Keely Smith - The Essential Capitol Collection (2007)

Keely Smith possesses a fantastic ability to sing so well that she could capture your attention at once and you would never want to stop listening to her. She could sing you the phone book; and when she was finished you would be applauding and begging for more. This excellent retrospective album gives us quite a bit of the best of Keely Smith. It has twenty eight wonderful tracks and at 78 minutes the CD is as jam packed with hits as any CD is ever going to be.

"All The Things You Are" opens the CD; Keely sings this perfectly without a superfluous note. Her voice is warm, rich and vibrant in a way that just couldn't be better. The strings and horns help the musical arrangement along although Keely's vocals remain squarely in the foreground. "It's Been A Long, Long Time" sports that big band flavor and Keely makes this number more energetic than I've ever heard it. Keely swings brightly and the musical arrangement lacks nothing, either. "That Old Black Magic" is a duet Keely does with husband Louis Prima; they got a Grammy for this song and one listen will prove to you that they deserved it. Keely's voice is truly an instrument of its own and she sings "That Old Black Magic" with panache. "I Wish You Love" begins with a great musical flourish and when Keely comes in this number takes flight! Keely's voice is particularly sweet on this number; and her voice conveys all the subtle romantic nuances to make "I Wish You Love" her very own masterpiece! "Autumn Leaves" gets a somewhat less melancholy flavor than usual when Keely sings it. Unfortunately, this is one number that I think was better left to Edith Piaf. "On The Sunny Side Of The Street" gets a big band, jazzy feel to it as Keely sings this triumphant, upbeat melody flawlessly. Keely seems to be the perfect female vocalist to sing "On The Sunny Side Of The Street." I predict that you will enjoy this number very much. "Imagination" features Keely singing wonderfully yet again; and "Stardust" gets the royal treatment from Keely as she delivers "Stardust" with great sensitivity. Great! The album ends with a live track of Keely performing "When Day Is Done." Louis Prima introduces her and Keely sings this every bit as well as if the number had been professional recorded in a studio! Her talent truly was special.

Overall, Keely Smith fans won't want to go without this album; although it's best suited for people who want a "best of" type of album. This album simply doesn't give you everything you need to fully appreciate just how great Keely Smith was when she was at her peak in the 1950s and 1960s although it's quite strong as a retrospective CD.. If you like this CD I would suggest you check out other albums by this fine artist. ~Matthew G. Sherwin