Search - Jimmy Young, Clark Petula :: Too Young

Jimmy Young's hits and some excellent early Pet Clark songs

masterbill | Long Island, New York | 10/26/2002

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I bought this CD because Petula Clark is my favorite female singer. If you are not a fan of Petula Clark or Jimmy Young, or if you don't enjoy the simpler tunes of the early 1950's, you probably won't like this collection of songs. This compilation loses a star because the sound quality is bland, even for mono. The recordings are clear, but the volume is somewhat uneven from song to song. Jimmy Young was an established star, while Petula was in the early stages of her career when these recordings were made.
Mr. Young was a fine crooner and several of his pleasant ballads are included on this CD. In my mind, he is somewhat comparable to America's Eddie Fisher. While in her late teens and early twenties, Pet Clark already had a beautiful clear,voice, and in her early recordings she sounds like an ingénue. She sang in a much higher key than she did when she later became a pop star. The quality of Petula's selections on the CD is uneven. Her interpretations of Teasin' and Black Note Serenade are annoying, almost obnoxious and could be included on a Worst Of Petula Clark compilation. Her version of the "humorous" Clancy Lowered The Boom is weak and Fly Away Peter, Fly Away Paul is mediocre.Petula was born to sing love songs. My favorite tracks are the beautiful, up tempo Be Loved Be Faithful, Tell Me Truly, and That's How A Love Song Is Born. House In The Sky is a pretty ballad and Jimmy and Petula's voices blend well in Mariandl. Many fans of Pet will enjoy these five recordings. I also like her sweet version of Tennessee Waltz."

Early recordings from Jimmy and Petula

Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 02/28/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Petula first entered the world of show business as a child actress, with singing very much a secondary thing but some of the films in which she acted required some singing. In 1949, she secured her first recording contract (aged just sixteen) and it is some of these very early recordings that are featured here. They are far removed in every sense from Downtown and her other sixties hits. Here you will find the young Petula singing her first two recordings (Put your shoes in Lucy, House in the sky), a novelty song (Clancy lowered the boom), children's songs (Song of the mermaid, Fly away Peter fly away Paul), a couple of covers of country songs (Tennessee waltz, Cold cold heart), a couple of duets with Jimmy (Mariandl, Broken heart) and a few other songs, all in an easy listening pop style.



Jimmy began his long and distinguished career as a singer-pianist although he was to achieve much greater fame as a BBC radio broadcaster. As far as his recordings go, he had two UK number one hits (Unchained melody, The man from Laramie) and several other big UK hits after record sales charts were introduced in November 1952, but those came on the Decca label so are not included here. The advent of rock'n'roll finished Jimmy's hit-making career. On this collection, you get the two aforementioned duets with Petula together with several other easy listening ballads, most notably Too young, a cover of a Nat King Cole song (one of several of Nat's songs that Jimmy covered in the fifties). Apparently this topped the sheet music charts in the days before record sales charts existed. Overall, Jimmy's recordings here are superior to Petula's, but if you want some of Jimmy's music, buy a compilation of his Decca hits before worrying about these recordings, good as they are.



So the historical importance of these recordings is greater than their entertainment value but if (like me) you are a committed fan of one of these singers, you'll want this, otherwise give this a miss."