All you need to know Peggy
Kip Walton | Santa Barbara, CA United States | 02/04/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This wonderful album illustrates all the different aspects of Peggy Lee's talent. Some happy "up" cuts, some serious and haunting ballads. Her recent passing has left an un-fillable void in Popular music. We have lost a true legend, but if you can only collect one album, THIS IS IT!"
SUBLIME PEGGY LEE MASTERPIECE~BRAVO PEGGY!!!
Bradly Briggs | TOLUCA LAKE, CALIFORNIA | 05/07/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"As a child of the sixties, I was exposed to Peggy Lee by adults around me and was always fascinated by her hip and exotic sound! When "Is That All There Is?" came out, I will have to say I was beyond fascinated and became completely hooked!! How I missed out on "Extra Special" I will never know, but am I glad that I have it now!! Thanks to Amazon I was able to get this out-of-print classic and payed a steep second-market price but I am so happy I did as this out-of print gem is not available anywhere else!! Get this one fast before it completely disappears as this is one of Peggy Lee's greatest classics. Opening "X-Special" is the Cy Coleman classic "Hey, Look Me Over" which is a rousing version here that starts things off on a real up! Haunting and torchy is the gorgeous "When He Makes Music" which is a romantic masterpiece while "Walking Happy" is upbeat and infectious. Bluesy "Oh! You Crazy Moon" has the feel of 2 A.M. in an uptown club. A Peggy Lee original "So What's New?" is exhuberant and fun and classic is the winning "Call Me Darling, Call Me Sweetheart, Call Me Dear". Uptempo blues is given a big band treatment with sterling results and "A Bucket Of Tears" is a stand-out in a totally awesome set. Magically stirring is the beautiful Lee original "The Shining Sea" which finds Peggy at her hypnotic finest while she clearly is having fun with "A Doodlin'Song" which is the best ever version of this old standard. Closing this winning collection are two of my personal favorites and "Amazing" is stunning and simply amazing and the Lee/Ellington (as in Duke!)original "I'm Gonna Go Fishin'" is a cooker!! "Somethin' Groovy!" starts with a unique and rhythmic "Somethin' Stupid" which has Peggy joined by a beautifully smooth whistler and the classic Toots Thielemans harmonica joins Peggy in an incredibly great version of the old classic "Makin' Whoopee!" that is loose and bluesy. A hot uptempo version of "You Must Have Been A Beautiful Baby" is another cooker and a totally fresh original approach to an old standard. A majestic vocal make for an enchanting "I Can Hear The Music" and another old standard "It Might As Well Be Spring" is given a fresh and exciting new twist that really works. Sentimental longing make "Two For The Road" a gorgeous definitive version of this Henry Mancini/Leslie Bricusse classic and gorgeous also is Peggy's take on the standard chestnut "Release Me" with another great Toots guest spot on harmonica. "Sing A Rainbow" is changed from Peggy's usual slow torchy version into an uptempo rhythm that works well here and romantic guitars surround an enchanting vocal on "No Fool Like An Old Fool" which is another highlight among the many on this great sixties classic. George & Ira Gershwin's "Our Love Is Here To Stay" has never sounded finer and Toots again joins Peggy and the result is another incredible winner that finds Miss Lee at her peak!! Closing with a great soulfully sung original, "I'm Gonna Get It" which is infectious and a great way to close a perfect collection. Do Not Miss this as this is Peggy Lee at her peak in the great musical sixties-and that is as good as it gets..."
Peggy was ALWAYS extra special
Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 09/15/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Even by Peggy's high standards, this twofer lives up to it's two titles. Peggy has made some excellent romantic albums, ideal for late night listening, but also made some more upbeat albums which really swing. On these two albums, both recorded in 1967 (a vintage year for pop music generally), you get a bit of everything, although the overall feel is upbeat.The first half of the twofer - titled Extra special! - is dominated by songs from the Great American Songbook. As with so many of Peggy's albums of such songs, many of them are obscure, but very well chosen. I particularly like Oh! you crazy moon, one of the slow songs, but every song is a real gem.The second half - titled Somethin' groovy! - was more contemporary in song selection, although there are some songs from the Great American Songbook here too. Some of these had been revived in the sixties, like Makin' Whoopee (Ray Charles) and You must have been a beautiful baby (Bobby Darin).Release me started life in the early fifties as a country song, but was revived in the sixties as a pop song, first by Esther Phillips and later by Engelbert Humperdinck, both of whom had top ten hits with it. Peggy's version is as good as any of them, but different from all of them.Somethin' stupid is another classic. Originally a huge hit for Nancy and Frank Sinatra, it was a huge hit more recently for Robbie Williams and Nicole Kidman. I enjoy both those versions, but Peggy does it solo, and it works very well. I can't remember hearing anybody else sing this song as a solo.This twofer is out of print at the time of this review, but you will be richly rewarded if you are able to track it down."
Track Listings (22) - Disc #1