Dinah Washington - The Best of Dinah Washington
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Free Music Notes for The Best of Dinah Washington
Free Music Review: give that gal a spotlight !!!
Hit: 5 Stars
The Best of Dinah Washington is a solid assortment of Dinah's work on Roulette Records and wow, is Dinah's voice ever in great form! Sure, the musical arrangements are rather similar; but I'm not sure Dinah had complete power over that. The sound quality is very good and I like the artwork, too.
"You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Loves You" has a fine big band style arrangement; and when Dinah comes in this number really takes flight! Dinah swings brightly and her voice is like silk. Dinah's excellent diction and her fine sense of timing enhance her performance even further! "Call Me Irresponsible" features Dinah squarely front and center; she sings this ballad with panache. Dinah also injects a certain romantic quality into this number using her finely tuned voice. Wonderful! Moreover, there's also "He's My Guy" uses the strings and brass to great advantage while Dinah sings her heart out.
"For All We Know" gives us yet another romantic tune that Dinah aces easily; her voice is rich, warm and vibrant. The music that accompanies her is beautiful but it is definitely Dinah that owns the spotlight. "Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby" starts with a musical flourish; and Dinah comes in to take this number straight out of the ballpark! Dinah sings "Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby" beautifully; the background chorus wasn't really necessary. Dinah could have handled this all by herself; she certainly was good enough to do that.
"That Sunday (That Summer)" is a number former President Kennedy always enjoyed; and it's always been one of my favorites, too. "That Sunday (That Summer)" gets a fine interpretation from Dinah who delivers this somewhat more slowly than I'm used to--but it still holds its own very well. "Fly Me To The Moon" has a backup chorus to bolster Dinah's performance--and she sings this sweetly to make this an especially pretty number. I love it!
"Baby Won't You Please Come Home" shines when Dinah sings it to perfection--and beyond! Dinah sings this with heart and soul; and she never misses a beat, either! "Destination Moon" is equally brilliant in Dinah's capable hands; the brass sounds great and Dinah just couldn't have done this any better--it's all THAT good.
The CD ends with Dinah singing "Nobody Knows The Way I Feel This Morning." The music starts--and Dinah comes in to make this number very memorable. Nobody could have sung this quite as beautifully as Dinah did!
Dinah Washington fans will want this CD for their collections. People who enjoy classic pop vocals will also like this album.
Free Music Review: Too Much Missing To Rate More Than 3 Stars
Hit: 3 Stars
After fourteen glorious years with Mercury, Dinah closed out her fabulous career with Roulette Records where she added six Billboard Hot 100 entries from 1961 to 1963 before her untimely death on December 14, 1963 at age 39.
These Roulette entries, bland as they are, certainly cannot be counted among her finest recordings as not one made the R&B charts, where she was a fixture from 1944 to 1961. Indeed, the biggest hit there was the first, Where Are You, which peaked at # 36 Billboard Pop Hot 100 in June 1962 b/w You're Nobody Til Somebody Loves You, which also charted at # 87 Hot 100 in May. Both sides of For All We Know and I Wouldn't Know (What To Do) also charted in late summer 1962, but at the lower end of the Hot 100 at # 88 and 93 respectively. That last is not included here.
Things only got worse with You're A Sweetheart, her cover of the # 1 1938 hit by Dolly Dawn, which barely made the Hot 100 at # 98 in November b/w It's A Mean Old World. But at least both sides are here, although they list the B-side wrongly at track 10. Her final hit ever, Soulville, fared only slightly better in May/June 1963 when it reached # 98 Hot 100 b/w Let Me Be The First To Know. But whereas the B-side is provided here at track 14, the hit itself is omitted.
The 3-star rating is based partly on the lowering quality of her voice in this period and the fact that Roulette/Capitol saw fit to leave off two out of six hits she had with the label. Why?
Free Music Review: Best of Roulette Is Not Very Best
Hit: 3 Stars
I wondered why during Dinah's contract to Roulette Records they didn't saw fit to record her in something besides an orchestra or violin strings? I own many of Dinah's stuff (on both CDs and records), and to say the least, this woman is TALENTED. But it's frustrating to hear her in nothing short of constant repetition on this "Best of" collection. Roulette is generous including a whopping 23 tracks on this set, but most of them are the same arrangement and accompaniment. Couldn't they be more creative in the arrangements for Dinah? The best tracks here are taken from her outstanding "Back to the Blues" CD when she sang in a bluesy, gospel-inflected manner, the style that got her the most attention when she started out as a singer. Unfortunately with the pop success that came to Dinah, she repeated the same formula, and most of that is reflected here, track after track of endless strings and unimaginative big band charts. I would recommend bypassing this collection and getting the outstanding "Back to the Blues" set that is also available on Amazon. Dinah's singing there is inspired and blues-singing at its best.Free Music Review: Classy and Timeless
Hit: 5 Stars
her voice is one of a kind.this set showcases her talent.the band the arrangements are top form.her voice is Rich&timeless.she is one of the Greatest female singers ever.you feel the texture of her voice.Free Music Review: Best recordings of Dinah Washington you'll hear.
Hit: 5 Stars
This CD has great sound. This is Dinah Washington at her best, with the best backup band and recording session she ever had. When you listen to Dinah Washington sing on this album you'll believe that she was as equally talented as Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald.