March 22, 2008

First of all, and having been born during the Truman Administration, I have either seen or heard them all so to speak. If I had to address the question of who were among the best recently performing female vocalists I would come up with Barbara Streisand, Sarah McGlocklin or Natalie Cole. The CD under focus here, Black Coffee: Best of the Decca Years, a compilation of Miss. Peggy Lee songs of that time contraint will show Peggy Lee to be the best female vocalist ever, in my opinion. Peggy Lee was one of several female vocalists that started their careers in the WW ll era, the other ladies being Jo Stafford(the troops called her lovingly GI Jo), Doris Day, and of course the inimitable Rosemary Clooney. The tracks on this CD, Johnny Guitar, Black Coffee, Swing Low and produced later,apart from this CD an unbelievable work of art that you will need to search for, the classic and weepy Is That All There Is all point to the sheer and unapproachable excellence of Peggy Lee. Unlike the wannabees on the game-music shows kids look up to today, Peggy Lee had unimaginable clarity and technical adroitness in her vocal renditions. Her physical presence from the moment she was discovered singing in a Chicago nightspot by the Benny Goodman people in 1941 shows a statuesque, gorgeous band singer who beats everyone before and after her based on her ability to throw people across the room with her physical and musical aura. Peggy Lee was a genetically ingrained talent. Please consider that Peggy Lee, Jo Stafford, Rosemary Clooney and Doris Day were outrageously popular before there were Ipods, Cd's, MP3 players and DVDs which give today's artists a huge leg up in attaining perceived popularity among fans. These were just fantastic and much loved true female vocalists, the likes of which we may never see again. Most people today might not remember Ms. Peggy Lee but are now hearing her old records on Sirius, the Sinatra station of classics. If you are even curious, take my advice and purchase Black Coffee:Best of the Decca Years to experience the works of a formidable talent, Miss. Peggy Lee.


Jay Adler, Music Critic

With this, the Best of the Decca Years, coupled with the Singles Collection, and Miss Peggy Lee (box set) one has, effectively, the Best of Peggy Lee, complete. In truth, all three sets are "required listening", and any self-respecting "Peggy Fan" would not be without any of them, along with a few select individual albums.

Peggy's years with Decca were productive, adventurous, ones for her. She made the wonderful "Pete Kelly's Blues" film, and explored new and different arrangement styles, etc. These recordings do, indeed, show us a different Peggy Lee, and they belong in your collection!

If you are unfamiliar with this short span of Peggy Lee's recordings, click on a couple "samples" above, and you'll be "hooked", I'm sure! When it's Peggy Lee singing, how could it be otherwise!!! By all means, take my advice (along with the many other people's in their reviews of this set) and add this fabulous collection of Peggy's Decca Anthology to your collection...you'll be very glad you did! Many happy memories listening to this set of recordings, folks! Do Enjoy! ~operabruin

For most of her career, Peggy recorded for Capitol but there was a five-year spell during which Peggy recorded for Decca because Peggy had a major disagreement with Capitol (over the song Lover, which Capitol didn't want her to record) and switched labels in 1952 although she switched back in 1957. Thus, this compilation focuses on Peggy's recordings between 1952 and 1956.

Peggy's career on Decca began with Lover, originally written as a waltz but re-arranged as a dramatic up-tempo song. Upon hearing it, composer Richard Rodgers expressed his displeasure at the arrangement. Nevertheless, it got Peggy's Decca career off to a great start, making the top three in the American charts.

Despite this start, Peggy's years on Decca were not very successful on the singles charts. Nevertheless, Peggy recorded a lot of great music during those years including the albums Black coffee, Pete Kelly's blues, Sea shells and Dream Street. The title track of her first Decca album (Black coffee, a melancholy ballad about loneliness) is now regarded as one of Peggy's most memorable recordings (hence its use as the title of this compilation) although it was never released as a single. It is yet another reminder that singles charts, however useful or interesting, do not tell the whole story.

You will surely recognize Love letters, which Peggy recorded several years before Ketty Lester made the song much more popular in the sixties. Peggy's version of this 1940's song is more intimately romantic than most other versions I've heard. Of course, it is just one of many classic covers that Peggy recorded for Decca and they are always among the best versions of those songs.

Apart from the songs already mentioned, this compilation contains many outstanding examples of Peggy's artistry. Many of the songs are ballads at which Peggy excels though there are several brilliant mid-tempo and up-tempo songs to prove Peggy's versatility.

While not the strongest compilation of Peggy's music for Decca, this budget compilation contains all the essential tracks from the period cover and will be enough for most people.