Lee Wiley - West of the Moon

Japanese Limited Edition in an LP-STYLE Sleeve. Album Details

SINATRA would appreciate this set of standards!

I had never heard of Lee Wiley until I heard her sing WEST OF THE MOON on the cable music channel;WOW, what a treat! This truly is a rare find,perhaps the first woman to sing solo with a band behind her...wish I would have discovered her years ago! June 28, 2007

A Great Recording, five stars.

I accidentally gave this a three star rating and could not change it.

I am a big fan of Lee Wiley and have most of what she recorded, either on 78's, LP's or CD's. It is a shame that she was never much of a star beyond 52nd street as her singing is truly a revelation if you have not heard her before. She is, along with Mildred Bailey, one of the best white jazz singers of the 30's. Her other recordings, A Touch of The Blues and her songbooks or Manhattan are also highly recommended. Although she was nearing the end of her recording career by the time of this recording she had not lost her voice. She is sensitive and smart in her delivery. The orchestra and arrangements are top notch. A thoroughly enjoyable collection of standards.

Mosaic has released this CD with two additional tracks and its cost is 15 bucks, check out their website as it is still readily available there. October 27, 2006

The absolute difinitive jazz vocal album of the 50's

The 1950's saw many great jazz vocal lp's by everyone from newcomers like June Christy and Chris Connor to old time jazz singers from the 30's like Billie Holiday and Lee Wiley. Lee Wiley was the quintessential 30's songstress along with Connee Boswell & Mildred Bailey. Like Bailey and Boswell, Wiley was msotly forgotten by the 50's, so this lp must have been a delightful surprise for all those who followed her and the Eddie Condon clan. However Wiley recorded this album in prime voice, though she had a deeper throatier sound by the late 50's, & she had a more sensious vibrato. Her timing was immaculate and the arrangements fit her like a glove! Ralph Burns really knew how to showcase Wiley's sensious vibrato with silky 30's style arrangements, that sound modern for the 50's and old fashioned at the same time. This is the difinitive jazz vocal or pop vocal album of all the 1950's, it is perfect in every way!!! The original album cover is a classic, it has Wilay decked out in the latest 50's fashion leaning seductively against a moonrock, of course on teh moon! April 8, 2005

Fabulous

A friend introduced me to the music of Lee Wiley several years ago. I was impressed enough to check the jazz section of the record store now and then, on the off chance I'd find something on cd, but never had any luck. Then, in the past few months, I managed to pick up no fewer than five Wiley discs--her songbook recordings, a couple of anthologies, and now "West of the Moon."

If you're familiar with Wiley's earlier work, be aware that by the time this record was made her voice had altered a little, presumably a result of age--it's deeper, throatier, but every bit as seductive as ever. And her timing, her phrasing, her ability to convey emotion, are if anything better than on her recordings of the thirties (which is saying quite a lot). The song selection is excellent, the arrangements nearly ideal, and the sound quality leaves little to be desired.

If you've never heard Lee Wiley, buy this album anyway. Some say it's her best, and while I don't know that it tops the songbooks, it's a terrific introduction to one of the most unjustly overlooked singers in jazz. May 26, 2001

Very disappointing

I am a huge fan of Lee Wiley's but was very disappointed by this recording. It does not, in my opinion, live up to the praise heaped on it in other reviews and in the record notes. Lee's voice, which is normally so intimate, sounds overblown on many tracks, as if it has been mixed in later with an orchestra that had been playing elsewhere. I didn't think much of the song selection, but it is more than that; in place of the usual wonderful blend of her whimsy with that of her lyric, so often here she sounds plodding. I was so surprised by my response, I rushed to listen to the closest of her recordings, 'A Touch of the Blues' which she did with the Billy Butterfield band - Butterfield appears on West of the Moon too - two years later and was relieved to discover that I had not just gone off Lee Wiley without noticing it. The later album shows her voice to perfection, backed by wonderful, tight, and exciting arrangements, in which she brings all of her humour and charm to the words, and the incomparable sweetness of her voice. To say that West of the Moon is her greatest recording is just indefensible. All of her other recordings are better! That said, not every track is poor - this is Lee Wiley. 'This is New', 'I Left My Sugar Standing in the Rain' and 'As Time Go By' make the album worth it for me. But it won't be played ahead of Touch of the Blues, Night in Manhattan, You Leave Me Breathless, Collectors Items, or the Songbooks. Start with one of these instead. December 1, 2000

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