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Bette Midler Sings The Rosemary Clooney Songbook
It's nice to see Bette Midler putting her spin on an American classic after less-than-convincing detours through adult-contemporary cheese. This tribute focuses on Rosemary Clooney in the early to mid-1950s--so we don't get any of the fabulous Nelson Riddle material--but it's a fairly strong offering. It was produced and arranged by Midler's old musical director, Barry Manilow--who actually dueted with Clooney on a couple of songs in the 1990s and here replaces Bing Crosby on the duet "On a Slow Boat to China." Mostly, the CD is about hits: "Hey There" and "White Christmas" are done in straightforward manner, while Linda Ronstadt fills in for Rosemary's actual sister Betty on a slinky version of "Sisters." Happily, Midler plays "Come On-A My House" down instead of up (the old Bette would have milked its comic aspect) but the singer lets loose on "Mambo Italiano." That's pretty much the only time the Divine Miss M peeks out from behind Clooney's elegant persona, and it's a delight. --Elisabeth Vincentelli
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Tracks| 1 | You'll Never Know | | 2 | This Ole House | | 3 | On a Slow Boat to China | | 4 | Hey There | | 5 | Tenderly | | 6 | Come On-A My House | | 7 | Mambo Italiano | | 8 | Sisters | | 9 | Memories of You | | 10 | In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening | | 11 | White Christmas |
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