Another addition to Columbia USA's 'Best of' series from 1996. You know what to expect - good sound, digitally remastered, simple design, around 20 tracks (actually the compilations of her 1950s contemporaries Johnnie Ray and Guy Mitchell had 24, but hey), not much in the way of sleevenotes and a picture or two.That's basically what you get. It's actually a nice design, in my opinion, and the sleevenote by John Martland is very good for a brief intro to the life of Rosemary Clooney. And the two pictures included are lovely and show her at her glamorous best. The choice of tracks is pretty good. Taken from her time at the Columbia USA label, which she was with for most of the 50s, there's a strong mix of ballads, novelties (which she is arguably best known for), standards and jazz (I really don't think she belongs in that section of record stores though). It contains all of her seven UK hits - except one which was a top ten! For people who like their CD collections to span an artist's hits, this is VERY annoying. Quite why Rosie's 'Man' couldn't be included here I don't know. The other side of that record, by her then-husband Jose Ferrer, 'Woman' has good grounds for inclusion and ALSO made the top ten. Both are only available on expensive box sets by Rosie. Shame. The British hits, starting with Half As Much, which was on the first hit parade of 14th November 1952, are all of high standard. You also get the b-side of that song, Botch-A-Me, which is a another silly, bouncy novelty but good. Her two #1s, This Ole House and Mambo Italiano represent her well. The other highlight of her hits is Where Will The Dimple Be?. Insanely catchy with a great melody. Aside from the hits, there are some great numbers. Come On-A-My-House, from the pre-chart days, was a sizeable hit in America. Too Old To Cut The Mustard is a hilarious AND catchy duet with Marlene Dietrich. The duet with Guy Mitchell, You're Just In Love is also worth hearing. Rosie's rendition of I Could Have Danced All Night comes recommended. If you want a cheap representation of her hitmaking period in the 1950s, you could do worse than this. |
