LEE HAZLEWOOD & ANN-MARGRET - The Cowboy & The Lady (1969-2000) Mp320k

 Many listeners are surprised that this combination doesn't click, and as it turns out the best thing about this record is the photography, as the pair strips down to longjohns in what appears to be the frontier city set in Tucson, AZ. After all, brassy Ann Margaret does have things in common with the Hazlewood breadwinner Nancy Sinatra, and that includes a good voice as well as a hard body. The instrumental arrangements reveal that Hazlewood was already brave, bold, and audacious, sometimes changing the texture totally for what winds up to be a fade-out tag; other times dropping so many instruments in one's lap it will seem like a music store has moved in upstairs and caused the floor to collapse. The one missing ingredient is subtlety -- this is what good old Nancy Sinatra brought to each and every one of the classic recording collaborations with Hazlewood. She never pushed too hard, and it wasn't just a matter of sounding sultry, either. Even in the diabolical "Boots Are Made for Walkin'" she really just sounds like someone's slightly bitchy girlfriend, whereas judging by the performance of "Sweet Thing" that comes near the close of this collection, one shudders to think of how Ann Margaret might have interpreted the personality behind the tromping boots. She is just over the top much too often, an approach that of course works well for her when an audience is also watching her dance or she is part of a farce such as the hit play Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. What can be said for her is that she sometimes accomplishes the not-simple task of stepping into a country & western arrangement when she is not at all a country singer. This does not mean her "Only Mama That'll Walk the Line" will make anyone forget the Waylon Jennings original, but it does mean that the moments when her voice is swathed with the harmonica of Charlie McCoy and Mr. Unidentified on pedal steel are pleasant indeed. Which is more than can be said for some of the atrocious bombast that also came out of this session, material that probably only saw the light of day because some bean counter at the record label wanted something to show for having hired an entire symphony orchestra and big band for the session. by Eugene Chadbourne  
Tracklist
1     Am I That Easy to Forget? 2'28
W.S. Stevenson
2     Only Mama That'll Walk the Line 2'35
Ann-Margret / Lee Hazlewood     
3     Greyhound Bus Depot 3'41
Bobby George    
4     Walk on out of My Mind 2'46
Red Lane
5     Hangin' On 2'46
Buddy Mize
6     Victims of the Night 2'36
C. Williams
7     Break My Mind 2'21
John D. Loudermilk
8     You Can't Imagine 2'14
Ray Griff    
9     Sweet Thing 3'31
Nat Stuckey
10     No Regrets 3'46
Tom Rush
11     The Dark End of the Street 2'42
Chips Moman / Dan Penn
12     Sleep in the Grass 3'18
Lee Hazlewood
13     Chico 2'35
Lee Hazlewood
14     You Turn My Head Around 3'21
Lee Hazlewood
15     It's a Nice World to Visit (But Not to Live In) 2'21
C. Williams
Credits :
Arranged By – Charlie McCoy (pistas: 1 to 11)
Arranged By, Producer – Lee Hazlewood
Vocals - Ann-Margret

ANN-MARGRET - Bachelor's Paradise (1963-2013) Mp320k

On April 9, 1962, 20-year-old Ann-Margret earned a standing ovation for her performance of the Oscar-nominated title song to the Bob Hope comedy Bachelor in Paradise at the annual Academy Awards ceremony, another stepping stone on her way to stardom. Perhaps because it was still promoting her as a pop/rock singer, RCA Victor Records, her record label, which was just releasing its second Ann-Margret LP, On the Way Up, took a while to retool her image as more of a middle-of-the-road traditional pop singer, and it wasn't until her fourth album, released the year following the Oscar show, that a recording intended to capitalize on the "Bachelor in Paradise" triumph appeared. The Ann-Margret of Bachelors' Paradise was very different from the one who had hit the Top 20 with the bluesy "I Just Don't Understand" less than two years earlier. This was no distaff Elvis Presley, with Chet Atkins behind the glass and the Jordanaires on background vocals; this was a nightclub chanteuse working with an orchestra and performing a bunch of pop standards written by the likes of Rodgers & Hart ("You Took Advantage of Me" from the 1928 musical Present Arms) and Styne and Sondheim ("Let Me Entertain You" from the 1959 musical +Gypsy and its just-released film version). The point of consistency between the younger Ann-Margret and the mature 21-year-old who made Bachelors' Paradise was her kittenish sexuality, which was even more accentuated by this lush ballad approach. One of the LP's songs was "Lovin' Spree," a 1954 hit for Eartha Kitt, and Ann-Margret displayed Kitt's strong influence, though without the older singer's predatory bite. This new direction might have led to recording success if Ann-Margret had pursued it; instead, she continued to focus on movies, in particular her latest vehicle, the film adaptation of Bye Bye Birdie. by William Ruhlmann
Tracklist
1    Bachelor In Paradise 2'32
Songwriter – Henry Mancini, Mack David
2    I Wanne Be Loved 2'47
Written By – Rose / Heyman / Green
3    Something To Remember 2'29
Songwriter – Bud Freeman, Leon Pober
4    Paradise 2'09
Written-By – Clifford Brown
5    Lovin' Spree 2'53
Songwriter – Joan Javits, Phil Springer
6    You Took Advantage Of Me 3'02
Songwriter – Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers
7    Let Me Entertain You 2'24
Songwriter – Jule Styne, Stephen Sondheim
8    Never On Sunday 2'43
Songwriter – Billy Towne, Manos Hadjidakis
9    Romance In The Dark 2'34
Songwriter – Willie Broonzy, Lil Green
10    Call Me Darling 2'59
Written By – Reisfield / Fryberg / Marbot
11    Hold Me 3'14
Written By – Little / Oppenheim / Schuster
12    Mr. Wonderful 4'27
Written By – Bock / Holofcener / Weiss
Credits :
Arranged By, Conductor – Hank Levine
Vocals - Ann-Margret

MISS ANN-MARGRET - The Vivacious One (1962-1996) Mp320k

Tracklist
1    There'll Be Some Changes Made 2'05
Conductor [Orchestra] – Bob Florence
Written-By – Billy Higgins, W. Benton Overstreet
2    I Was Only Kidding 2'35
Conductor [Orchestra And Chorus] – H.B. Barnum
Written-By – Gerry Coffin-Carole King
3    Make Love To Me 2'52
Conductor [Orchestra] – Bob Florence
Written-By – Copeland, Pollack, Norvas, Brunies, Roppolo, Stitzel, Mares, Melrose
4    Tell Me, Tell Me 2'22
Conductor [Orchestra And Chorus] – H.B. Barnum
Written-By – Bob Merrill
5    Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone 2'05
Conductor [Orchestra And Chorus] – H.B. Barnum
Written-By – Palmer, Stept, Clare
6    C'est Si Bon (It's So Good) 3'07
Conductor [Orchestra And Chorus] – H.B. Barnum
Written-By – Hornez, Betti, Seelen
7    The Rock And Roll Waltz 2'36
Conductor [Orchestra] – Bob Florence
Written-By – Dick Ware, Shorty Allen
8    Jim Dandy 2'44
Conductor [Orchestra And Chorus] – H.B. Barnum
Written-By – Lincoln Chase
9    Thirteen Men 2'41
Conductor [Orchestra] – H.B. Barnum
Written-By – Dickie Thompson
10    Señor Blues 2'55
Conductor [Orchestra] – Bob Florence
Written-By – Horace Silver
11    Inka Dinka Doo 2'00
Conductor [Orchestra And Chorus] – H.B. Barnum
Written-By – Ben Ryan, Donnelly, Durante
12    Begin The Beguine 3'20
Conductor [Orchestra And Chorus] – H.B. Barnum
Written-By – Cole Porter
Credits :
Arranged By – Bob Florence, H.B. Barnum
Vocals - Ann-Margret

ANN-MARGRET - On the Way Up (1962-2007) Mp320k

 

