Valente's charm is in little evidence in this album. At times her voice even has the grating, scraped-steel edge of
Eydie Gorme's. Although she proves she can still sing a slow ballad ("Yours") in the
Keely Smith style, generally
Songs is overly bright, bouncy, brassy, and harsh. The fault has to be arranger-conductor
Johnny Keating's, because a subsequent release with
Werner Müller has much better sound and performance. (In both cases, however, some songs are frantically rushed; this does not help the credibility of the love themes). Subtlety is scarce here, and with
Keating's trumpet-and-rimshot backing, the album is likely to please only longtime fans. This is her Las Vegas phase.