Peggy Lee at Decca Records (1952-1957)

After reading this entire thread, I just had to go through my Peggy Lee music on hand.
I own 7 of her CD's, but I didn't realize, until tonight, that I don't own any of her Decca work.
So, to remedy that tomorrow I will rush right to my computer and order:
Black Coffee and Dream Street
any suggestions which version 's I should get ?

 

Great to hear that this thread is prompting you to get those albums, Kenny. Are you planning to get a CD? If so, I'm thinking that you might be better off trying this one:



which I'm seeing reasonably priced at
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=peggy lee dream street

BUT

don't rush; wait until other fellow members have weighed in. Maybe I've forgotten a better choice, or maybe there are some minuses worth mentioning. (I'm guessing that most of us would prefer the original LPs, due to their usually warmer sound, but I'm assuming that you are planning to pick up a CD.)

Of course, you could also try to get either or both of those albums separately, rather than on a twofer. In the case of Dream Street, however, there aren't many CDs to choose from ... Some of the old Japanese CD reissues of that album can still be found, but, as with much stuff from Japan, those tend to be priced on the high end (about $30 and higher).

In the case of Black Coffee, there's an official Verve Master CD edition:



with fine sound. Used copies sell at good, budget prices.

But the aforementioned Public Domain twofer seems the better deal, given the fact that you are interested in getting both albums. The twofer contains not only all the tracks from the two albums, but also bonus tracks from the album sessions. And I think there's consensus here about its sound quality being fine.

Here's hoping that we'll be reading more opinions soon.

 

I'm in 100% agreement with Ridin'High. You've been given the perfect review and recommendation. By the time Complete Sessions was released, I had already purchased the Verve Master edition of Black Coffee and loved the mastering, but Dream Street is difficult to find on CD for a reasonable sum of money. That 2-fer is so reasonable I didn't mind the duplication (which I normally do hate unless it's for a good reason). Plus, the bonus tracks are a nice addition. Sound is not bad for a P.D. release.

The reason I bought The Complete Sessions is because my LP of Dream Street cracked and broke. I was having a difficult time finding a replacement copy. This 2-fer held me over until I could find a replacement of acceptable condition. Now that I have, it's still nice to have a digital copy of these great performances. The Dream Street songs are hard to find on compilations too -- it's about time Peggy's Decca years get a box set, either by Hip-O Select or Bear Family Records. Wishful thinking only -- I have no details about such a product.

 

tHIS LOOKS LIKE A TERRIFIC NEW RELEASE!

 

PEGGY LEE: At Last—The Lost Radio Recordings (2-CD Set)
As one of the greatest and most popular female pop singers working during radio’s Golden Age, Peggy Lee made her share of appearances on the dial, particularly on her own radio show that, starting in 1951, was broadcast over the CBS network and the Armed Forces Radio Service. But, unlike many of her contemporaries who have had their on-air performances compiled into collections both legitimate and not, Peggy has never really enjoyed a proper retrospective of her radio appearances…until now! The 44 tracks on At Last—The Lost Radio Recordings consists ENTIRELY of songs Peggy never recorded commercially, ranging from popular standards to novelty numbers to songs popularized by such esteemed peers as Doris Day, Rosemary Clooney, Dinah Shore, Jo Stafford, Kay Starr and Margaret Whiting, with musical direction by Sonny Burke in Los Angeles and Russ Case in New York. Most of these recordings haven’t been heard since they were originally broadcast, and as this is the first-ever collection of its kind licensed directly from the Peggy Lee estate, this 2-CD set offers superior sound with remastering by Mike Milchner at SonicVision, rarely-seen photos, and expert liner notes by David Torresen, long-time editor of PeggyLee.com, her official website. Many folks feel that Peggy never sang as well as she did in the early and mid-1950s; her maturity (in her thirties) and confidence had fully blossomed, her phrasing perfected and the timbre of her voice was pure gossamer. Listening to her interpret this new material is a revelation—an absolute must-have and a major, historic addition to the Peggy Lee discography and legacy!
DISC ONE
1. Peggy Lee Radio Show Opening
2. It’s a Most Unusual Day
3. I’ll See You In My Dreams
4. Getting to Know You
5. Cry
6. You Belong to Me
7. It Takes Two To Tango
8. Solitaire
9. Did Anyone Call?
10. Please Mr. Sun
11. The Wheel of Fortune
12. Life Is a Beautiful Thing
13. Somewhere Along The Way
14. And So To Sleep Again
15.Undecided
16. Everything Happens To Me
17. A Kiss To Build A Dream On
18. Botch-A-Me
19. My Darling, My Darling
20. Just One More Chance
21. Since My Love Has Gone
22. Zing a Little Zong
23. Skylark
DISC TWO
1. I Got Rhythm
2. Pretty –Eyed Baby
3. Ole Buttermilk Sky
4. The Little White Cloud That Cried
5. When I Fall In Love
6. Come What May
7. Johnny One-Note
8. Singin’ in the Rain
9. Come On-A My House
10. Here In My Heart
11. Danny Boy
12. Half As Much
13. Go, Go, Go
14. I’ll Never Smile Again
15. After All, It’s Spring
16. Trust In Me
17. Blacksmith Blues
18. Domino
19. Heigh Ho (It’s Off to Work We Go)
20. Oh Dear, What Can The Matter Be
21. I’m Gonna Live Till I Die
22. At Last
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tracks from the Decca-era radio show compilation 'At Last' now streaming on Rob Bamberger's 'Hot Jazz Saturday Night' broadcast

