SALLIE BLAIR - Sexy, intimate and swinging: Complete albums and singles 1957 to 1962
Fresh Sound Records FSR-CD 875 2CD Set
CD One
Tracks 1 to 11
Squeeze Me
Sallie Blair ( vocals ) with Orchestra & Quartet arranged & conducted by Richard Wess
Tracks 12 to 16
Hello Tiger
Sallie Blair ( vocals ) with Orchestra arranged & conducted by Neal Hefti
CD Two
Tracks 1 to 6
Hello Tiger
Sallie Blair ( vocals ) with Orchestra arranged & conducted by Neal Hefti
Tracks 7 to 15
Singles
Sallie Blair ( vocals ) with various orchestras
Bonus track 16
Sallie Blair ( vocal ) with the Russ Garcia orchestra
Sallie Blair formally Sara Bolling Hutchins of Baltimore like many vocalists started out singing with a band, in Sallie Blair’s case it was the Johnny Otis Band. She later went on to appear with the Illinois Jacquet and Duke Ellington bands but in 1957 she was offered a spot in “The Cotton Club Revue” by Cab Calloway, she later appeared on the Ed Sullivan and Johnny Carson TV shows. These two CDs are her complete recorded output and include the two LPs she made, “Squeeze Me” and “Hello, Tiger” plus all her recorded single releases.
She was best known for her sultry delivery and her sexual allure hence the title of the album, she has a reasonable voice and her choice of material cannot be faulted and she makes the most of what talent she has. The eleven tracks which comprise the album “Squeeze Me” are fairly uneven and on some numbers she tends to be a little strident and her attempts at scatting are best left alone. The opening number “Squeeze Me” is taken at too fast a tempo and the impact of the song is lost. She is much better where she adopts a much more relaxed approach and “Better Luck Next Time” and “Then I’ll Be Tired of You” are a marked improvement.
The second album “Hello, Tiger” is much the same in approach as the first album where you would think with arrangements by Neal Hefti would improve the quality but that is not the case. The best tracks are “Don’Cha Go Go ’Way Mad”, “I’m Through With Love” and Rodgers and Hart’s “Everything Is Yours” which is best known as “Everything I Got” which is probably down to the material.
The singles tracks are what they are and are aimed at a different market but “I’ts A Sin To Tell A Lie” and “In The Still Of The Night” have some appeal.
In the notes the singer expresses an admiration of Kathryn Grayson and she has obviously taken this on board on a number of the tracks. This release is not a complete washout there are some redeeming features but with so many fine releases in the market it does not have the best of prospects.
Reviewed by Roy Booth
Fresh Sound Records FSR-CD 875 2CD Set
CD One
Tracks 1 to 11
Squeeze Me
Sallie Blair ( vocals ) with Orchestra & Quartet arranged & conducted by Richard Wess
Tracks 12 to 16
Hello Tiger
Sallie Blair ( vocals ) with Orchestra arranged & conducted by Neal Hefti
CD Two
Tracks 1 to 6
Hello Tiger
Sallie Blair ( vocals ) with Orchestra arranged & conducted by Neal Hefti
Tracks 7 to 15
Singles
Sallie Blair ( vocals ) with various orchestras
Bonus track 16
Sallie Blair ( vocal ) with the Russ Garcia orchestra
Sallie Blair formally Sara Bolling Hutchins of Baltimore like many vocalists started out singing with a band, in Sallie Blair’s case it was the Johnny Otis Band. She later went on to appear with the Illinois Jacquet and Duke Ellington bands but in 1957 she was offered a spot in “The Cotton Club Revue” by Cab Calloway, she later appeared on the Ed Sullivan and Johnny Carson TV shows. These two CDs are her complete recorded output and include the two LPs she made, “Squeeze Me” and “Hello, Tiger” plus all her recorded single releases.
She was best known for her sultry delivery and her sexual allure hence the title of the album, she has a reasonable voice and her choice of material cannot be faulted and she makes the most of what talent she has. The eleven tracks which comprise the album “Squeeze Me” are fairly uneven and on some numbers she tends to be a little strident and her attempts at scatting are best left alone. The opening number “Squeeze Me” is taken at too fast a tempo and the impact of the song is lost. She is much better where she adopts a much more relaxed approach and “Better Luck Next Time” and “Then I’ll Be Tired of You” are a marked improvement.
The second album “Hello, Tiger” is much the same in approach as the first album where you would think with arrangements by Neal Hefti would improve the quality but that is not the case. The best tracks are “Don’Cha Go Go ’Way Mad”, “I’m Through With Love” and Rodgers and Hart’s “Everything Is Yours” which is best known as “Everything I Got” which is probably down to the material.
The singles tracks are what they are and are aimed at a different market but “I’ts A Sin To Tell A Lie” and “In The Still Of The Night” have some appeal.
In the notes the singer expresses an admiration of Kathryn Grayson and she has obviously taken this on board on a number of the tracks. This release is not a complete washout there are some redeeming features but with so many fine releases in the market it does not have the best of prospects.
Reviewed by Roy Booth
