Don't Cry for Me Argentina: The CBS Years, Vol. 2

2007 compilation from one of the most famous British female vocalists of the '60s and beyond. Don't Cry For Me Argentina features 20 tracks from her CBS sessions 1977 to 1979. Includes her classic cover versions of 10cc's 'I'm Not In Love' and Chicago's 'If You Leave Me Now' plus three previously unreleased recordings. Deluxe packaging with eight page booklet including rare photos and sleeve notes. Zone. 2007 Album Description

Three Stars for Effort

This is the second volume in a pair of CD releases of recordings made by Petula Clark in the latter half of the 1970s for CBS. The first volume was a 2-disc collection made up almost entirely of French language singles and album tracks done for CBS France: Paris/Orléans/Paris: The CBS Years, Vol. 1. I love most of that set, so I had high hopes for this follow-up, consisting of her first (and only, I think) English language CBS album, entitled DESTINY, plus several singles and previously unreleased tracks for the label. Well, I must honestly say, I am disappointed, for the most part. But first the good news:

Petula's singing throughout this compilation is not to be faulted. She does her usual best, no matter the content, lyrically or musically (she wrote several of the songs, too). Secondly, there is a handful of real finds, songs that delighted me to discover. "Carousel," which Petula had a hand in composing, is a lovely piece of ear candy, with a swirling string arrangement. "Smiley," opening with vibrating keyboards and tinkling triangle, is an enchanting ode to an undisclosed songwriter, and "If You Leave Me Now," the Chicago hit, is beautifully covered by Pet. "Songbird" is not the Fleetwood Mac tune, nor is it the Barbara Streisand song from her album of the same title. It's a completely original song by Petula Clark, and it has a charming arrangement that starts off with an electric slide guitar, bongos and keyboards. Its melody wanders around a bit, but is brought under control by Petula's own backing vocals. One of the previously unreleased songs on this CD is totally unlike anything presented on the CBS collections: "Sheldon Bloom." In fact, this rocker may be completely different than anything Petula has ever done. It's funky and bluesy, and would have been more at home on the sessions done for her BLUE LADY album, recorded in Nashville (and sadly, out of print at the moment). I'm glad it's here, though. Good to hear Pet cut loose like this.

Now the bad news: the rest of this collection is really sub-par. The title song is okay, although Petula's "s"s are miked in such a way as to become hissing and sharp. Otherwise, the problems are not with Petula, but with the times, I'm afraid. The disco era was very hard on good singers, and Petula was one of its victims on some of the tunes on this disc. 10cc's "I'm Not In Love," an enduring song with a lovely atmosphere and melody is just dreadful as a disco arrangement. Try as she would, Petula just couldn't save it. I had to be very patient to get through this long, very typical, very boring rendition. I kept hoping something unusual would happen, but it's just like a million other disco tunes of the time, repetitious, tinny and cheap sounding. Everyone wanted to be Donna Summer or The Bee Gees, and very few were as creative or successful. What "I'm Not In Love" does manage to do, however, is break up the monotony in a stream of uninspired, overblown, oddly tuneless songs. It's as if the producers and arrangers were trying to cover up the lack of melodic interest by filling in all the spaces with strings, electronic keyboards, thumping drum kits and whatnot, and while they were at it, they lengthened what should have been two and a half minute pop trifles into three and half to four-minute slogs. Not good. What made the famous run of Tony Hatch/Petula Clark hits back in the sixties so special and well, perfect, was the simplicity of the songs, the tightness of the arrangements, and the clarity of Petula's voice, placed front and center. Here, she's surrounded by lots of unnecessary glitz; it's the equivalent of pasting glitter on real diamonds. Petula didn't need all of this stuff, as both earlier and later recordings proved. As an illustration, her 1980-ish single, "Oxygen," is a gorgeous piece of synthesized chill-out disco (it can be found on the rare Treasures, Vol. 1 and, in a remixed version, on the import, THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION). See, much is made, in the liner notes to DON'T CRY FOR ME ARGENTINA, of the fact that these were the last recordings Petula made live in the studio with a real orchestra. Fine, but just because it was a live orchestra, doesn't make it better. The songs have to be good, as do the arrangements. And there's so much cheap filler here that the orchestra is just window dressing, anyway. "Oxygen" proved that Petula could be updated, after all, and then she went on to work her magic on Broadway musical standards, more evidence of her ability to endure the changing times. So just chalk THIS set up to a brief, very wrong turn.

For the die-hard fans like me, go ahead and get this for the few good, rare tracks. For the person who is beginning to fall in love with Petula, and wants Petula's best, get Songs of My Life: The Essential, The Ultimate Collection, or the inexpensive and brief Platinum & Gold Collection. They would all make good starting places. If you have the hits and want to explore further, I recommend Memphis, Warm and Tender or her album of show tunes from the '90s, Here for You. You can't go wrong with these, in my opinion. June 24, 2008

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