http://wamu.org/programs/hot_jazz_saturday_night

 

I posted this one in the Capitol thread by accident. . .

Now that I am pointed to this thread, it sounds like either the Verve 2004 or else maybe this Dream Street/Black Coffee two-fer.

 

Not sure if the Verve title is still in print, but it's worth the little extra for the best mastering. The two-fer isn't bad, though, and it includes the complete sessions for both Black Coffee and Dream Street. Plus it's cheap. Go for the two-fer unless source quality is of paramount importance.

 

I am not super-picky about sound quality. If it's decent, I am good. The Verve and the 2-fer are going for about the same price right now on amazon. I might grab the Verve if it sounds best anyway though, add the complete 40's recordings (which I have listened to on spotify and enjoy very much), and then round out my $35 free shipping min with a Julie London album. That would be a good day.

 

Sounds like a good bundle to me

 

I got the Verve Black Coffee - it arrived Friday. To my - admittedly untrained - ears, it sounds great.

And the packaging, despite being one of those easily-damaged digipacks, is quite lovely. It has a lot more booklet than I might have expected, with lots of info and high quality pics of the original album's front and back.

Well worth the $11 or so that I paid for it new. I'd have been happy at twice the price.

 

Glad to hear it. I think I probably paid twice or a little more than twice for the disc when it was brand new. I was very happy with it also, especially for the mastering and the booklet. Some folks complain about the bordered cover art, but it doesn't bother me.

I was happy to make the duplication of 12 songs with that P.D. two-fer when it was later released, though, because I wanted a cheap digital copy of Dream Street plus the omitted tracks from both albums. To my surprise the sound wasn't bad, although I'll still reach for the Verve disc when I just want to hear Black Coffee.

 

Yes, I thought I would be bothered by the bordered cover, but it actually looks really nice. I like how the front flap on the digipack is curved - it's just an extra detail that makes me glad to have it.

I decided on this edition instead of the two-fer because in the end, I wanted to make sure the right company gets compensated (especially if the two-fer is a grey market release). Besides, until I eventually get the other one, I can always listen to Dream Street on google and spotify.


On a musical note: Peggy is really mining the Billie Holiday style here, especially on the "Black Coffee" title track.

 

As long as you listen to Dream Street in some fashion my friend! It's a great yet terribly underrated and forgotten album. I share the same misgivings about the purchase of P.D. issues. I've even refused to list P.D. releases of Patsy Cline at my discography (unless they are noteworthy for some reason) because none of the profits from such titles return to UMG or Patsy's estate. What my discography may lack in completeness it makes up for in being morally concise. Sometimes I feel forced into purchasing P.D. titles though, because of a lack of proper representation by an artist's primary label. Dream Street had to be one of the few exceptions.

