Two Albums from One of the Truly Inspired Female Vocalists. While Best Known for her Jazz Recordings this Shows a Lighter Side of Nancy. Digitaly Remastered at Abbey Road Studios.
Two Albums from One of the Truly Inspired Female Vocalists. While Best Known for her Jazz Recordings this Shows a Lighter Side of Nancy. Digitaly Remastered at Abbey Road Studios.
CD Reviews
Superb..Nancy at her eclectic best
S. Sittig | Washington, D.C. | 01/04/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"From Jobim's "One Note Samba" to The Beatles' "And I Love Him(Her)", Nancy Wilson shows her range and versatility in this double cd set from the 60s. Add some wonderful jazz arrangements and some classic songs from the era and you get quite a delightful package.This is the best of Nancy Wilson, before she took a turn in the 80s and 90s towards more mainstream, subdued pop-lite. A wonderful CD set that contains many hard to find 60s performances from this Great Lady."
Nice blend of sixties songs and old standards
Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 04/26/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The two albums paired in this twofer are well matched, each containing many covers of sixties pop songs and a few older songs.Among the sixties songs are covers of Go away little boy (gender adaptation of Goffin and King's Go away little girl - an American hit for the Happenings but a British hit for Mark Wynter), Unchain my heart (Ray Charles), Wives and lovers (a Bacharach-David classic), I can't stop loving you (originally a country song, but Nancy almost certainly recorded it after hearing Ray Charles sing it - he had a number one pop hit with it on both sides of the Atlantic), On Broadway (Drifters), Our day will come (Ruby and the Romantics), You've got your troubles (Fortunes), And I love him (gender adaptation of And I love her - Beatles), Uptight (Stevie Wonder), Call me (originally recorded by Petula Clark but an American hit for Chris Montez) and Yesterday (Beatles) and Going out of my head (Little Anthony and the Imperials).Among the other songs, Tony Bennett has recorded at least three of them (I left my heart in San Francisco, The good life, Shadow of your smile), though some of the others are obscure - however, they are all excellent and well suited to Nancy.Nancy was one of the best jazz-pop singers of her generation and this twofer proves it."
An Under-Rated CLASSIC In Nancy's Pop/Jazz Catalog
Peter | East of Los Angeles | 07/20/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I own this CD containing the two CD's and also own them on vinyl as separate LP's. In my opinion, "A Touch of Today" is an under-rated CLASSIC in the Nancy Wilson Capitol Jazz Catalog. Why Capitol has not released this CD as an individual disc (with bonus tracks as they have done with other recent releases) escapes me. The songs are all well chosen, and Ms. Wilson, well....the lady can do NO WRONG!
Nancy was in especially FINE VOICE while recording this album. While her albums are always well-recorded, the astute listener can sometimes detect some roughness and frayed exhaustion in Ms. Wilson's voice. This was mostly in part due to her hectic touring schedule in the Sixties. She was one of Vegas's biggest attractions and a very much in-demand artist at all the major nightclubs in New York and L.A. Her voice on "A Touch of Today" is fresh-sounding, smooth yet soulful, and she tackles those high notes with ease.
"Touch of Today" overall has a warm, very understated, relaxed feel about it. If you're looking for Ms. Wilson to holler and bellow to the crowd, look elsewhere (like the blusier/more gospel-ish "Yesterday's Blues, Today's Love Songs"). The arrangements by Sid Feller are SUPERB. They envelop and surround Ms. Wilson like a linebacker protecting a quarterback, making sure she hits her goal. Some personal faves on this CD are: "You're Gonna Hear From Me" (actually my fave on the entire CD/album), sung with gusto and feeling. Many singers have sung this song written by Andre Previn, but out of all of them, Ms. Wilson's version stands out and really stays with you. Others include the nicely done "The Shadow of Your Smile" (another song sung to death by most pop artists in the Sixties). Let's just say Ms. Wilson acquits herself very nicely here.
You will not go wrong purchasing this two-fer remastered and reissued by EMI in the United Kingdom. Why the Europeans/Japanese always seem to beat American record companies to the punch in terms of reissuing jazz/pop classics really makes me exasperated. But I hope in time that companies here like Capitol and Verve will wake up and smell the coffee and see what a goldmine they have in terms of musical treasures yet to be dug up and released to the pop/jazz adoring public. We are Waiting!!"
I own "A Touch of Today" on vinyl
JoeyD | los gatos, ca | 01/16/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"While browsing through an old record store I found an old LP of "A Touch of Today" on sale in perfect condition for $2.95. So what the hell I thought... And you know, that was the best three bucks I've ever spent. Man, oh man, that woman could (and still can)sing baby! What a voice, I mean if you like Nancy Wilson then you will love this album. I don't care if some of the songs are considered sappy 60's elevator fare, this woman's voice just makes any song sound beautiful and fresh. I almost left the room when "Yesterday" came on (I just couldn't take yet another tired version of this depressing song) and I am so glad that I didn't cause she just nails it like no one I have ever heard before. I actually had to listen to it again cause I was so in awe the first time I couldn't really enjoy it. However, the whole album is like this. Hell, I would have paid ten dollars for this LP just to listen to "You're Gonna Hear From Me". So go out and buy this CD (like I am so I can listen to it in my car)and I can assure you, you will be happy you did."
A Different Nancy...
DARRYL | Washington, DC | 01/09/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"on this double cd we find nancy in a more secular setting, seems like she was getting out of the mold of being just a jazz singer. she branched out on this one, singing the popular song uptight by stevie wonder, she did a nice job, and some more i dont know but i liked them too... listen to the samples..."