A much better record than we want to admit, with Natalie moving towards jazzy numbers and standards, for a blockbuster Grammy winning effort. Her voice stands up well to the mainstream polish, and even the creepy "duet" with her father is enjoyable. 22 tracks in all, including "The Very Thought Of You", "Paper Moon", "Mona Lisa", 'This Can't Be Love", "Lush Life", "That Sunday That Summer", "Avalon", "Don't Get Around Much Anymore", "Nature Boy", "Darling, Je Vous Aime Beaucoup", "Thous Swell" and "Unforgettable". (Soul, Vocalists) CD

One of Astrud Gilberto's greatest albums of the 60s – a classic session produced for Verve by Creed Taylor, and featuring sweet gentle arrangements from Marty Paich, co-arranged with Antonio Carlos Jobim, who also plays guitar on the session next to the piano of Joao Donato! That's a mouthful of heavy-hitters, we know – but the result is a totally great session that has Astrud's light and gentle vocals drifting over some of the most magical bossa backings you'll ever hear. The whole thing's great, stuffed with bossa classics done in English – and titles include "Once I Loved", "Aqua De Beber", "O Morro", "Dindi", "Dreamer", and "Photograph". (Brazil, Vocalists) LP, Vinyl record album

The colors are rich, but gentle too – like a palette of pastels, all sung by the lovely Claudine Longet! The album's got a slightly more mature feel than some of Longet's first for A&M – great Nick DeCaro arrangements that show some of the deeper elements creeping into pop at the end of the 60s – including some surprising use of acoustic guitar, which really helps transform the sound, and brings out an earthy, natural quality that makes Claudine sound sexier than ever! The sessions feature work by Randy Newman, Lyle Ritz, and Ron Elliott – and titles include "Pussywillows Cattails", "Catch The Wind", "Colours", "Bobbie (For Baby)", and "Hurry On Down". CD

The colors are rich, but gentle too – like a palette of pastels, all sung by the lovely Claudine Longet! The album's got a slightly more mature feel than some of Longet's first for A&M – great Nick DeCaro arrangements that show some of the deeper elements creeping into pop at the end of the 60s – including some surprising use of acoustic guitar, which really helps transform the sound, and brings out an earthy, natural quality that makes Claudine sound sexier than ever! The sessions feature work by Randy Newman, Lyle Ritz, and Ron Elliott – and titles include "Pussywillows Cattails", "Catch The Wind", "Colours", "Bobbie (For Baby)", and "Hurry On Down". LP, Vinyl record album

Lovely Christmas sounds from the McGuire Sisters – a trio whose sweet style was always a big hit on TV, and which brings a perfect "Holiday Special" vibe to this seasonal album – which also includes a fair bit of unusual tunes! Most of the tracks are arranged by Dick Jacobs – with the kind of lush backings the group often received on the screen – and their unified style of vocalizing does a nice job of keeping things sprightly in all the right moments, especially on the more upbeat tunes. Titles include "If You Believe", "The Cactus Christmas Tree", "He", "Give Me Your Heart For Christmas", "Without Him", "Christmas Alphabet", and "Honorable Congratulations". CD features three bonus tracks – "Be A Santa", "Peace", and "Ave Maria". (Holiday Music, Vocalists) CD

A full set of vocal performances by the legendary Fred Rogers – mostly tracks from later years, and all done with superb accompaniment from Johnny Costa – who provides the spare, sprightly piano lines that always make the Mister Rogers lyrics sparkle so much! You'll recognize most of these tunes from the famous show – if you were lucky enough to watch it when you were a kid – and the CD is a nicely overwhelming package of the sorts of upbeat, positive tunes that Rogers always gave us on the airwaves – every bit as understated here as on the screen, in a set that also features a few unreleased tracks too. 23 tracks in all – including "Pretending", "Tomorrow", "You Can Never Go Down The Drain", "Today Is A Very Special Day", "Be Brave Be Strong", "You're Growing", "I'm Taking Care Of You", "Once Upon Each Lovely Day", "It's You I Like", and "The Clown In Me". (Comedy/Spoken, Vocalists) CD

