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| The delightful vocalist is backed by a small combo for such classics as Blue Moon, Easy Living, When Lights Are Low, My One And Only Love and more. |
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| 1 Rockk Me to Sleep |
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| 2 The Gypsy in My Soul |
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| 3 I'm Glad There Is You |
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| 4 They Can't Take That Away from Me |
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| 5 It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) |
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| 6 My One and Only Love |
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| 7 When Lights Are Low |
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| 8 I Can Make You Love Me (If You Let Me) |
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| 9 Easy Living |
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| 10 Blue Moon |
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| 11 All God's Chillun Got Rhythm |
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| 12 Baubles, Bangles, And Beads |
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| 13 Aren't You Glad You're You |
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| 14 Looking for a Boy |
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| 15 Small Fry |
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Album Review
Will Friedwald's liner notes for this classy Capitol reissue attempt to finger the epicenter of June Christy's vocal magic but, as he states, comparing her to other female vocalists sometimes leaves Christy seemingly lacking in any one outstanding quality. She doesn't swing as hard (or play as hard) as Anita O'Day, she isn't as empathic as Ella Fitzgerald, doesn't legitimize her blues as well as Dinah Washington, and remains detached from the kind of tragedy that makes Billie Holiday's readings so emotionally charged. What Christy does have are confidence and smarts. Her intelligent readings, artful lyrical interpretation, and cool sense of rhythm make her performances seem effortless on the surface, but closer scrutiny reveals a musical sophistication few can match. Her work with Pete Rugolo, for example, pitted her against wild and unpredictable arrangements, but Christy's cool nature managed to keep the spotlight firmly centered on the front mic. "June's Got Rhythm" comes near the end of her stint with Capitol records (right before she hooked up with Rugolo again for "The Song Is June!") and finds Christy in top swinging form. This reissue stays true to the original sequencing, but with the benefit of faithful remastering and deluxe repackaging. The small group setting allows Christy to take unconventional paths through (often overblown) numbers like "It Don'T Mean A Thing (If It Ain'T Got That Swing)" -- slowing down and speeding up the arrangement with O'Day-like abandon. "All God'S Chillun Got Rhythm," as performed here, may be the most unique and adventurous interpretation this second-string standard has ever received -- creeping in tentatively then exploding into a sexy, swaggering crescendo. On the slow side, "Easy Living" brings Christy's brand of cool to bear on this Billie Holiday staple and the resulting stretched-out arrangement is luxurious and evocative. In addition to the original 11 tracks, Capitol has included a selection of four songs from Christy's conceptual children's record "Cool School". This isn't just fluffy kid's stuff, though; "Cool School" is the most stripped-down album Christy ever made -- with just a four-piece rhythm section, and not one horn to be found. The Gershwin's "Looking For A Boy" is particularly well done, complete with Christy's cerebral rhythmic stylings and "cool as the other side of the pillow" vocal delivery. Perhaps this, and the other lavish Capitol reissues of her work, will spark some new interest in June Christy's downplayed talents and bring some light to what it is, exactly, that makes her style so effortlessly cool. ~ J. Scott McClintock, All Music Guide
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• Biography
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Other albums by: June Christy |
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