Black Coffee was originally issued as a 10" album with 8 tracks, all recorded in 1953. Four additional tracks were recorded in 1956 and the album was expanded to 12 tracks. It's the four extra songs that are the highlights for me, actually. Perhaps critics would cite my lack of purity, but those 4 are something special: "It Ain't Necessarily So", "There's A Small Hotel", "Gee, Baby, Ain't I Good To You" and "You're My Thrill". They smoulder in true Peggy Lee fashion; a vocal interpretation that is lost to other artists, no matter how great the Ellas and Franks are.

I feel the additional tracks blend in seamlessly and work with the album's ebb and flow rather than against it. The only major production difference is that the first 8 tracks were cut in New York and the 4 additional tracks in LA.

 

I'm intrigued by this undated and "unplaced" photo. At what studio is she? What microphone brand is that one? What is that tubular thing, next to the music stand? Is she holding something (or holding on to something, with her right hand)? And what's with the rag on her head? ...

 

I have a lot of the Peggy Lee Capitol albums (around 20) as well as Black Coffee on a UK Ace of Clubs pressing. I also have an original Decca Japanese pressing of the 12" Black Coffee LP. Surprisingly, it sounds awful! Looks nice though. I also have pretty worn out copies of Miss Wonderful and Pete Kellys Blues on Brunswick, which I think are both great albums.

As I type this I'm playing a compilation of Decca era Peggy called Perfect-Lee from 1984 for the first time. This album sounds amazing and her singing is at it's best I've heard. Its covers 1952-1956. It's incredible how well this is recorded. An 'in the room' sound.

I must get decent vinyl copies of Dream Street and Sea Shells soon. I'm in the UK so I'm guessing the Ace of Clubs pressings will be easiest to get in nice condition.

 

A Japanese audio company licensed Peggy's album Black Coffee from Universal Music and released it three months ago as part of a set called 6 Queens of Jazz Vocal. One of those typical Japanese limited editions (3,500 copies), it is already being listed as out of print.

Hitherto, this company's catalogue of music had been entirely dedicated to SCAD reissues of classical albums. This seems to be their first SCAD item outside of the classical field.

Peggy shares the set with five other distinguished female singers: Ella, Carmen, Anita, Helen Merrill, and Sweden's Monica Zetterlund. Further details at ESOTERIC 6 QUEENS of JAZZ VOCAL | ESOTERIC COMPANY »

 

A somewhat interesting detail about this 1984 British compilation is that it was released not only on LP and cassette but also on CD. I believe it to be just a straight transfer of this double LP, which was originally released in the US:



Same 16 tracks on both items, though reshuffled on the later one. (Another reason why I can tell that it is the same transfer pertains to the version of "I'm Glad There Is You." At some point during the first half of the track, while the strings are playing, there is a sonic defect which can be heard in both items. That defect has been corrected only in the more recent MCA CDs.)

The bulk of her MCA compilations worldwide are derived from that Best of Peggy Lee double LP. Their sound is fine, I agree. However, if you want to hear a good portion of Peggy's Decca tracks in the superior sound that they deserve, this CD is a better choice:



If Peggy was in your room while you were playing 'perfect-lee', she will be in your ear while you listen to A Woman Alone with the Blues!

My general feeling about both Sea Shells and Dream Street is that neither was ever released in the quality of sound that they deserved. I haven't been satisfied with the quality of the few Ace of Hearts and Jasmine LPs which I have heard, nor with the sound of the MCA CDs. I guess that good-condition copies of the original Decca/Brunswick LPs would be the best option at this point.

Thanks for talking about the sound quality of the Japanese LP. One hears a lot about the sound of Japanese CDs, but not quite as much about their LPs ...

 

Good stuff! Thanks for the detailed reply. My most recent Peggy buys are an excellent condition UK Brunswick Pete Kelly's Blues LP and a 1953 Capitol Presents Peggy Lee 10" album. I'm very pleased with them both. Some groovewear on the 10" but its 63 years old so no complaints. It's still a very nice and well looked after record.