A full set of vocal performances by the legendary Fred Rogers – mostly tracks from later years, and all done with superb accompaniment from Johnny Costa – who provides the spare, sprightly piano lines that always make the Mister Rogers lyrics sparkle so much! You'll recognize most of these tunes from the famous show – if you were lucky enough to watch it when you were a kid – and the CD is a nicely overwhelming package of the sorts of upbeat, positive tunes that Rogers always gave us on the airwaves – every bit as understated here as on the screen, in a set that also features a few unreleased tracks too. 23 tracks in all – including "Pretending", "Tomorrow", "You Can Never Go Down The Drain", "Today Is A Very Special Day", "Be Brave Be Strong", "You're Growing", "I'm Taking Care Of You", "Once Upon Each Lovely Day", "It's You I Like", and "The Clown In Me". (Comedy/Spoken, Vocalists) LP, Vinyl record album

Frank's last solid album for Capitol, and an easily swinging set that points the way towards the confident maturity of the Reprise years. The title tune, "Nice and Easy", is a classic swinger with great backing by Nelson Riddle – and the rest of the album's selection of tunes is a bit more in the sad late nite mode of some of Sinatra's other end of the 50s sessions, but handled with a bit more flair, a bit more of that ass-pinching machismo that would creep into his love songs in the 60s. Titles include "Dream", "She's Funny That Way", "Fools Rush In", "That Old Feeling", and "I've Got A Crush On You". LP, Vinyl record album

One of Frank Sinatra's last great ballad albums for Capitol – a sad and dreamy batch of tunes that kicks off with the incredible "Only The Lonely" – one of those Sinatra torch songs that's so great, so sad, nobody else has ever been able to record a better version, nor have they really tried! The rest of the album's great, too – with arrangements by Nelson Riddle that are very much in the Wee Small Hours mode – expressive, but subtle and sophisticated – at that level that set Sinatra so far apart from most other male singers of the 50s. Despite the creepy cover, there's a mature, adult approach to the whole thing – a new level of emotion that most other singers wouldn't find for a decade. Titles include "Only The Lonely", "Angel Eyes", "What's New", "Ebb Tide", "Spring Is Here", "Goodbye", and the sublime "One For My Baby". LP, Vinyl record album

A real standout in the classic catalog of ECM – not only because the record's got a slightly different inspiration than most, but also because it seems to unlock some especially beautiful moments from players who could sound different in other settings on the label! As the title indicates, the tunes here all take inspiration from the poetry of Robert Creeley – but never in a mode that's got the usual jazz meets poetry approach – as Sheila Jordan sings the lyrics when they appear, with a sense of her own power that's very different than a more standard recitation – and which, to us, really feels a lot like her great vocal performances with Steve Kuhn for ECM. Kuhn is also in the group on piano, and other musicians include David Liebman on saxes, Lyle Mays on keyboards, and Bob Moses on drums – all working under the superb leadership of bassist Steve Swallow – who really outdid himself with the depth of feeling in this project. Titles include "Colors", "In The Fall", "She Was Young", "Some Echoes", "Ice Cream", and "You Didn't Think". (Jazz, Vocalists) CD

Famous film work from the mother of Crystal Waters – and a singer who really helped shape the sound of jazz vocals in the early years! CD

A very cool collection of tracks from voices you might know more for their work on the screen – an array of British talents from the postwar years who were mostly known for their comedic performances in film and on TV! The word "thespians" is used here with a bit of wit – as most of these singers are ones from the lower-brow side of British entertainment – early situation comedies, Carry On films, and outlets like that – but given a really beautiful array of arrangements here, which help deliver some surprisingly great vocal performances! Some of these numbers are novelty tunes, others are a bit more straight – but overall, there's a nice sense of jazz and zing to the material – the kind of punch you'd expect if you saw their performances in a movie. Titles include "Postman's Knock" by Spike Milligan, "Alone Together" by Bernard Bresslaw, "Send For Me" by Terry Thomas, "It Had Better Be A Wonderful Life" by Barbara Windsor & Harry Fowler, "Three Nice Mice" by Max Bygraves, "I Like It" by Mike & Bernie Winters, "What About Me" by Bernard Cribbins, "Harry Brown" by Ian McShane, "Lonely For A Girl" by Oliver Reed, "We Go Together" by Eric Sykes & Hattie Jacques, and "Double Bunk" by Sid James & Liz Fraser. CD