PEGGY LEE - Big Spender (1966) lp / 24bits-96hz / FLAC (tracks), lossless

Blending a couple of then-current show tunes with older classics of the big band form, Peggy Lee's 1966 LP Big $pender occasionally rose its head above the level of kitsch -- and much more so than 1965's Pass Me By. It's tough to blame Lee herself; while the arrangements (including work by Dave Grusin and Bill Holman) are mostly successful, again and again the accompaniment descends into rote repetition of the usual rock motifs. The blaring brass of the title track make it a highlight, though, and Lee sounds positively jubilant while singing a genuine standard ("Let's Fall in Love") over a conservative arrangement. A few pearls among the swine are hardly enough to recommend this record. by John Bush
Side A
1    Come Back To Me 2'17
Written-By – Alan Jay Lerner, Burton Lane
2    You've Got Possibilities 2'10
Written-By – Charles Strouse, Lee Adams
3    It's A Wonderful World 1'48
Written-By – Adamson, Savitt, Watson
4    I'll Only Miss Him When I Think Of Him 2'49
Written-By – Sammy Cahn-Jimmy Van Heusen
5    Big Spender 2'06
Written-By – Cy Coleman, Dorothy Fields
6    I Must Know 2'48
Written-By – Lil Mattis, Neal Hefti
Side B
1    Alright, Okay, You Win 2'26
Written-By – Mayme Watts, Sid Wyche
2    Watch What Happens 3'09
Written-By – Michel LeGrand, Norman Gimble
3    You Don't Know 2'37
Written-By – Walter Spriggs
4    Let's Fall In Love 2'03
Written-By – Harold Arlen, Ted Koehler
5    Gotta Travel On 1'45
Written-By – Paul Clayton

PEGGY LEE - Norma Deloris Egstrom from Jamestown North Dakota (1972) lp / 24bits-96hz / FLAC (tracks), lossless

Peggy Lee returns to her roots, at least by name and location, with Norma Deloris Egstrom from Jamestown, North Dakota, reminding fans of the name and place on her birth certificate. The album is credited as "produced & conceived by Tom Catalano." Maybe Catalano's conception was the LP title. If he also chose the songs and the arranger/conductor, he didn't really do much different from recent Peggy Lee albums, however. Once again, the collection is a mixture of contemporary material with songs Lee might have sung back at the start of her career in the 1940s. Arranger/conductor Artie Butler employs a studio of jazz-pop session aces like guitarist Larry Carlton, pianist Michael Omartian, percussionist Victor Feldman, and drummer Earl Palmer, then adds horn and string charts at various points. Early-‘70s pop stars like the Carpenters, Elton John, and Leon Russell are evoked in selections like the leadoff track, Lesley Duncan's "Love Song" (most prominently heard on John's 1971 album Tumbleweed Connection), Russell's "A Song for You," and his and Bonnie Bramlett's groupie lament "Superstar," a hit for the Carpenters. While Butler tries for unusual arrangements in spots, there isn't much that Lee can do with such songs that hasn't been done already, and she settles for rendering them in her calm, precise voice. Not surprisingly, she sounds much more at home in the album's second half, when she gets a chance to handle more vintage songs such as Lil Hardin Armstrong's 1939 copyright "Just for a Thrill," and the album comes to a close with a double shot of such nostalgia, combining two 1940s hits, "The More I See You" and "I'll Be Seeing You." Thus, does Lee, in the hands of Catalano and Butler, continue to try to bridge the old with the new, and she continues to succeed modestly. [Norma Deloris Egstrom from Jamestown, North Dakota turned out to be Peggy Lee's final recording for Capitol Records, a label she joined in 1945 and stayed with, except for a five-year stint at Decca, 1952-1957, through 1972.] by William Ruhlmann  
Side A
A1    Love Song 3'22
Written-By – Lesley Duncan
A2    Razor (Love Me As I Am) 2'49
Written-By – Jack Schechtman
A3    When I Found You 3'23
Written-By – Mike Randall
A4    A Song For You 4'44
Written-By – Leon Russell
A5    It Takes Too Long To Learn To Live Alone 3'25
Written-By – L. Carr, R. Allen
Side B
B1    Superstar 3'57
Written-By – B. Bramlett, L. Russell
B2    Just For A Thrill 3'54
Written-By – D. Raye, L. Armstrong
B3    Someone Who Cares 3'04
Written-By – Alex Harvey
B4    The More I See You 1'59
Written-By – H. Warren, M. Gordon
B5    I'll Be Seeing You 2'15
Written-By – I. Kahal, S. Fain
Credits :    
Arranged By, Conductor – Artie Butler
Bass – Reinhold Press
Drums – Earl Palmer
Guitar – Larry Carlton, Louie Shelton
Percussion – Gary Coleman, Victor Feldman
Piano – Artie Butler, Michael Omartian
Vocals - Peggy Lee

PEGGY LEE - Close Enough for Love (1980) FLAC (tracks), lossless

Peggy Lee's 1979 album Close Enough for Love is a disco-themed take on her classic themes of love and romance. "You" is a light, mellow funk ballad, while the standard "Just One of Those Things" becomes a propulsive dance anthem. Those looking for songs similar to Lee's trademark "Fever" will want to add the smoldering, sexy "Easy Does It" to their collection. Peggy Lee's voice sounds a bit depressed on this album, indicating, perhaps, an unfamiliarity with the new musical trappings. But that quality also gives the album's more straightforward numbers, like "Rain Sometimes" and "Come in From the Rain" (sounding like Wings), a moving, somber tone. An example of a dated album, but one that is a ripe for a rediscovery. by JT Griffith
Tracklist :
1     You 4'04
Harold Adamson / Walter Donaldson
2     Easy Does It 3'28
Dick Hazard / Peggy Lee
3     Close Enough for Love 3'55
Johnny Mandel / Paul Williams
4     A Robinsong 3'18
Michael Franks
5     Just One of Those Things 2'48
Cole Porter
6     I Can't Resist You 4'33
Walter Donaldson / Will Donaldson / Ned Wever
7     Come in from the Rain 3'07
Melissa Manchester / Carole Bayer Sager
8     In the Days of Our Love 3'18
Peggy Lee / Marian McPartland
9     Through the Eyes of Love 3'11
Marvin Hamlisch / Carole Bayer Sager
10     Rain Sometimes 3'55
Arthur Hamilton
Credits :    
Arranged By, Conductor – Richard Hazard
Bass – Max Bennett
Drums, Percussion – John Guerin
Guitar – Dennis Budimir, John Chiodini, John Pisano
Keyboards – Ian Underwood
Vocals - Peggy Lee

MISS PEGGY LEE - Peggy Lee Sings The Blues (1988) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

By 1988, 68-year-old Peggy Lee did not have much of a voice left. Although she was still determined, physical problems had weakened her, and despite Gene Lees' absurd raving in the liner notes ("Her work has never flagged, the quality of it has never faltered"), this set finds her way past her prime. Actually, the material (only half of which is actually blues) is pretty strong -- mostly standards from the 1920s and '30s -- and the backup group (a quintet with pianist Mike Renzi and guitarist John Chiodini) does a good job of supporting Lee's quiet and often weak voice. This is one of the better releases from Peggy Lee's later years, but it still pales next to her 1950s recordings. by Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1     See See Rider 5'06
Ma Rainey / Traditional
2     Basin Street Blues 3'10
Spencer Williams
3     Squeeze Me 2'47
Fats Waller / Clarence Williams
4     You Don't Know 4'09
Walter Spriggs
5     Fine and Mellow 5'13
Billie Holiday
6     Baby Please Come Home 3'25
Charles Warfield / Clarence Williams
7     Kansas City 3'43
Jerry Leiber / Mike Stoller
8     Birmingham Jail 4'15
Traditional
9     Love Me 4'10
P. Lee
10     Beale Street 5'52
W.C. Handy
11     'Tain't Nobody's Bizness If I Do 5'45
W.C. Handy
12     God Bless the Child 3'14
Billie Holiday / Arthur Herzog, Jr.
Credits :    
Bass – Jay Leonhart
Drums – Grady Tate
Guitar – John Chiodini
Percussion – Mark Sherman
Piano – Mike Renzi
Vocals - Peggy Lee