who played piano, all the elements were in place for John to develop his career as he did. Even when he had to do national service, he managed to secure a job as an army bandsman, so he managed to use that period to hone his craft. John first came to prominence via his recording of Hit and miss, which became the theme to the TV show Jukebox jury. Famous as his TV theme became, John's most famous hit is the James Bond theme. This particular compilation, as its title suggests, focuses on John's recordings for EMI. Many of these recordings date from the early to mid sixties, but there are a few from the nineties too. Most of the tracks are instrumentals, but there are also three Shirley Bassey tracks (Goldfinger, Mr Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Diamonds are forever) and a Matt Monro track (Born free) in which John was involved. Two of the Shirley Bassey tracks are famous, but I'd not heard the other one before buying this CD. It was apparently intended as the theme for Thunderball but was dropped in favor of the Tom Jones song Thunderball. There are 25 tracks altogether and the CD comes with a nice booklet. By no means a definitive John Barry compilation, this does at least contain all those early sixties tracks that I particularly wanted and showcases John's versatility as a composer and arranger. Sadly, John died early in 2011 but his legacy in the history of cinematic music is assured.