Search - Jo Stafford :: G.I. Jo - Songs of World War II

Class Act

Michael J. McVay | 05/30/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Jo Stafford's collection of songs from the World War II era -- songs of longing and nostalgia --is probably her most moving. Recorded in 1958, this concept album (originally titled "I'll Be Seeing You") boasts lean Paul Weston arrangements, never veering towards the maudlin, of course, and typically seamless phrasings from Stafford. She was born to sing these songs, and her voice and interpretations here are unforgettable. "I'll Be Seeing You" is given the definitive treatment -- Jo's descant above the orchestra's melody on the repeat is indescribably beautiful. The breezy "No Love, No Nothin'" tries hard not to be humorous, and offers a tasteful contrast.Two tracks from the original LP are missing (Yesterdays and I Should Care), and the remaining tracks are not in the same order as they originally were. As in my review of June Christy's Something Cool, I have to disagree with recording labels that tinker with albums (for whatever reason? ), particularly the very special "concept albums" from the '50s, like this one, which were not intended to be a collection of potential "hits" with arbitrary ordering. On the original LP, the first track, "I Don't Want to Walk Without You," led effortlessly into the second track, "It Could Happen to You," by a common tone -- the last orchestral pitch of the first song turns into the new key of the second song, a characteristic Weston technique.Regardless of packaging annoyances, this is a loving Memorial Day tribute for our war veterans."

Jo Stafford: A American Voice

Patricia O'hagen | Rockville Centre/NY/USA | 08/18/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Jo Stafford's album, "GI Joe" brings you back to an American past filled with all the dreams and ideals that created and sustained the "geatest generation". You absorb the era, this wonderful heritage, in the beauty and richness of her voice, presentation and in all the heart she brings to such war songs as "I'll Be Seeing You", "I Left My Heart At the Stagedoor Canteen", "I'll Walk Alone", "I Don't Want To Walk Without You" and in all the selections. This voice and this era reflects the America we like to think we really are. It seems a bit strange that she died at 93 just a week or so after I ordered the album. No one sang these songs like Jo Stafford; what a voice, what an era."