Jeri Southern's era, the 40's and 50's, is not usually to my tase. I have few fond memories of the fifties. But once I discovered this album on Rhapsody, I couldn't get her voice out of my head. She has a sophisticated technique, a wonderful jazz voice and sings with absolute sincerity--the art that conceals art. The prior reviews on Amazon say it all. Get this CD!

When first I was introduced to the voice of Jeri Southern she had long since retired; and that introduction came via an album produced by Rod McKuen in the mid-1970s, a reissue of some Decca recordings called You Better Go Now. That led to seeking her original albums in old Record shops. It was something akin to an archeological excavation, coming upon some of those tattered albums with marvellous period covers. Scratchy, occasionally warped, but it mattered not a bit: Jeri Southern had become something of a cult just then. That smoky voice( reminiscent of Nat Cole, it seemed then) was utterly captivating.

To be perfectly honest, it never occured to me that Jeri Southern's music would find a new audience on Compact Disc, nor indeed that any recording company would bother with a singer so apparently obscure. So it was a most pleasant surprise to discover this compilation of the Decca Years. It was produced by Kathryn King, who is Jeri Southern's daughter and who contributed to the liner notes with a fascinating memoir of her mother. Essays by Orrin Keepnews and Gene Lees enrich one's understanding of this distinctive singer.
The songs are indeed the best of the best, so if there is just one Jeri Southern album to take to that desert island, this is it.

She insinuates. Very vulnerable singer who has keyboard chops. Demands repeat and more repeat. Peggy Lee loved her, and so do I.

This is one of the few items that my family doesn't mind when I play it in the car. (My taste seems to be too old for them. My mother has even ask for a copy.)
Jeri is one of the best kept secrets in music of the twentieth century. Am I overrating her? No. She is magnificent. Listen to her version of "When I Fall in Love", and you'll see the hidden talent that I am talking about. She has a soft vulnerable voice, that is completely hers. She also wonderfully defies this image with "An Occassional Man." As well, she is a fine songwriter "I Don't Know Where to Turn", seems like it was written by a professional. Overall 5 out of 5.

When I bought this, my first Jeri Southern album, I wasn't sure what to expect and started to play it as background music. By less than half way through, I had given up what I was doing to give Jeri my full attention, already knowing that I was listening to a very special singer. Now I have studied several of her CD's and I rate Jeri as the finest torch singer I have ever heard (and I've heard a few great ones).

Unlike Peggy Lee and others to whom she is often compared, Jeri could not do the uptempo stuff and did not try, but that's fine by me. Jeri made up for that by recording the best version of any love song she chose to record. Just listen to Jeri's versions of When I fall in love, I remember you and Smoke gets in your eyes, all on this collection. I have heard many excellent versions of these songs, including those by some of my favorite singers of Jeri's generation (such as Doris Day, Margaret Whiting and Jo Stafford, all of whom I have spent many happy hours listening to), but to my ears Jeri was the best of the lot when it came to this type of song.

So what made Jeri so special? The answer was simple - it was her warm, intimate style. On these recordings, Jeri sang and played the piano with the very minimum support from other musicians, so allowing her small but lovely, romantic voice to grab the listener's attention. For those candle-lit dinners, there is no finer music than that made by Jeri.

Later in her career, record companies added a bit more musical backing (thankfully not too much), thinking this would improve her music. It didn't - her early music on Decca (from which this CD is compiled) is the best, although her later Capitol recordings are well worth a listen, once you've sampled her Decca music.