Locked out of the singles charts for the past seven years,
Shirley Bassey finally returned with this collection of "contemporary" standards, including her British Top Five single "Something." (
Bassey, who first heard the song when Peggy Lee sang it, apparently didn't even know it was a
Beatles tune until just before recording it.) To parallel the modern material,
Johnny Harris' arrangements add an upfront electric bass and hang-loose drumkit to the heavy strings and brass. Of course,
Bassey was never a jazz singer, so she makes the transition from traditional pop to contemporary rock with an ease more comparable to
Barbra Streisand than Peggy Lee. There are a few jazzy rock standards ("Light My Fire," "Spinning Wheel," "Something") plus plenty of latter-day show tunes ("Easy to Be Hard," "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life,") and a few '60s vocal pieces ("The Sea and Sand," "My Way," "Yesterday When I Was Young"). Each tune that comes her way gets stamped with the irrepressible
Bassey style, and ends up making a remarkably cohesive album of contemporary pop. ~ John Bush