Peggy Lee is one of my favorite singers. What I find appealing is her tone, richness, emotional coolness and a sense of an older soul giving advice to the listener. She has been around the block and wears the experience well. It took me a year to find a decent copy of this album "Then Was Then and Now is Now." For one, it's an amazing title for an album, and two, she covers Ray Davies, of the Kinks, "I Go To Sleep." As far as I know, and without cheat sheets here, The Pretenders, Cher, and Peggy Lee, of course, have covered this song. The Kinks did a version, but I believe it was a demo, and never officially released on a Kinks album. Nevertheless, an incredible song and Peggy's version is exceptional.
Throughout the album, the arrangements by Sid Feller, as well as Billy May, who did the classic Ray Charles recordings such as "Georgia on My Mind" and "I Can't Stop Loving You" is both very sensitive as well as working with the smoky tone of Peggy's vocals. David Cavanaugh, who was a staff producer at Capitol Records, and worked on the legendary Sinatra albums, is also in tune with the Peggy world on "Then Was Then..." Even although the album was recorded in 1965, Peggy sounds contemporary and totally engage with the now, as the title of the album expresses. The song choices are obscure but there is not a bad tune on the album. The only one that I'm aware of beside "I Go To Sleep" is "The Shadow of Your Smile," which I think is the best version I have heard at this time.
Peggy Lee is a singer that I need to dive more into her recorded catalog. I did see her live once, sometime in the 1980s, and she impressed me with her taste as well as a grit and a strong soul. A remarkable talent.
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