Search - Beryl Davis :: Alone Together

Lovely ballads by sweet-voiced Beryl

Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 08/03/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Beryl Davis was the English singer discovered by Glenn Miller while he was on service in World War 2. After the war, Beryl left England for America, where she had a long and successful career. This CD contains her earliest American recordings, all laid down in different sessions in 1947.Most of the songs are ballads, sung softly in Beryl's sweet voice. The pace never quickens much, only occasionally reaching mid-tempo before slowing down again. This is not a criticism - it's lovely, and Beryl obviously sang the songs to suit her particular style. The songs are the usual mix of the famous and the obscure, includins somgs from Irving Berlin, Noel Coward, Jerome Kern and others.The set opens with Auld lang syne, the Robert Burns classic that has become a song for closing parties with, so it should have been the last song. It doesn't sound right to follow it with another song. This is just a minor point - we can always start at track 2 then play track 1 at the end.Beryl's music is often overlooked. In some ways, given the number of talented female singers around at the time, this might seem understandable, but Beryl certainly deserves much wider recognition than she gets. This is a magnificent compilation which reminds us just how good she was."