The Japanese Decca Black Coffee LP I have sounds muffled and dull compared to the UK Ace of Clubs pressing. A shame because it looks great. The label is similar to the double Decca compilation in your photo.

I've been picking up Peggy Lee albums as I seen them cheap and in nice (VG or better) condition. The consistent quality of her catalogue is incredible. Did she make a bad album? I haven't heard one and I have most of the mid 50s - mid 60s ones. I have found the sound quality variable. Some of the best I've heard have been French pressed 80s reissues.

It's an odd thing to say for such a star, but I think Peggy Lee is underrated nowadays. I never see any articles about her anywhere and I don't know anybody else who listens to her. Their loss and a big one.

 

You are welcome, and congratulations on the new finds! One thing that I love about the UK Brunswick album is that its artwork is different and, for my taste, better than what was used in the US Decca original:




The 1980s French pressings are probably from a series put out by the Pathe Marconi label. Sound-wise, that series of albums is thoroughly great. (There is a thread about them in this forum.)

It is too bad to hear about the lack of articles and listeners ... Thanks to her versions of "Fever" and "Is That All There Is?," I do not think, though, that she is likely to ever be completely forgotten. (The same cannot be said, sadly, about many of her once-famous female peers.) Some people might not be familiar with her name, but if you ask whether they have listened to one hit or the other, there is a good chance that they will nod in recognition. Peggy Lee's interpretation of those two songs seems to have left a permanent mark in the musical landscape.

 

I, too, prefer the Brunswick art for Songs from Pete Kelly's Blues. Your description of Peggy's memory is apt. Sadly, she's not remembered for any of her Decca recordings except in jazz circles it would seem. Besides the two hits mentioned above, a third that seems to spark the memory of Peggy Lee in popular culture is "Big Spender". Whenever I drop this title, people know whom I'm talking about.

 

Sea Shells is a masterpiece, aside from the cover art. My hope is that you find a decent copy. Every music library should have a copy of this album IMO.

 

Never a bad album, just some with varying degrees of interest for listeners due to her wide-reaching taste in genre and style of music. A brilliant artist.

 

An SACD release of Black Coffee? This pleases me. Hopefully there will be more high-resolution issues of Peggy Lee product in the future.

 

Right. One obstacle might lie in the types of numbers which Peggy Lee turned into hits during her Decca years. The lyrics of "Mr. Wonderful," "Johnny Guitar," "Baubles, Bangles And Beads," and "Lover" come across as too old fashioned to modern ears ... Those of us who are fans of the singer and the songs might find them great, naturally, but to a wider and fickle listening audience they may be dismissible, or not memorable enough.

Of those four titles, "Johnny Guitar" is the one Decca number for which Peggy has been remembered to a somewhat greater degree -- particularly in Europe, in decades past. The memory of Peggy's version has persisted due to not only its attachment to a (cult) movie but also its use in action role-play video games, such as "Fallout Las Vegas." (Its inclusion in that game's soundtrack has had both its pros and its cons, however. Through the course of the game, the song is heard so often that many players ended up getting fed up with it, and professing their hate for it.)

Then there is "Black Coffee," for which, as you say, Peggy is remembered primarily in jazz circles. In this particular case, something else that works against her is the fact that "Black Coffee" has long been a well-established standard, which means that she faces competition from versions by many other famous singers.

I can think of two more Decca numbers to consider. British audiences, in particular, loved her version of "I Don't Want To Play in your Backyard." But that was decades ago, and not applicable to the United States. Moreover, the number is too esoteric or specialized to ever acquire a wide audience.

Finally, we have the case of "Bye Bye Blackbird." Before 2005, that number was merely an obscure track from one of her Decca albums. Then the movie remake of King Kong came out, and became popular. A version of "Bye Bye Blackbird" is heard during a montage. After watching the film, quite a few moviegoers were inquiring as to the singer's identity. Unfortunately for Peggy's memory, somebody spread misinformation over the internet, saying that the singer was Alison Moyet. Eventually the error was made known. Sadly, though, the movie's popularity faded away in a year or two, and with it the widespread memory of Peggy's version.