Search - Jessie Matthews :: Jessie Matthews: A Centenary Celebration

A Worthy Tribute To A Great British Star Of Stage And Screen

Barry McCanna | Normandy, France | 09/01/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Another plum from Avid, and a worthy tribute to Jessie Matthews, who was born on March 11th, 1907. She was a star of stage and screen, and this broadly chronological compilation traces her career from her earliest recordings in 1926. The most recent was recorded in the late 1970s and is one of several hitherto unissued tracks, which are complemented by film soundtrack material. She possessed a light soprano voice, and the sort of clear diction that one associates with the prewar theatre, where the object of the exercise was to endear the character to the audience.



For that reason I began by thinking that this would be of greater interest to devotees of the stage, but as I listened I was persuaded otherwise by the fascination of hearing what became dance band numbers performed by their original interpreter, coupled with the quality of the accompaniments, a fair proportion of which were provided by either Carroll Gibbons & the Savoy Hotel Orpheans or Jay Wilbur. This is a magnificent collection, which is augmented by comprehensive discographical details and a commentary by her biographer, Michael Thornton. This is about as good as it gets.



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THE PERFECT TRIBUTE TO AN UNFORGETTABLE STAR

David Noh | NEW YORK, NEW YORK | 09/03/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I frankly cannot understand all the carping in the other reviews of this marvelous, must-have cd collection. I possess excellent hearing and find the sound quality terrific - in a word. Matthews' ineffable crystal bell of a voice rings out with exquisite clarity, making it easy for even novices to her divine cult realize what made her such a special, ultra-charismatic star. The producers' efforts should be wholly applauded for their sincere, painstaking work in bringing the complete Matthews oeuvre to her fans and - more importantly - introducing her to a new audience, somehow unaware of her.

If ever the cares and idiocies of this millennial war-torn world we live in ever get to be too much for you, I suggest you listen to this treasurable cd and discovery a joyous, real therapy any psychiatrist would be hard-pressed to equal.



David Noh, New York journalist (OPERA NEWS, FILM JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL, etc.)"

This is quite simply the best Jessie Matthews collection eve

Michael Thornton | 09/01/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I am the biographer of the late Jessie Matthews, and knew her well over many years. I would like to say that I regard this new Avid double-CD, "Jessie Matthews: A Centenary Celebration", as quite simply the best Jessie Matthews collection ever issued on CD, and this is a view that has been expressed already by Christopher Ward, the curator of the principal Jessie Matthews website, The Jessie Matthews Home Page, who describes it on that site as "superb". Not only is this magnificent collection by far the most comprehensive ever released of this great star's work, comprising virtually her entire recorded output on 78rpm between the years 1926 and 1949, but it has the historically important addition of some 16 items never previously issued on CD, including rare soundtrack material, such as a duet with Sir John Gielgud, and hitherto unreleased performances of two of Jessie Matthews's great song hits which she originated on the London stage but never recorded commercially: Noël Coward's 'A Room with a View' and Cole Porter's 'Let's Do It'. The technical quality of this collection is outstanding. All 56 tracks have been expertly remastered using the CEDAR process by Terry Hepworth, and the compilation, produced by Hugh Palmer, one of Britain's leading CD producers, has wonderfully precise and detailed discographical details that are not to be found on any other Jessie Matthews CD.



It was precisely because I was so deeply impressed by the technical quality, excellence and comprehensive content of this collection that I accepted Avid's invitation to write the sleeve notes for it, and to have my name publicly associated with this outstanding centenary tribute.



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MICHAEL THORNTON (Daily Mail, London)"