Eddie Fisher Sings His Best
Picture: C
Sound: C Extras: D Main Program: C+
Let’s face it, Eddie Fisher is not remembered well by just
about anyone. A hit crooner in his
time, he got the public to hate him by running away with Elizabeth Taylor and
leaving Debbie Reynolds behind, not to mention how her and her children
disavowed him. With that said, he was
the last of a great line of crooners, the kind that began to surface nationally
in the earliest sound films. That
included many non-Musicals. Eddie
Fisher Sings His Best collects that legacy together form various shows,
some are possibly even from his TV association with Coca-Cola in an early show
that consisted of 15-minutes-long shows.
The songs are:
1) May I
Sing To You
2) Anytime
3) Bring
Back The Thrill
4) Downhearted
5) Tell Me
Why
6) I Need
To Know
7) Papa
Loves Mambo
8) Fanny (with
Florence Henderson)
9) Prisoner
Of Love
10) Let It
Snow
11) Make Yourself Comfortable
12) It’s The Loveliest Time Of The Year
13) Wedding Bells
14) Tweedle Dee Dee
15) Melody Of Love
16) My Mother’s Eyes
17) Birth Of The Blues
18) Counting On Blessings
19) Oh My Papa
Except for Track 13, none of these songs represent his
Rock Era hits, they are pre-Rock the way his career was. The hits ran out in 1956 and he fell out of
favor altogether by the early 1960s. From
there, he was early tabloid fodder when he would be discussed at all and the
marriage with Taylor did not last. His
escapades may have helped to spoil the “bobbysoxer’ cycle, but he did have a
solid if repetitious vocal style and was the top singer in his time. After seeing this set, that at least makes
sense.
The black and white clips are average, all full frame and
show their age, while the sound is strictly Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono. They are about as good as anyone can expect
and it should not disappoint those who like (still like) Fisher. There are no extras either, but we see a
portrait of success before the big fall and self-destruction. Eddie Fisher Sings His Best takes on
a new irony when you realize what followed, as it would all be downhill form
there.
- Nicholas Sheffo