 Ann-Margret's RCA Victor debut album, And Here She Is..., didn't get much attention in 1961, but she did better with her bluesy single "I Just Don't Understand," which peaked in the Top 20 in September. That set up this, her second solo LP, which featured "I Just Don't Understand," and like it was recorded partially in Nashville under the aegis of Chet Atkins and Dick Pierce. The two naturally brought a slight country feel to some of the tracks, notably the remakes of Don Gibson's 1958 hit "Oh, Lonesome Me" and the 1960-1961 hit "My Last Date (With You)" (aka "Last Date"). But the closest approximation of the sound was the kind of country-inflected pop/rock being pursued by Elvis Presley around the same time, which made a rendition of Presley's first major hit, "Heartbreak Hotel," an appropriate choice. At 20, Ann-Margret was an effective singer, if something of a chameleon, seeming to adopt a different persona for each number. She was at her most seductive singing Otis Blackwell's "Slowly," and she came on like a Latin fireball on "Fever," but was demure on the singles-chart entry "What Am I Supposed to Do" and ingenuously winning on "Moon River." RCA Victor appears to have been hoping it had found a distaff Presley, and it's possible Ann-Margret might have justified such a hope if her film acting career hadn't quickly outpaced her recording career; by the time this album was released, her movie debut, Pocketful of Miracles, had been out for several months and State Fair, which would establish her as a redheaded bombshell, was just getting into theaters. (She was still a mousy brunette on the album cover.) On the Way Up was an appropriate title, but records would soon take a back seat to other career goals. by William Ruhlmann
Tracklist
1    Oh, Lonesome Me 2'34
Written-By – Don Gibson
2    Slowly 2'05
Written-By – Otis Blackwell
3    Fever 2'50
Written-By – Eddie Cooley, John Davenport
4    What Do You Want From Me 2'25
Written-By – Mike Cain
5    Heartbreak Hotel 2'27
Written-By – Presley, Axton, Durden
6    I Just Don't Understand 2'37
Written-By – Westberry, Wilkin
7    His Ring 2'21
Written-By – Ruth Roberts, William Katz
8    Could It Be 2'10
Written-By – DeVorzon, Ferguson
9    What Am I Supposed To Do 2'45
Written-By – Helen Carter
10    Let Me Go, Lover! 2'58
Written-By – Al Hill, Jenny Lou Carson
11    Moon River 2'28
Written-By – Henry Mancini, Johnny Mercer
12    My Last Date (With You) 2'36
Written-By – Bryant, Cramer, Davis
Credits
Producer – Chet Atkins, Dick Pierce
Vocals - Ann-Margret

ANN-MARGRET - And Here She Is (1961-1993) Mp320k

 

 Ann-Margret's debut album makes it clear that RCA Victor never had any idea of what to do with her -- And Here She Is... pairs the chanteuse with arranger Marty Paich for a jazzy, oddly subdued effort that proves as ill-matched as the mousy brown hairstyle the redhead-in-waiting sports on the cover. Paich tempers Ann-Margret's sex kitten roar to a meek purr here, saddling her with familiar material like "Blame It on My Youth" and "You're Nobody 'til Somebody Loves You" -- she does the best she can, however, and moments like "Teach Me Tonight" capture vivid glimpses of the bombshell to come. by Jason Ankeny
Tracklist :
1     Baby Won't You Please Come Home 3'20
Clarence Williams
2     Bye Bye Blues 1'55
Dave Bennett / Chauncey Gray / Frederick Hamm / Bert Lown
3     Please Be Kind 2'49
Sammy Cahn / Saul Chaplin
4     Chicago 1'55
Fred Fisher
5     Teach Me Tonight 3'18
Sammy Cahn / Gene DePaul
6     More Than You Know 3'29
Edward Eliscu / Billy Rose / Vincent Youmans
7     Blame It on My Youth 3'33
Edward Heyman / Oscar Levant
8     Kansas City 3'31
Jerry Leiber / Mike Stoller
9     That's What I Like 2'37
Bob Hilliard / Jule Styne
10     I Should Care 2'55
Sammy Cahn / Axel Stordahl / Paul Weston
11     You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Loves You 2'58
James Cavanaugh / Russ Morgan / Larry Stock
12     Lovie Joe 2'52
Will Marion Cook / Louis Jordan
Credits :
Arranged By, Conductor – Marty Paich
Vocals - Ann-Margret