Search - Martha Tilton :: Liltin' Miss Tilton: Complete Capitol Sessions

Essential for 1940's pop fans

Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 07/30/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Martha was an exceptionally talented singer of the 1940's who never achieved what her talent deserved. Unfortunately for her (but fortunately for us), there were a lot of other talented ladies around at the same time - Jo Stafford, Doris Day, Maggie Whiting and Dinah Shore among them - equally capable of singing the same songs.Martha was more beautiful than any of them, and if the television age had begun then, that might have helped her. As it was, Martha still had a reasonably successful career without ever reaching the top rank. This collection contains everything she recorded for Capitol, which was the only label on which she was successful as a solo singer. Included here are her top ten hits (I'll walk alone, I should care, Stranger in town, How are things in Glocca Morra, That's my desire, I wonder I wonder I wonder) and her lesser hits (Texas polka and That's gratitude). Some of these were actually double-sided hits.Before Martha signed for Capitol, she spent some time with Benny Goodman's band. Her biggest hit as lead singer with his band was And the angels cried, which spent five weeks at #1 in 1939. A solo re-recording of that song forms the last track of CD 2.The remainining tracks include Martha's excellent versions of songs of the day. I particularly like her cover of You make me feel so young, very bright and breezy. In her clear soprano, Martha could sing the ballads equally as well as the upbeat songs. The backing music varied from typical pop of the day, to more jazzy stylings, but Martha handled it all with ease.In short, Martha was as good as any of her contemporaries, but she never had that really big solo hit (her best peaked at #4). So, she faded into obscurity, but lived a good life thereafter, and contributed comments to the liner notes for this compilation.If 1940's pop music appeals to you, do not ignore Martha - her music is sensational."

You really get your money's worth on this one.

Paul Phelps | Ambler, PA United States | 01/21/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The songs on this record are not to be forgotten and who better to recall them than Martha Tilton. She made them popular. The audio signal is clear throughout. This double CD set is a joy to listen to."

A great stylist

Carlos Torres Moura | Brazil | 03/23/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Collector's Choice gave us a gift with this great selection of all Miss Tilton's sessions in Capitol. Disc two is much better than disc one because the cuts show the singer accompanied more properly by Dean Elliott's orchestra and a few numbers with Ernie Felice's small group (her swing in "All of me" is fantastic!). There's two delicious performances in duet with Johnny Mercer ("A fine romance" and "If I had a talking picture of you"), besides a hardly ever performed Cole Porter's tune ( "Blow, Gabriel, Blow") and pearls of Burton Lane, Vincent Youmans, Harry Warren and Mercer himself. Tilton was the young blonde who sang "Loch Lomond" (later on a Maxine's Sullivan hit) in Benny Goodman's legendary 1938 Carnegie Hall concert. She started very well."