Peggy Lee – Singing At Her Best

 

Picture: C     Sound: C-     Extras: D     Main Program: B-

 

 

When we last looked at a Peggy Lee DVD, it was a later performance in her waning years that did not show her off at her best, but the new Singing At her Best DVD does this just enough to live up to its name.  The new compilation starts in her early years, then her Rock era successes (sorry, no Fever though, but husband Dave Barbour also shows up) and later still with Petula Clark.  The songs are as follows:

 

1)     The Best Is Yet To Come

2)     Why Don’t You Do Right?

3)     I Cover The Waterfront

4)     From This Moment On

5)     Love, You Didn’t Do Right By Me

6)     Where Can I Go Without You?

7)     I Love Being Here With You

8)     The Folks Who Live On The Hill

9)     Peggy Lee & Petula Clark on the next three tracks: I’m A Woman

10)  Wedding Bell Blues

11)  When Johnny Comes Marching Home

12)  The Cross Country Blues Suite: Train Blues

13)  Fisherman’s Wharf

14)  St. Louis Blues

15)  Kansas City

16)  Going To Chicago

17)  Boston Beans

18)  Basin Street Blues

19)  New York City Blues

 

Of course, nothing from her Disney animated classic Lady & The Tramp (1955), which she co-wrote and sang.  She was winning lawsuit after lawsuit against Disney after that up until her passing.  One of the earliest of all sultry singing stars, Lee managed to reinvent herself a few times and was one of the music industry’s great survivors.  This is a nice, if short, sampling of her work.

 

The full frame, black and white images vary in quality throughout, averaging out.  They are compelling to watch and show how well Lee kept in style.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono is not always good, but even accounting for age, the sound on the relatively newer Petula Clark footage is tinny, tiny and harsher than expected.  There are no extras.  With all that, it is a nice budget set worth checking out.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo