Search - Felicia Sanders :: Song From Moulin Rouge

Good, but unrecognized talent

Bruce R. Gilson | Wheaton, MD United States | 08/16/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This album was produced by the same firm that also put together a CD of Toni Arden recordings which I have previously reviewed. And Felicia Sanders and Toni Arden had a few things in common: both recorded for Columbia in the early to mid '50s, both had good voices, and both are nowhere nearly as well recognized for their singing talent as I think they should be. And yet, in a way, they were opposites: Toni Arden's recordings suffered because they had to compete with other, better-known singers doing the same songs, and those singers' versions grabbed the high chart positions, while Felicia Sanders made records mostly of obscure songs which nobody has heard of before or since. Strangely, both decisions must have been made by the same people, the Columbia Records A&R staff under Mitch Miller. Why this was done, who can tell?



This CD consists of two separate parts; the first 16 tracks constitute a "Best of Felicia Sanders" collection, while the last 12 are a reissue of an LP she did, simulating a nightclub session, complete with audience applause.



In the first 16-track section, she starts with the song which was her only really big hit, but which gained her very little financial satisfaction or recognition, because it was marketed (in the way songs always were in the Big Band era, but not usually in 1953, when it was done!) under the name of the orchestra leader, Percy Faith, with vocalist Sanders' name listed in smaller-type letters afterwards. This song, "The Song from Moulin Rouge," was a #1 hit for many weeks, and should have ensured Felicia Sanders' stardom, except that she never got the credit she deserved. The first 16 tracks also include the only other song she recorded to crack the top 30, "Blue Star," whose melody was the theme of a popular TV program, "Medic," but with words written afterwards for her vocal performance. The remaining 14 tracks of this part are all obscure songs, though many of them sound quite pleasant. They are worth listening to, even if you'll likely not recognize any of them.



The second part of the CD is, as stated earlier, a reissue of an LP that attempted to reconstruct a night-club session, the part of Sanders' career that brought her greater success. This part includes, in contrast to the first part, many well-known songs and demonstrates her flexibility very well. It is a pleasure to listen to her versions of these songs, and one wonders whether she'd have done better if she'd been allowed to record old standards like these instead of the obscure songs she did. (One wishes, though, that they'd included one song she introduced in her night-club act which became much more famous, in versions by other singers, later on, a song called "In Other Words" which later became better known as "Fly Me to the Moon.") This section concludes with a recording of the same song that started the first section, her biggest hit, "The Song from Moulin Rouge," in a quite differently performed version.



I almost gave this CD 5 stars; it is really a nice one. But in the end I decided it only deserved 4, because it could have been better. Still, if you like '50s pop, you ought to try this CD."

Blue Angel

Michael Pendragon | New York, NY United States | 09/05/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This long-awaited album opens with the classic, "The Song From Moulin Rouge," which is one of the great era-defining songs of the 50s. It's the perfect song to start the album with -- not because it's Felicia Sanders' best known recording, but because it opens with the lush instrumental verse by Percy Faith and the cascading violins drawing us into the song (and album) as a descent into a dream.



It's followed up by a sampling of Sanders' singles -- mostly romantic ballads, several with a touch of French in them "Embrasse," "Melancolie": alluding both to her success with "Moulin Rouge" and her admiration for Edith Piaf who was a great influence on her art. Like the greatest vocalists, Sanders uses the emotional qualities of her voice to treat each song as a story. As mentioned in the album's liner notes, Paul Newman called her a "method singer."



Often backed by a heavenly chorus of violins, each of these recordings is worthy to stand alongside of the ballads of Nat "King" Cole, Doris Day, et al., as among the most beautiful and romantic ever recorded. All *should* have been huge hits, and after repeated listenings to the album, they're becoming as familiar and eternal to me as the songs I've known and loved for many years.



The lullabye, "My Curly Headed Baby," is too beautiful for words. "How Long Has This Been Going On" is another masterpiece. "Blue Star," her only other charting hit, is a haunting ballad that can only be described as magical.



The second half of the cd revives her "At the Blue Angel" lp, and attempts to capture the appeal of her live cabaret show in New York's nightclub of that name. Included in this section is her version of Johnny Mercer's "(Ah! The Apple Trees) When the World was Young" which has been a big favorite of mine for several years now.



In short, this is a rapturously thrilling album and Felicia Sanders and will hopefully begin to establish her as one of the greatest voices of the 20th Century."

I May Not Remember Your Name

Bruce K. Hanson | Petersburg, VA | 08/23/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Before I write about this wonderful CD I must admit that I did not know who Felicia Sanders was until I received this album as a gift. Listening to Sanders I find a very appealing voice that is similiar to Judy Garland's in terms of timbre; her vibrato and theatrical approach to the material. Although famous for only a few songs, "The Song from Moulin Rouge" and "Fly Me to the Moon" (the latter of which could not be included in this collection as it has not yet reached public domain), all of the selections demonstrate a lady who knows how to sell a song. In particular, I enjoy "If I Love Again", "It Might As Well BE Spring", "I Wanna Be LOved", and "You Make Me Feel So Young". Her take on "How Long Has This Been Going On?" is quite different from others and stands up to Garland's and Audrey Hepburn's (yes Audrey did her own singing in "Funny Face"). The second half the the album is a simulated "live" recording at the Blue Angel. While the canned applause idea was just plain silly as it never fluctuates from song to song, we do get to hear Felicia's spoken introductions. Here, her Jewish accent reminds me of my cousin Tina from Brooklyn. And I guess living down here in North Carolina, that fills me with warmth. Sepia records is not the only company in Europe that releases vintage recordings however they obviously take real pride in the preservation of rare and unusual material as well as in their liner notes, photographs, and general presentation. Their new CD of Felicia Sanders gives us an opportunity to examine a talent from the fifties who somehow (and quite unjustifiably) got lost in the cracks. This was a pleasant surprise."